Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4588 in Music
• Released on: 2008-03-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

Album Description
Japanese pressing of their 12 track album including the single-track, 'Secret Love'. Avex. 2008.

Customer Reviews

Impossibly Good!
I don't know how Swing Out Sister does this year after year. But they do. Each new offering seems better than the last. And they've been doing it for so long; top notch every time. This CD continues to give me chills. I LOVE it. It's my new favorite--just like almost all of their past releases have been.

There is no filler. Every song is meticulously crafted. SOS has such an interesting and classy mixture of styles. No other artist that I know of can even come close to the well-crafted songs that SOS perform in such a diverse blend of sounds and styles. This CD is no exception--if anything, it is more diverse than usual.

It has that nice 60's pop sound that SOS has become somewhat famous for (Bacharach style stuff with great melodies and hooks). But there is also an oh-so-cool blend of jazz/pop, soul, R&B, and even mellow hip-hop, funk, and acid jazz going on over the top of that.

For me, the high points are:

Butterfly - this is a nice blend of 60's pop, funk, and soul. It reminds a bit of some of the mellower Jamiroquai songs--especially the chorus. No offense to Jay Kay (great singer), but Corinne is smoother! Perfect song style for her.

Something Every Day - a great song. The end fade goes into this intense minor tonality, funky riff that just melts me when I hear it. The drums are kickin' this track in the seat of the pants! Talking about in the pocket...

My State of Mind - I LOVE this song. It is very reminiscent of Incognito (the band) in style. Yet it has that Swing Out Sister trademark sound. Great groove! The bass lines are amazing! It's this very growly fretless bass with a lot of spot-on slides. The guy (or gal) nailed it. I'm not sure who it is, but he's (or she's) an incredible bassist. There are several songs on the CD with his (or her?) amazing fretless work.

Secret Love - Another track with this amazing bassist... This song gives me the chills. It's so perfectly crafted. It's got a great groove. Very funky at times. Beautiful orchestration. Man this thing rocks! The guitarist (Tim Cansfield) adds a wonderful groovy funk sound. Kudos to the drummer again for an impossibly tight groove--absolutely impeccable taste!

Out There - Mellow and spacey. Weird I know, but it reminds me of an impressionist painting. It's one of those sophisticated, mysterious 60's-style pop songs that SOS does so well. Corinne has done (or whoever it is!) quite a lot of spoken French in the background of songs over the years. This is another (I think I hear French way back there!), and it works well for this style of music. Mielleux!

Butterfly (Remix) - Okay, I generally hate remixes. Not in this case. This song is very cool. There are some really cool things going on here. The synth bass and drums really work a nice groove.

Something Every Day (Remix) - As I said, I generally don't like remixes. But this cut is one of my favorites. It's brilliant! There is this sort of offbeat, cross-timed drum groove going on that just grabs me. The over-the-top ride cymbal work in the chorus is just cool! I'm not sure what it is about this one that captures me so much; it's just put together so nicely. The altered chords/harmony arpeggios with the keys is just cool. The arrangement is choppy, but it all fits like a big puzzle.

So... there you have it. All the songs are top-notch. Buy it. It'll be the best fifty bucks you spend in a long time! Swing Out Sister deserves to rule the world (ha ha!)... actually they do, musically!!!

Extra points are given for the photo of Corinne on the cover. Classy lady!

Stellar
I've been an SOS fan since Breakout. I've purchased every release and have been more impressed with each release and with every new musical direction from Andy and Corrine. I'm probably in the minority, but for me, this release is my favorite. What I've always liked about SOS is Andy's stellar, chord arrangements and chord progressions, Corrine's crystal clear voice, pitch and melodic phrasings and poignant lyrics...all on top of virtuoso musicianship by the whole band. To me they've reached new heights in these very areas on Beautiful Mess. The chord changes on "I'd Be Happy" and "All I Say, All I do" are absolutely spine-tingling.

I know this is out of the ordinary but this section of my review will focus on the drumming on this release. Being a drummer I dissect every drum pattern I ever hear. I'm not sure who's playing drums on this as the cd sleeve had no musician credits. But the acoustic drum tracks are unparalleled in their rhythmic patterns, rolls, cymbal crashes, tunings, sound mix you name it. This drummer is playing without a doubt some of the best groove and tasteful drumming I've ever heard...Power with subtlety, killer in-the-pocket grooves and with immense creativity. I can tell this drummer put in great time, effort and thought into the acoustic drum tracks. The drumming on "All I Say All I do" is pure genius as anyone who has ever tried four-limbed interdependence can attest to.

All-in-all this release, at least for me, the songs and the arrangements are musically and vocally yet another masterpiece from SOS.

Disappointed
Like the other reviewers here, I have been a collector & fan since "Breakout" over 20 years ago. I consider Kaleidoscope World, Shapes & Patterns, & Get In Touch With Yourself to be melodic, and timeless works of musical art. I was excited to hear of this new release.

Andy likes his sound effects, beat box & Bacharach style melodies. Bottom line, I found this CD to be downright boring. There is nothing uptempo (can anything top "You On My Mind", "We Could Make It Happen", "Breakout" etc.?).

I have just outraged fellow SOS fans, but I am honest with my opinion. Nothing grabbed me. This is a fairly low key, mellow CD. Sure, the performance is top notch (what isn't done by programming), but it is background music at best, or something to fall asleep to. It isn't the fun, or catchy SOS power pop with catchy melodies that I am still hearing in malls today. Perhaps they haven't had many chart hits, but their music will remain a shopping center staple for years to come. I doubt if any of this material will make it that far. With each track I waited for the next one to make me say "wow", but it never happened. I found some of the mastering on a few tracks to be poor also.

This is a long overdue & welcome release, but it fell vastly short of my expectations & I don't think I'll be spinning it much. Their creativity & talent is astounding, but I'll stick with their past releases for enjoyment. Indeed, beautiful...but also a mess.