Man From Wareika - Rico

Advantages: An unusual, often maginficent exploration of the traditional and experimental
Disadvantages: Occasionally too virtuoso

...Unusually my first encounter with Wu Man, of whom I had never heard, was at a live performance of Philip Glass’ Orion. Both me and the friend who I went with decided that of all the musician’s supporting Glass, and there were many, she was by far the most impressive and that’s not to say the others were awful; many were magnificent only Wu Man seemed truly the pick of the bunch. Wu Man is consider a virtuoso on the Pipa (and it’s not hard to see why seeing her live). The instrument has a long history, dating back over a thousand years and unusually is traditionally played by women. For those who have no idea what a Pipa actually is it is a four stringed plucked lute that is played upright on one’s lap. From a Distance is admittedly a rather difficult CD to sum up; comprised of 10 tracks, the musical styles on display are very... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Dark, moody, industrial/trip-hop
Disadvantages: A few angsty cliches, largely ignored by record label/public

...Nails' Reznor had been an Italian Catholic, growing up in Glasgow, and listening to Massive Attack and Tricky (incidentally, another Rico collaborator). Although reviews frequently compared Rico to Reznor, for his industrial soundtrack to every 'angry young man', in fact Rico denied having really heard NIN before - although he now admits liking them and understanding the comparison. The heavier moments of this record certainly fit the bill, such as the raging 'Attack Me' and the opening song, 'Shave Your Head' that really sets out Rico's stall - "If you're still making records without your pain then you're still making records that sound the same". For the most part, however, the aggression's more restrained. Slower songs are still darker, but it's more like slipping quietly into the black depths of depression, than angry writhing... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: easy listening
Disadvantages: different

...This album is one of my favoriets. It's not a new album anymore, but I still keep listening to it every so often. If you think this will be like Take That music, then you're wrong. Gary Barlow was writing most of the Take That songs. Green man was the first album, that Mark Owen wrote. It is very very different. I would discribe it as a bit "grunch". btw. : the pictures in the booklet are great as well. Inspiring. I don't find albums very often, where I can listen to every single song. Usually you buy an album and you like one, two maybe 3 songs out of it, but on this one, I don't want to turn if off, untill it's finished. I find the lyrics are very interesting and it's worth to listen to the songs a couple of times, just to understand the real meaning. Here's a bit about the songs: 1. Green man 2. Clementine... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful