Track Listing

1. 9 Crimes
2. The Animals Were Gone
3. Elephant
4. Rootless Tree
5. Dogs
6. Coconut Skins
7. Me, My Yoke, and I
8. Grey Room
9. Accidental Babies
10. Sleep Don't Weep

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5631 in Music
• Released on: 2006-11-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics

Album Description
9 is the extraordinary follow-up to young Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice's critically acclaimed 2003 debut album O-which sold more than 2 million copies worldwide, including more than one million in the U.K. The single "9 Crimes" will have its network television debut on the hit ABC show Grey's Anatomy in the November 23rd episode.

Amazon.com
Not quite as endearing as his raw and seductive 2002 debut, O, the second full-length album by Irish troubadour Damien Rice finds him taking a more slapdash approach to his lyrics and arrangements, with balmy tracks like "Rootless Tree," "Coconut Skins," and "Me, My Yoke, and I" seemingly made up and recorded on the spot. Strange then that it took so long for 9 to actually arrive, with just a handful of odd collaborations (Tori Amos, Herbie Hancock) and one promising benefit single ("Unplayed Piano") to hold fans over during the four-year delay. Nothing here quite achieves the lush poetry on display there, although Rice and his singing companion Lisa Hannigan come close with the creepy opening track "9 Crimes" and the damaged whisper-to-a-scream ballad, "Elephant." --Aidin Vaziri

Customer Reviews

Sincere
Misery. It's an international language. So while the lyrics to "The Animals Were Gone" are delivered up in Damien Rice's soft Dublin tones, the plangent strings, hesitant melody and descending chords could just as easily accompany some French chanson in which the message is "je regrette".
Melancholy is smeared liberally over this follow-up to Rice's spectacularly successful album "O".
You would think that we would have had our fill of down-in-the-dumps singer-songwriters making semi-orchestral productions out of songs which would once have been strummed in the back rooms of pubs, but Rice has done pretty much what David Gray did with "Life In Slow Motion" - he has produced a work of such sincerity and quality that it transcends its genre.
Best moment here is "Elephant", which begins with quiet voice and almost inaudible guitar, building in intensity to heartfelt keening and a rush of orchestra and percussion before dying back to a mumbling conclusion.
Emotionally, it is as if Rice has climbed a mountain and fallen down the other side.

No sophomore slump for Rice.
I stumbled upon Damien Rice's debut "O" after hearing the completely in your face "The Blower's Daughter," which was very effectively used in the Mike Nichols movie "Closer." It's one of those songs that you can't get out of your head. "O" also included the catchy "Volcano" but what made it earn 5 stars for me was the complete confidence in which Rice just lets his musings come out. None of the other songs were as catchy, but no less enjoyable as he commanded attention even when he was almost silent.

"9" starts off with the gorgeous "9 Crimes," which even more than "The Blower's Daughter" had the fortune of getting some serious airtime as it was prominently used in a November sweeps episode of "Grey's Anatomy." That song has an otherwordly feel that I don't remember feeling since hearing Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" in the mid 1980's.

The rest of the release is by no means disappointing, but there has been such an influx of singer/songwriters in the past few years that it is difficult to stand out. Here Rice seems less concerned about letting you in on his thoughts as he did in "0", than in telling his tale and giving you the option of listening in if you want to. He does not project with the same force and it makes for a less showy record. To me that is not a bad thing as he could have easily made a sequel to "0", but here the stories are more dense, confusing, but ultimately quite universal.

If you liked "0" as a whole and not just the better know songs, it's a safe bet that you'll like "9." On the other hand if you don't like this type of confessional music, nothing here will change your mind about this artist.

No sophomore slump for Rice and here is to many more releases of this caliber. They can't all earn 5 stars, but there is a significant number of singer-songwriters who are proving that they too can hold their own in world where pre-packaged and overly produced releases seemed to be the only options in the horizon.

Great Follow-Up Album
As much as I liked "O" (The movie "Closer" and Natalie Portman will always be associated with "The Blowers Daughter"), I think this album built and improved upon his debut. The opening song "9 Crimes" is wonderful and eerie and the melody has a haunting effect that frames the album perfectly. I also loved the songs "Dogs" and "Coconut Skins." What I think makes this album so refreshing is the way that Rice has made the chorus matter again. I've found that music in recent years has suffered from a long-standing want for choruses that aren't nonsense and superficial gunk. I wish I could say more about why this album is so good, but you'll have to listen for yourself. It's well worth the money, especially for fans of Alexi Murdoch, Badly Drawn Boy, and David Grey.