^^Summary^^
This is a good album if you want a soft gentle chill out album. I tend to have this playing in the background after a hard day’s work or when I’m driving. It’s not as good as the earlier Moon Safari album, but it is still good on its own. Alpha Beta Gaga is my favourite track and ... Read review
Talkie Walkie - Air
Talkie Walkie comes five years after their landmark Moon Safari and Parisian ... more
mood-enhancers Air are back doing what they do best. Famously shy of ever repeating themselves, JB Dunckel and Nicolas Godin have filled in the years with the poorly received ...
Talkie Walkie - Air
Talkie Walkiecomes five years after their landmarkMoon Safariand Parisian mood-enhancers ... more
Air are back doing what they do best. Famously shy of ever repeating themselves, JB Dunckel and Nicolas Godin have filled in the years with the poorly received fol...
Talkie Walkie - Air
Talkie Walkiecomes five years after their landmarkMoon Safariand Parisian mood-enhancers ... more
Air are back doing what they do best. Famously shy of ever repeating themselves, JB Dunckel and Nicolas Godin have filled in the years with the poorly received fol...
Talkie Walkie - Air
Talkie Walkie comes five years after their landmark Moon Safari and Parisian ... more
mood-enhancers Air are back doing what they do best. Famously shy of ever repeating themselves, JB Dunckel and Nicolas Godin have filled in the years with the poorly received ...
A review by buzzard_cad on Talkie Walkie - Air March 11th, 2005
Author's product rating:
Originality
Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics
Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks
A couple of weak links
How does it rate alongside the competition
Outstanding
Value for Money
Good
Advantages:
Good tracks for getting that chilled out feeling
Disadvantages:
Tracks are a little similar, suffers when compared to 'Moon Safari' album .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
^^Summary^^ This is a good album if you want a soft gentle chill out album. I tend to have this playing in the background after a hard day’s work or when I’m driving. It’s not as good as the earlier Moon Safari album, but it is still good on its own. Alpha Beta Gaga is my favourite track and Biological is my least favourite.
^^Introduction^^ I bought this at the tail end of 2004, I listened to it a couple of times and then forgot about it. I pulled it out a few weeks ago and put it in the car. I love this album for driving around in heavy traffic, as the mid tempo beats really allows you to relax and generally feel great. The CD cover is a picture of the two Gaelic songwriters with a background of mathematical symbols and equations.
^^Tracks^^
1. Venus The album starts well with this track, a good solid yet chilled beat followed by the male vocal singing the line, ‘You could be from Venus, I could be from Mars…’ Then the track carries on into a male female duet, before moving on to a more instrumental score.
2. Cherry Blossom Girl This track has a good funky drumbeat and synthesised violin sound. The vocals are soothing, gentle and easy on the ears. I like this track and it would have been my favourite if it were not for track 8.
3. Run This starts with a couple of synthesiser beats followed by the vocals. I really like this song as it has a good soft backbeat and although the vocal repeats over and over in parts, if you are not listening carefully it sounds just like another instrument.
4. Universal Traveller The guitar sound on this track is very gentle and soothing. The female backing vocals are good and they complement the track well.
5. Mike Mills This picks up the beat a little, it is an instrumental song with a good beat, strumming guitar and a piano sound all intermixed very well.
6. Surfing on a Rocket This has a good guitar sound and a vocal, it tends to remind me of a late eighties track.
7. Another Day The tempo slows down with the haunting vocals on this track. I find this another good chilled out track
8. Alpha Beta Gaga This track starts at fast pace, a quick beat and guitar twang. It then settles into a more upbeat tune with a vocal whistle over the top of the funky guitars. This for me is the best track on the album as it is upbeat yet chilled at the same time.
9. Biological Biological is a step down from the previous track and as such it suffers a little bit in the comparison of the previous upbeat track. I think that at six minutes it drags on a little and is probably my least favourite track on this album. It only really gets going towards the end when the guitar picks up.
10. Alone in Kyoto A nice genteel track to seal off this album. The main beat is like the ticking of a clock and the mixture of the various sounds is good. Then the track drops into a piano tune and finally on to a sound of waves lapping the shore.
^^Conclusion^^ If you want an album with nice gentle relaxing tracks, then this is the album for you. I find it great to relax to this album as it is chilled and yet has a funky edge to it. The only thing I would level against this album is that this is not Air’s best album, that accolade goes to the Moon Safari album as it has a much better repertoire of tracks. The tracks on this album are somewhat similar apart from one or two that are better and one that is weak. A good addition to anyone’s chill out collection.
Advantages: At last! They have produced an album like Moon Safari Disadvantages: It isn't Moon Safari!!
...though!
To summarise, Walkie Talkie is a great album that is a laster. However this is only on the proviso that you do not compare it constantly to Moon Safari. To me it is an extension of it and, whilst may not be better on the whole, is still a damn good album. It is worth a buy to remind you of who are still the best chill out band there is when they produce albums like this. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Chilled perfection Disadvantages: None what's bad about chillin'?
Air – Talkie Walkie
Air are a mighty fine couple of French guys who make exquisite music. Full of Gallic charm and oozing French style they are true craftsmen who construct songs of real, delicate beauty and presence. Talkie Walkie is their 3rd studio album proper and is a definite return to form after their less accessible ’60,000 htz the Legend.’ Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin had their first release as ‘Air’ way back in 1995 and haven’t ... ...us ‘Daft Punk’ they fit easily into that French/disco/pop sound and still manage to be very different.
The album opens with ‘Venus’ spooky hand claps and resonating piano chords with dreamy, almost whispered vocals. This gradually builds as synths and understated drums join in and the vocals become a mantra to loves young dream. The lyrics are very simple and will win no prizes for originality but it is the economy of words that helps to create ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Brilliant sound design. Excellent mix (Nigel Godrich). Good melodic and harmonic content. Disadvantages: Very difficult to find any. There's only one weak track -05 - Mike Mills.
For me at the moment - there's only two names in chillout - Zero 7 and Air.
It would be unfair to compare the two - as the styles are completely different - but there is something about Air that places them above everyone else.
This album is probably their best work so far - as it has finally gotten rid of the slightly cheesy numbers that plagued some of their earlier work.
Listening to Air should be an experience - but also - the essence of chillout ... ...about this album - is that one can probably listen to it in almost any situation. I certainly can.
There are a number of really excellent songs on this - including 'Cherry Blossom Girl' ,'Run', 'Surfing On A Rocker', 'Alpha Beta Gaga' (from the O2 advert) and the exceptional 'Alone In Kyoto' from the Lost In Translation soundtrack.
The only weak track in my opinion is Mike Mills - but it's hardly weak - it just lacks the harmonic and melodic depth ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: A beautifully produced collection of 'lazy' music Disadvantages: None this album is sublime
Air have grown up with this album, it for me is their best. I know most people think I'm mad, but for me each track conjures up a different image of what I would be doing had I all the money I need. They've kept away from the more upbeat drum and synth line programming the Moon Safari had and replaced it with really intricate layering of instruments, and have brought out their guitars. that just seem to float around you, forcing you to relax.
Favourite ... ...TheFirstEscapist again) Mike Mills, they both include beautiful guitars and strings and really show the musical talent of the 2 french legends.
This is a must buy, regardless of you musical tastes, you can fail to fall for the
It was also the most used album by advertising agencies of last year, with the most famous has to be "Talisman" it was used by Orange for there animated campaogn last year. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: fantastic overall sound Disadvantages: fades into the background of your awareness
If, like me, you're trying to break into this genre of music, this album is an excellent place to start. It was released 17 February of 2004, so it's quite recent. I can't claim familiarity with Air's other albums, so I'll just stick to this one. I actually got to know it quite decently on a recent transatlantic flight on BA from London to Boston. I was able to drift in and out of sleep quite pleasantly with these tunes in my semi aware subconsciousness. ... ...soothing, an excellent chilled out combination.
Now that I've listened to it quite a bit I find that this album is great to read or study to as it is so relaxed and you don't really notice one track fading into another; it's like one lovely cohesive whole. I particularly like 'Cherry Blossom Girl', and 'Alone in Kyoto' which definitely have an interesting Japanese feel to them. I'm looking forward to hearing more Air, and if you're new to the genre ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Sound design. Interesting soundscapes. Sinead O'Connor. Disadvantages: Melodic content non existent. Slightly dodgy production in areas.
...- it would be a drone. It's unvaried, the mixes are poor and unclear and even distorted in places on Future Proof - the first track. Lastly - it's utterly unmemorable.
I don't know where Massive Attack go from here - but the sound design on this album doesn't hide the simple truth in that they appear to have run out of melodies.
If I wanted an album that sounded like this - I would go for the infinitely better TalkieWalkie - by Air....
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Astounding sound, amazing music Disadvantages: none
...?). Heck, it happened to Oasis after two albums! Some bands eventually make their way out of the “rock doldrums” and some just disappear under the deadweight of their own fading reputation. Brave New World is an album that farts in the face of anyone who says that was the way that Iron Maiden was going.
...THEN A HISTORY
Picture a young boy on the cusp of puberty, the joys and sorrows of adulthood as yet blissfully unknown to him. He’s tucked up in bed tuning in his portable transistor radio that’s shaped like a walkietalkie, combing the waveband known only as “FM Air” listening for messages from outer space, or at least the Police radio. All of a sudden he hears a dark and chilling voice (who we later learn is Vincent Price) reciting passages out of the bible that talk of diabolical deeds, and by...
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Advantages: Nordic but nice! Disadvantages: Nob-twiddling twee-ness
...established a love of Royksopp is a 'good thing' to have?Melody AM established the band as a good thing.
Before The Understanding came out I remember a reviewer said this album had so much riding on it that it ought to be gobbling coke-spiked sugar lumps prior to the 3.30 at Newmarket - (Or words to that effect!)
I think this isn't too wide of the mark.
Dance acts are notorious for difficult second albums. Look at fellow laid-back popsters Air for example.
I reviewed their amazing Moon Safari on this website, but they didn't hit form again until TalkieWalkie, several albums later.
The Understanding, like Melody AM and Moon Safarii, starts with the most haunting dittie on the album, Triumphant, with a gentle piano, simple chord progressions and more than a glancing nod to Beethoven's Moonnlight Sonata (also one of my faves!)
I...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Album Notes: Air: JB Dunckel, Nicolas Godin. Additional personnel includes: Jessica Banks, Lisa Papineau (vocals); Malik Mezzadri (flute); Michel Colombier (piano); Joey Waronker (percussion). Recorded at Revolvair Studio, Paris, France. After the ambitious robotic quirkiness of 10,000 HZ LEGEND, French duo Air streamline their sound with TALKIE WALKIE, a dreamy outing that hearkens back to the group's revered debut, MOON SAFARI. Gone are the guest vocalists, replaced by Air themselves, Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin, who gleefully distort their voices to suit their unique soundscapes. "Venus" sets the tone with its gently gliding keyboards, spare beats, and light acoustic guitar strumming. In fact, this instrumentation supplies the foundation for many of TALKIE WALKIE's tracks, including the catchy "Cherry Blossom Girl," the bossa-nova-based "Universal Traveler," and the haunting "Alone in Kyoto" (from the lauded film LOST IN TRANSLATION). Working with renowned producer Nigel Godrich, Dunckel and Godin have crafted a collection of atmospheric compositions poised at the halfway point between waking and dreaming.
Album Reviews: Rolling Stone (2/5/04, p.56) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "[A]ir return to what they do best: elegantly moody soundtrack music for imaginary films....TALKIE WALKIE is rich, somber headphone pop..." Spin (p.63) - Ranked #35 in Spin's "40 Best Albums of the Year" - "Air fashioned a soundscape that's paradoxically simple and dense..."
Entertainment Weekly (1/23/04, p.99) - "[Producer Nigel Godrich] helps the French duo bring their soft-focus sound into sharper relief....the dreamy space pop will have you floating in the clouds, if not above them." - Rating: A- Q (2/04, p.99) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[E]motive mood music that provides a roadmap to love, loneliness, all the difficult stuff." Uncut (2/04, p.69) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[T]he album contains their most convincing, most composerly music to date....Clever..." Uncut (p.78) - Ranked #58 in Uncut's "Best New Albums of 2004" - "Sci-fi and sex remain their chief preoccupations; nothing gets lost in translation."
CMJ (1/19/04, p.6) - "For a band known as a major player on the electronic music scene, Air certainly uses a lot of...banjo."
Titles on disc 1
1.: Venus
2.: Cherry Blossom Girl
3.: Run
4.: Universal Traveler
5.: Mike Mills
6.: Surfing On A Rocket
7.: Another Day
8.: Alpha Beta Gaga
9.: Biological
10.: Alone In Kyoto
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