LIZA MINNELLI - RESULTS

I've never been a huge fan of musical theater. I think it's over the top. Like when you watch Barbara Streisand in a movie... She acts like she's on a theater stage. Each gesture and movement is exaggerated and larger than life.  It's more like a pantomime than real life. Liza Minnelli is one of those kinds of performers to me.  When she sings, I feel like she's enunciating every single syllable.  Kinda why I make such a terrible fag. I don't get that culture. It's not that I don't like her voice... She's fine. What I don't like is the delivery. Regardless, the music on the disc compliments her voice. She should do albums like this more often.

I picked up this record during a time I was really into the Pet Shop Boys.  This disc had new songs, so I bought it brand new and truthfully, I feel pretty good about it. The Pet Shop Boys didn't write everything on the record, but they did produce and arrange it. That alone makes it worth having.

The album starts off with 'I Want You Now'. It's a decent song. I love the beat and the music. Liza starts off with an over-the-top dramatic vocal. Even though that sets my teeth on edge, it's the lyrics that make this tune cringe worthy.  The intended meaning of the song is discovering the strength to be brave and take a risk on love. However, when you get to the chorus and hear,
"I want you now and I'm prepared to take chances,
I told you how I won't take no for an answer"
You get the impression you're listening to a stalker... Next up is the Stephen Sondheim classic 'Losing My Mind'; which the Pet Shop Boys recorded and released their own version of. This song really illustrates the difference between popular and theatrical music. The Pet Shop Boys' version is a polished and meticulously timed piece. Liza performs the standard more in the tradition of a show tune and her vocals seem to lag over the precision synth arrangement.

Easily one of the best original tunes written for this record, 'If There Was Love' relies on a deep but minimal drum pattern surrounded by sparse keyboard sounds. The vocals are light and whimsical belying the intensity of their content. It's actually quite amazing. The song has an incredible organic build and ends with a coda that incorporates Shakespeare sonnet #94 "They that have power to hurt" recited quietly over the music. 'So Sorry, I Said' is another lovely tune written for the record. Most of the tunes on this album seem so situation specific you can imagine them being performed on stage during a musical. It's followed by 'Don't Drop Bombs'; which could also be placed firmly in the same category. It wouldn't be hard to take these tunes and write a story around them.  Much like Abba did with their old tunes for the musical "Mama Mia".

The next track is a cover of Tanita Tikaram's song 'Twist In My Sobriety'. This track is a huge mistake. Sometimes a pop version of a hit single isn't the right choice.  It's not a bad cover, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original. It's responsible for the famous "Liza with a Z" rap; which I actually heard quoted on an episode of Will & Grace. 

'Rent' is a cover of a Pet Shop Boys' song produced by the Pet Shop Boys. The song makes more sense here as Neil Tennant doesn't come off quite convincing singing a song from the perspective of a kept woman. It also sounds theatrical. 'Love Pains' is another cover. This time from a woman named Yvonne Elliman. And I only know that because I looked it up online. This song has a great sound and a wonderful disco feel. It's also the song where Liza moves away from her trained singing style. She really cuts loose on this one.

'Tonight Is Forever' is another Pet Shop Boys cover. This time the arrangement is remarkably distinct from the original version. It's symphonic and rather sweeping. But perfect for Liza. Both PSB covers were given this treatment. The final song 'I Can't Say Goodnight', is another tune written specifically for this record. I actually find the production on this number a bit over the top. It starts off with a saxophone setting a noire mood. It is perfect for Liza in that like many of the other songs, it could easily work as a show tune.

I think the Pet Shop Boys used this project to satisfy their own musical theater ambitions, but they were sensible enough to understand their involvement would attract their fans as well as Liza's. They approached it with both audiences in mind and what they ended up with is a unique blend of synth pop and show music. Personally, I think the album is successful and extremely ambitious. I applaud Liza for choosing to work with them and them for working with her. It's a great listen all the way through and should satisfy both sets of fans.

My final words: I LOVED THE "RESULTS" OF THIS COLLABORATION.

LIZA MINNELLI - RESULTS
01. I Want You Now
02. Losing My Mind
03. If There Was Love
04. So Sorry, I Said
05. Don't Drop Bombs
06. Twist In My Sobriety
07. Rent
08. Love Pains
09. Tonight Is Forever
10. I Can't Say Goodnight

RECOIL - UNSOUND METHODS

It's virtually impossible to say the name Alan Wilder and not mention Depeche Mode. Yet Recoil is as different from Depeche Mode as Depeche Mode is from Barbara Streisand. Alan may have been a member during the band's more formidable years, but he's now something distantly removed from that former glory.

Alan approaches the writing process somewhat differently than other bands. He composes songs with singers/lyricists giving the entire disc a rather eclectic feeling. Douglas McCarthy of Nitzer Ebb fame contributes to two of the discs more memorable songs, 'Incubus' and 'Stalker'. Both tracks are rather unorthodox viewpoints. 'Stalker' being the more controversial of the two. He assumes the character of a murderous stalker using his terrorizing methods to give his targets the identity and special social status of being a victim. It's rather disturbing. "You are nothing, you are nothing without me".

American poet Maggie Estep takes the reigns for a couple songs, 'Luscious Apparatus' and 'Control Freak'. 'Luscious Apparatus' is the story of two co-workers who through an odd flirtation end up having sex. The connection takes a dark turn when the guy decides to cut the girl. It's a strange tale and for some reason makes me think of Aeon Flux. It seems like an episode of that bizarre show. Character Trevor Goodchild actually says, "What doesn't kill us, makes us stranger" and that line aptly describes Maggie's lyrics to on both of these tracks. 'Control Freak' is another strange tale of stalking and desire. There's a reoccurring theme of emotional and physical violence throughout this disc. And the musical arrangements are created in such a fashion as to heighten the anxiety of the listener. There's an urgency filled with an underlying intensity through minor chord progressions.

The two other vocalists on the disc are Hildia Cambell; who toured with Depeche Mode on their Devotional Tour, and Siobhan Lynch; who I know literally nothing about beyond her work on this disc. None of the featured vocalists are remotely similar to the others. Each offers a unique ingredient to the formula of 'Unsound Methods'.

My overall view of the album is favorable though somewhat mixed. I personally love the disc, but I find it intellectually challenging and musically complex. It's not for the casual listener or even fans of Depeche Mode. It's unorthodox subject matter and bizarre arrangements are specifically geared towards creating an emotional response in the listener. Unless you're open to such experiences, 'Unsound Methods' will leave you confused, bored and disappointed. If you are willing to go the distance, this album will have you re-evaluating yourself and the way you view dark subject matter for a long time to come.

The disc ends with the haunting and exhilarating 'Shunt'. There's a trance quality in the fast paced rhythm. Hypnotic in its layers. But it's the spoken vocal towards the end of the tune that really grabs your attention. Recalling Recoil's Sophmore effort "Bloodline" a female voice declares, "There's blood on the line"... Beware faint of heart... There really is. My final words: DISTURBINGLY EXCELLENT!

RECOIL - UNSOUND METHODS
01. Incubus
02. Drifting
03. Luscious Apparatus
04. Stalker
05. Red River Cargo
06. Control Freak
07. Missing Piece
08. Last Breath
09. Shunt