Track Listing

1. Broke Window
2. No Poetry
3. Dtla
4. Unlucky
5. Something Else
6. Pills
7. Boat Song
8. Umbilical Town
9. The Princess of Hollywood Way
10. Patchwork G
11. Barstool
12. Mad World
13. Untitled Hidden Track

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #52469 in Music
• Released on: 2004-03-23
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
Full Title - Trading Snake Oil For Wolftickets. Second album from Los Angeles based singer/songwriter. Track 12, 'Mad World', is a beautiful cover of the Tears For Fears hit & it also appeared on a soundtrack for 'Donnie Darko'. Sanctuary. 2003.

From Amazon.co.uk
San Diego based singer-songwriter Gary Jules was brought to the world's attention with his haunting cover of Tears for Fears' "Mad World", but Trading Snakeoil for Wolf Tickets may surprise fans expecting more of the same. There is a strong sense of West Coast country-tinged folk, with pop influences drawn from the Byrds, intelligent prose from Simon & Garfunkel and a velvety drawl from somewhere between James Taylor and JJ Cale. The plucked guitar of "No Poetry" is as beautiful as anything Taylor has produced; it could be perceived as derivative but Jules is expressing his song in the most appropriate way, and it fits the melody perfectly. The abbreviated "DTLA" ("Down Town Los Angeles") is more of an up-tempo number introduced by an analogue drum machine that swaggers in a country fashion befitting the fond imagery in the lyrics. The rest of the album follows a similar path except for the Michael Andrews collaboration "Mad World", which sits awkwardly at the end. Having the big single so far removed from the rest of the songs may seem risky but Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets has enough merit without "Mad World" to show Jules is no one-hit wonder. --David Trueman

Customer Reviews

Mad!
This album makes you wonder why truly talented artists don't achieve widespread success while some of the more superficial pop singers are the top searched phrase on Google!

Gary Jules, best know for soulful remake of Tears For Fears "Mad World" from the Donnie Darko soundtrack, is one such artist. He plays, writes a sings a folky form of mellow rock that is infectious. Once you start listening, you're hooked. Everyone I've played this CD for evidenced suprise they hadn't hear it before and found it really good. These were people across a broad age group too, from 17 to near 50.

If you enjoy quality, thoughtful music, then Gary is your man. Be aware that if all you've hear from him is the Mad World remake, then his style is a bit different...more "rocky." I'm happier with this purchase moreso than any other in a long while. Oh, I picked mine up at CDBaby.com...non-import version.

Enjoy!

"Mad World" incongruous bonus
The pull to this CD, for me, was the "Mad World" track ... such a great cover of the Roland Orzabal/Tears For Fears tune ... lyrically, the songs seems to fit better with this slower, piano-driven version ... even the effects on the vocals add a mesmerizing quality. But don't expect other songs of this sort on this CD. I was at first disappointed that the other tracks consisted mostly of acoustic-guitar-driven singer-songwriter (somewhat country-ish twang in places) pieces ... and as a child of the 70s (I've now lost all respect) I immediately heard influences such as America, Cat Stevens, and Seals and Crofts (er, who?). Track 3 "Downtown LA" could easily be mistaken for a Matthew Sweet tune (not that Matthew Sweet is the end of the line as far as who-sounds-like-who). I'm sure "Mad World" helps to boost sales, but it is such an odd-man-out on this CD ... and because this song seems to be getting the most airplay (XPN in Philly) and is pushed on Gary's garyjules.com website (along with the "Downtown LA" song), I expected to get an album filled with (if not similar song-writing, considering "Mad World" is not his tune) at least songs produced in a similar way ... not so. Putting all that aside, however, I dig this CD ... just think of "Mad World" as an out-of-place bonus.

Mad World
I bought this CD because of his rendition of Mad World. What a great cover song! Track 13 (the Untitled Track) is also very very good. The more I listen to it the more I like it. It's actually stuck in my head RIGHT NOW. Be advised that if you want to listen to this song you have to deal with a long pause before it comes on. I just fast forward the CD until the song starts. As far as the rest of the CD is concerned it's very relaxing and I can definitely close my eyes and hear some Simon & Garfunkel influences in his music. I have an appreciation for his song writing abilities. And I think anyone with a deep appreciation for "real music" and songwriting would appreciate this CD.