Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0094637382523
Label: Virgin Records
Manufacturer: Virgin Records
MPN: 73825
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Virgin Records
Release Date: 2007-07-17
Studio: Virgin Records

A Fine Frenzy Photos

A Fine Frenzy is actually just a fine young singer-songwriter from Seattle, born Alison Sudol. A self-taught piano player, on her debut album she pairs sweeping orchestral arrangements with dreamlike lyrics inspired by the classic works of fantasy writers like CS Lewis, EB White, and Lewis Carroll. Add to that a propensity for frilly shirts and cryptic song titles such as "The Minnow & the Trout" and you half-expect to find a back alley Joanna Newsom. Instead Sudol specializes in accessible pop epics, the kind of songs that fit perfectly over the end credits of a great Hollywood tearjerker. Despite the gentle melancholia that runs through "Ashes and Wine" and "You Picked Me," each tune arrives wrapped in an exuberant melody and topped by the singer's commanding voice. On the disc's standout moment, "Almost Lover," she shows she can do simplicity as well, musing over a sublime piano medley, "Shoulda known you'd bring me heartache/ Oh, most lovers always do." --Aidin Vaziri

Customer Rating:
Summary: Fiery redhead, with smouldering passion
Comment: Very soothing female singer-songwriter material... Alison Sudol plays a Tori Amos-styled piano, but in decidedly less bizarre fashion... pity she isn't given as much attention as Sara Bareilles or Colbie Caillat, when she's just as talented.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Most definitely recommend this album!
Comment: You know, I don't often write reviews for music I listen to. Too busy listening to it, of course!! But this album caught me so very much by surprise that I must comment!

1. The vocal quality is excellent. Her vocals are spot on, and I appreciate the obvious musical talent showcased.

2. The track selection provides a good variety of different songs with different messages and "feelings" to each song. I can listen to the whole album straight through more than once without becoming bored. This is EXCEEDINGLY rare in my experience. I love music, and appreciate a variety of genres, but the vast majority of CD's I own and digital albums I've purchased have more than one song that I don't even like to listen to straight through! This album is among 4 or 5 of my favorites that can be listened to without pause and enjoyed.

3. Emotion - this is an album that has songs that many will emotionally relate to, but the entire CD is not composed of merely one emotion. It's not just a depressing, sad, "woe is me" album. Neither is it a completely happy, bouncy album either. The way the music works together to reach you and facilitate those nice, reflective, personal moments is very, very thoughtful.

4. The instruments are spot on, and the production is tight and deliberate. I detect no sloppiness or lazy production. By no means am I a seasoned musical critic of such things, but the album "makes sense" musically speaking, and technically speaking, from everything I can tell.

My favorites:
Come on, Come Out
The Minnow & The Trout
Whisper
You Picked Me
Rangers
Almost Lover
Think of You
Ashes and Wine
Liar, Liar
Last Of Days
Lifesize
Near to You
Hope for the Hopeless
and Borrowed Time ....
.... oh wait. That's all of them.

FINE! I'll choose a couple standouts:

Come On, Come Out
- sweeping melodies, provocative vocals, absolute magic!

Whisper
- fantastic flow, very, very pleasant on the ears, and entertaining.

Ashes and Wine
- thought provoking, full of vibrant emotion, easy to relate to and ponder.

Bah, I could go on more, but you get the idea. Buy this album. $6 is a steal. Had I known it was this good and would grow on me to be even more impressive and enjoyable I would've spent extra and just got the real CD!!!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Predictable lyrics
Comment: I saw recommendations for this album on Brandi Carlile and Colbie Caillat's pages so I gave it a shot without sampling first. What a mistake. The first time I listened to the album, I was instantly turned off. The lyrics were predictable. If rhymey was a word, it would be very fitting. I thought I may have been a bit harsh at first so I gave it another shot. Same reaction. I will be trading in this album.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: One Fine Song Only
Comment: This artist is okay. She has one good song, but because the price is so good on amazon, it was okay to buy the CD. I don't think she's that great; the only good song is Almost Lover.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: My most current played CD
Comment: Love this album. Must admit I haven't heard of A Fine Frenzy' but was game enough to try one of the Amazon recommendations when I bought Coco by Colbie Caillat. One Cell in the Sea is sweet but deep yet not too heavy or melodramatic. Whimsical, yet sincere. I love all the songs. Can listen to it again and again. Good balance between `I've been betrayed songs' to `NEXT!' Love the song Almost Lover - clever trick! Great listening!

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