Quintessence, The - Teddy Wilson

Advantages: First time on cd for many tracks
Disadvantages: pastiche agenda limits wider appeal

...Slightly more worthy than her solitary hit "Just What i Always Wanted "suggests,provided its approached and enjoyed as pure pastiche and indulgent nostalgic enjoyment,even in 1982 Mari Wilson was portrayed as nostalgic ,her 15 minuteds of fame arriving at the tail end of a post punk mod revival,the whole concept relied on and evoked an age that never quite was,stylish lyrics ,glamorous outfits and a showband mentality that recalled the glory days of The Supremes ,Lulu and Sandie Shaw all put together on a shoestring budget inSouth London at the turn of the eighties initially as a very appealing live draw along the lines of Paul Youngs Q-Tips with a little less sweat. The aforementioned hit single is fairly representative of the rest of this fantastically priced collection and its a minor mystery how she didnt achieve at least half... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Superb technical musicianship, evolving the band's sound.
Disadvantages: Many of the songs blur together.

...'Quintessence' is the fourth album by Norwegian progressive black metal band Borknagar, from Bergen. If that's a bit of a mouthful, it essentially means they spawned from Bergen's prominent and often infamous black metal scene in the early 90s, but evolved to incorporate more of a folk and progressive rock influence into their music, to the point that their most recent album 'Origin' is entirely acoustic. No, that hasn't straightened anything out, has it? Well I tried. For this particular album, the band intentionally reverted a little to their black metal roots, and abandoned much of the folk influence for space-age sounding keyboards. Vocalist ICS Vortex, as he likes to be called, makes his second and final appearance here before moving on to join Dimmu Borgir, and although his excellent singing style is heard on several songs, it... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Catchy tunes, gorgeous voice, intelligent pop
Disadvantages: It's a little disappointing that one of the songs is an old one revisited

...Possibly the best TT album so far, A Piece Of What You Need is typically Teddy but with new layers. It's dark, light, funny and melancholic all at the same time. Highlights for me are the opening two tracks, which are opposite sides of the same coin. 'The Things I Do' expresses self-loathing (a fairly constant theme throughout Teddy's work), while the wickedly funny 'What's This?!!' sees him being surprised and bemused at being happy. The words and the music fit perfectly together, and it's all quite poetic... "One night away from the therapist's couch - ouch!" There's a hint of country and western in some songs - notably "Can't Sing Straight", which you can almost hear Johnny Cash singing. A Piece of What You Need is a good introduction to Teddy Thompson's music, but a little experience of his catalogue will give an extra dimension... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful