Sullen Look

Sullen Look

Track Listings

1. Earth's Heart

2. Red Panda Sunrise

3. In My World

4. Twisted Romance [Twisted "Messdown" Mix]

5. Dirty Needlework

6. Criticize

7. Again

8. C-B-S Master Theme

9. Clair

10. Claiming My Tears Back

11. Rendez Vous at 2099

Customer Reviews:

Fine reissue of a classic set.......2006-05-24

Think about the stupidest, most formulaic Hollywood movies you can think of: cheesy action pictures, fluffy, unfunny comedies, big but stiff epics. Now imagine that one of the greatest living composers was working in Hollywood, turning out astonishing, hauntingly beautiful and stirring musical scores for these throwaway movies. That's what you get with this set: music Henry Purcell composed for some two dozen often utterly forgettable plays (trust me--I've read a number of them!) Occasionally, when he teams up with a playwright worthy of his stature, such as John Dryden, Aphra Behn, or William Congreve, the results are even better, but for the most part you can enjoy the music here without knowing anything about the original plays.

This set originally appeared as separate LPs in the 70s and 80s, and has been long out of print. That's a pity, since Purcell spent a good deal of his short professional life in the theatre, either writing the incidental music contained on these CDs, or the music for his larger works, the semi-operas (King Arthur, The Fairy Queen, and the like). Almost all of these works are enjoyable gems; certainly, they represent a pinnacle of English 17th century music. Purcell had a genius for spinning musical gold out of the most leaden lyrics (check out his Odes and Welcome Songs on Hyperion if you don't believe me), and he does the same with the song texts in these plays.

Hogwood and the AAM offer clean, listenable performances, and the sound on these old analog discs has been cleaned up and brightened--although they were pretty good, even in the late 70s. As with most Hogwood, emotional extremes are kept to a minimum, so the "otherworldly" nature of late 17th century music, so often emphasised in more recent Baroque performances, doesn't come across here. It would be interesting to see what a group like The King's Consort would do with this music, but this set fills the major gap in the Purcell canon quite nicely.

My only beef with the reissue, as with many reissues, is that the liner notes are rather thin for a 6-cd set--the lyrics to the songs, for example, are especially missed. Still, it's a worthwhile set, and a must for fans of Purcell, English Baroque music, or anyone who just wants to experience a taste of the last days of the Restoration stage.

Average customer rating:

Igloomag.com REVIEW ::

Sullen Look
Marco Passarani
Manufacturer: Peacefrog
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Techno | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0002XL39W
Release Date: 2005-02-28

Tracks:

Earth's Heart
Clair
Again
Criticize
Twisted Romance (Messdown mix)
Red Panda Sunrise
In My World
Dirty Needlework
C-B-S Master Theme
Claiming My Tears Back
Rendez Vous At 2099

Album Description

Sullen Look, Marco's debut on Peacefrog infuses a wide range of influences, from early Detroit and electro to hip hop and funk, whilst holding onto an eclectic style that is all Marco's very own. Full of acid tinged breaks, spliced beats, and melancholy melodies, Sullen Look is a timeless album that manages to conjure up the bygone days of electronica whilst still appealing to the modern dance buyer's electro tinged sensibilities.

Customer Reviews:

Igloomag.com REVIEW ::.......2005-12-20

REVIEW BY: Luca Maini, Igloo Magazine
(12.19.05) Compiling the classic end of the year Top Ten I felt it absolutely necessary to include Sullen Look, considering that despite the always increasing amount of music I listen to, it's been played constantly since its release in May, 2005. On the contrary, an average record often receives a huge number of playings for a few weeks until it's fresh and then you find it months after covered with dust, without missing it. Sullen Look never goes out of fashion. The analogue retro sound which it is based on has been surely abused in the last three years or so, but a perfect balance between acid melodies and tight beats, between epic settings and bouncing basslines, can do the difference between a simply nostalgic record and an album where an artist shows how he absorbed influences over the years and put them in brand spanking new music.

"Red Panda Sunrise" and "Twisted Romance" are mellow melodic acid tracks, like Luke Vibert minus the baroque architecture, but you can already hear something unique in the hardcore electro breaks of "In My World" and "Dirty Needlework," where the beats are absolutely body-rocking; but where joyful basslines and bleeps are so uplifting that it seems that you're born to do nothing but dance. There's a feature of this record I love: despite aiming for a big audience (it's on Peacefrog after all) it sounds accessible, entertaining and sparkling while retaining a rude attitude on the rhytmical section. A feature that can be heard also in "Criticize" and "C-B-S Master Theme," these two tracks are so beautifully crafted, the first with funky synth-work and the evocative voice of Erlend Oye, the latter with a spinechilling coupling between strings and basslines, that they instantly gain the status of timeless masterpieces. They borrow much from the past, as "Again," "Clair" and "Claiming My Tears Back" do, but again they don't seem the product of an individual stuck in the 80s or someone who's jumping on the acid bandwagon after the success of Alter Ego's "Rocker." Passarani shows instead that much more can be done with the basic sounds that started techno music ages ago, being innovative, surprising and most of all, having a lot of fun. Every time you put Sullen Look in your player, forget everything else you're supposed to do in the real life, and let the music take control of your mind.

...Until, obviously, you'll be awakened by the ghost track, the mighty "I House You," where Passarani took Jungle Brothers' hit single, put it in a time machine and sent it to a glitch-core realm. This will suddenly take you back to 2005 with all your nerves electrified, but remember that you can always go back to that lovely dream state simply by pressing the play button.