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Felt Mountain
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Goldfrapp;
Mute;
2000-09-11;
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Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
*Best price found from Amazon Marketplace seller
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*Amazon: £3.54
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 Product Description
You might expect the debut album from a woman who has collaborated extensively with Tricky and Orbital to be both wondrous and strange--and you'd be right to. What you might not expect is quite the depth of Alison Goldfrapp's beguiling, distracting 21st-Century noir visions on Felt Mountain. She and her fellow composer Will Gregory can mix in Brechtian cabaret, classical instrumentation, left-of-field electronics, decadent Gainsbourg-style French pop and the odd piece of whistling on just one track ("Felt Mountain"). "Oompa Radar" almost reaches Tom Waits heights of infamy, the way familiar instruments come together in such a simultaneously comforting and alienating style. The baroque "Paper Bag", meanwhile, uncannily recalls Joe Meek's toytown visions of 1960's grandeur. All this, and a seductive vocal to die for. --Everett True
Customer Reviews
Enter a Total Relaxing Utopia!!!!, 13 Apr 2008
1. Lovely Head. 10/10
2. Paper Bag. 8/10
3. Human. 10/10
4. Pilots. 10/10
5. Deer Stop. 5/10*
6. Felt Mountain. 9/10
7. Oompa Radar. 9/10
8. Utopia. 10/10
9. Horse Tears 9/10
* OUCH!!! Totally PAINFUL!!!!
If you like "Supernature", "Black Cherry", and "Seventh Tree", have "Felt Montain". Obviously it's the weakest out of the 4, though really relaxing and entres you into a total state of calm.
OVERALL GRADE: 10/10
A great debut...., 05 Jan 2008
Rating: 8/10
Best tracks: "Paper Bag", "Pilots", "Utopia", "Deer Stop".
A beautiful, beguiling debut, Felt Mountain is weird, atmospheric and sexy, full of cinematic, offbeat instrumentation, unusual lyrics and one hell of a winning hand in Alison Goldfrapp's gorgeous, sensual voice. Alison and multi-instrumentalist Will Gregory add lashings of delightful touches and quirks to proceedings, be they whale calls, whistling, Theremins, whip cracks, Hammond organs and much more. Despite being one of many albums connected a super cool, chill-out wave of artists such as Royksopp, Air, Zero 7 and others, Felt Mountain has far too much character, personality and emotion for it to be dismissed as mere coffee table/dinner party fodder. It's imperfect, but let's go easy on it; it's only a first album, after all! Those turned on by Black Cherry and Supernature may be surprised at how different this debut is; there's no glitter ball disco beats to be found here!
The opening "Lovely Head" was used for a commercial (I can't remember which one) and got a little bit overplayed, but listening to it again after some time away from it has proved to be a delight; a surreal, erotic, playful wonder. A special mention has to go to the massively atmospheric "Paper Bag", which is the main reason why this album stands out from the crowd; a thoroughly beguiling mix of folk, spy-movie soundtrack (very much in the John Barry style), chilly ambience, not to mention a fantastic opening line that'll stop you dead in your tracks, this song takes from all manners of influences and melds them into something entirely new and fresh; the effect is spellbinding. A more blatant John Barry/007 influence is present on "Human", which isn`t the best thing here. Granted, it does quicken the pace of the album, which for the most part is quite sedate, but this is one of the few songs here that feels like mere pastiche, whereas most of the other songs here use their variety of influences to mould something inventive from them. Much better is the late-night beauty of "Pilots", which is genuinely, vividly romantic, evocative of starry skies and stolen kisses; managing to pull of the feat of being dreamily love-struck, yet (for me) heartbreakingly melancholic, it was released as a single in an inferior version....believe me, the mix on Felt Mountain is all you'll ever need.
"Deer Stop" is a near-funereal piece, made extra weird and wonderful by Goldfrapp's vocals, which are distorted, melded and turned into something else entirely. The title track features yodelling (!) and is gloriously strange, evoking a winter's sleigh ride through snowy forests. The kooky "Oompa Radar" is probably one instrumental too many and drags the pace of the album a bit, but proceedings really picks up with the splendid, panoramic "Utopia", which thrillingly soars during that incredible chorus and finale. "Horse Tears" makes for an effectively downbeat closer, wrapping up a playful, very strong first album which despite the odd weak or so-so track, is a striking first shot from a duo who would, remarkably, shift gears in quite substantial fashion for their next, even better album.
Magical, 06 Oct 2007
I bought this album because i liked the Oh La La record so I bought supernature. I thought supernature was fantastic so I bought Black Cherry well imagin my suprise when I find out the Black Cherry is even beter than Supernature (if that was possible) so I had to have Felt mountain and well I Could not believe it completly different but utterly fantastic, you want to listen and listen.
If I had any complaint it would be that the album is TOO SHORT, She sings opera and I could listen to a whole album of her singing opera, she whistles and dah dahs its just great.
I bought the DVD also and the live versions of Dear stop are fantastic!
However one word of warning all the songs are about sex!
This album stands on its own unique it is so different to the second and third albums (which incidentely are both great albums).
When they were great., 14 Aug 2006
There are good albums, there are great albums and there are those very special albums that stop you in your tracks because you realise that you're hearing something unlike anything else. Such is Felt Mountain, the best debut album ever. So much style, so much class, so much imagination - dazzling. This is an album packed with promise - promise which, sadly, Goldfrapp have failed to live up to. It would seem that Felt Mountain is to be a magnificent one-off - but there's so much to love.
Sultry, Demanding Exoticism, 05 Jun 2006
"Wilfully weird" and "intoxicating" are words you probably would not generally associate from two musicians from Wiltshire, but in Goldfrapp's case, it is a description of borderline proportions. Joining forces after showcasing their wares on other ventures most notably within the arenas of trip hop and chill out dance, Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ingratiated themselves onto the pop world with "Felt Mountain" in 2000 with little fanfare that soon turned into a critically-acclaimed storm. Cinematically epic in its sound with echoes of European lounge pop and Goldfrapp's sexually insatiable vocal slithering all over it, pop music had found its new auteurs and the "after-club" experience had found a new soundtrack upon "Mountain's" release.
Cinematic is a term almost always associated with Goldfrapp's music, particularly their first album, which clearly sets itself within the realms of Sergio Leone's sinister epic landscapes, with equal dashes of David Lynch's surreal dreams and François Ozon's camp sexiness thrown in for good measure. All of these elements coalesce into an album that doesn't sound like anything before or since its inception, at once melodious in its sexual malaise but also fraught with tension and desire, incorporating various out-of-leftfield instruments with string ensembles and subtle programming. The string and brass arrangements in particular, the forte of Gregory (who co-writes, mixes and produces with Goldfrapp, but never tours or performs with her), help to transport the music into the realms of the otherworldly.
However, the real revelation of the album is Goldfrapp herself and the solid sultriness with which she commands the material. Arch without ever resorting to pantomime and seductive whilst just staying on the right side of camp spectacle, her vocal is the catalyst that sends the listener's mind and pulse racing on key tracks. Cementing her dolefully sexy reputation best are the title track, in which she merely hums and improvises over the gorgeous arrangements in the background, "Human", the closest the album gets to mid-tempo with a Latino-influenced brass arrangement, and "Lovely Head", opening with a plaintive whistle that immediately sounds like it has glided straight out of the Alps and frozen your heart. It's a stellar performance; however, it still cannot save the album from its lapses into indulgence.
Goldfrapp and Gregory do let their arty nature get the better of them sometimes, and the results may sound refreshingly off-kilter to some, but the likes of "Oompa Radar" and "Horse Tears" will fall on deaf ears thanks to the album's seeming lack of emotional depth. As gorgeous and textured as the music frequently is, there is a distinct lack of emotional investment to help turn the music into something truly stirring and memorable. In many respects, Goldfrapp and Gregory may have got it right as the album does effortlessly glide by and is at times incendiary to listen to thanks to the classy craftsmanship of the music inside. What one can forget though is that this album concerns itself with the darker, subtler side of human sexuality, of how enveloping it can be on the body and mind in all of its sensuality and danger. At times, "Mountain" is as irresistible as the subject matter it sings about ... dark, sinful and sinister, and yet so sweetly melodic you cannot rip your ears away from it. And for someone who can sing an opening line as baiting as "Brown Paper Bag's" without sounding self-conscious or coy, Alison Goldfrapp is a voice to be reckoned with.
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Black Cherry
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Goldfrapp;
Mute;
2003-04-28;
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Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
*Best price found from Amazon Marketplace seller
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*Amazon: £3.04
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Product Description
Goldfrapp's Black Cherry inhabits a dark alley, bristling with urban menace and throbbing with a deep electronic pulse--a far cry from their breezy debut, which gently led the listener to a fairytale aural utopia occupied by Parisian pop, whistling divas and baroque masters. Having given up the countryside for a neon-lit studio, Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory have infused Black Cherry with an intensity and brooding claustrophobia that's both exuberant and sensual. Simultaneously mellifluous and mechanical, tracks such as "Train" with its fiery industrial rhythm steer Goldfrapp dangerously close to the ailing electro-clash scene, before veering back to more familiar territory with the likes of the sultry, downbeat "Black Cherry" and languid dreamy ambience of "Forever". Elsewhere our Hampshire-bred heroine gets deep down and dirty on "Twist", an ode to oral that finds Goldfrapp waxing lyrical to a fierce driving Kraftewerk-esq synth: "Before you go and leave this town/I want to see you one more time/ put your dirty angel face/ between my legs and make it last. No Felt Mountain to get lost in, but at least there's "Hairy Trees" to make up for it. --Christopher Barrett
Customer Reviews
Enter a Total Relaxing Utopia!!!!, 13 Apr 2008
1. Lovely Head. 10/10
2. Paper Bag. 8/10
3. Human. 10/10
4. Pilots. 10/10
5. Deer Stop. 5/10*
6. Felt Mountain. 9/10
7. Oompa Radar. 9/10
8. Utopia. 10/10
9. Horse Tears 9/10
* OUCH!!! Totally PAINFUL!!!!
If you like "Supernature", "Black Cherry", and "Seventh Tree", have "Felt Montain". Obviously it's the weakest out of the 4, though really relaxing and entres you into a total state of calm.
OVERALL GRADE: 10/10
A great debut...., 05 Jan 2008
Rating: 8/10
Best tracks: "Paper Bag", "Pilots", "Utopia", "Deer Stop".
A beautiful, beguiling debut, Felt Mountain is weird, atmospheric and sexy, full of cinematic, offbeat instrumentation, unusual lyrics and one hell of a winning hand in Alison Goldfrapp's gorgeous, sensual voice. Alison and multi-instrumentalist Will Gregory add lashings of delightful touches and quirks to proceedings, be they whale calls, whistling, Theremins, whip cracks, Hammond organs and much more. Despite being one of many albums connected a super cool, chill-out wave of artists such as Royksopp, Air, Zero 7 and others, Felt Mountain has far too much character, personality and emotion for it to be dismissed as mere coffee table/dinner party fodder. It's imperfect, but let's go easy on it; it's only a first album, after all! Those turned on by Black Cherry and Supernature may be surprised at how different this debut is; there's no glitter ball disco beats to be found here!
The opening "Lovely Head" was used for a commercial (I can't remember which one) and got a little bit overplayed, but listening to it again after some time away from it has proved to be a delight; a surreal, erotic, playful wonder. A special mention has to go to the massively atmospheric "Paper Bag", which is the main reason why this album stands out from the crowd; a thoroughly beguiling mix of folk, spy-movie soundtrack (very much in the John Barry style), chilly ambience, not to mention a fantastic opening line that'll stop you dead in your tracks, this song takes from all manners of influences and melds them into something entirely new and fresh; the effect is spellbinding. A more blatant John Barry/007 influence is present on "Human", which isn`t the best thing here. Granted, it does quicken the pace of the album, which for the most part is quite sedate, but this is one of the few songs here that feels like mere pastiche, whereas most of the other songs here use their variety of influences to mould something inventive from them. Much better is the late-night beauty of "Pilots", which is genuinely, vividly romantic, evocative of starry skies and stolen kisses; managing to pull of the feat of being dreamily love-struck, yet (for me) heartbreakingly melancholic, it was released as a single in an inferior version....believe me, the mix on Felt Mountain is all you'll ever need.
"Deer Stop" is a near-funereal piece, made extra weird and wonderful by Goldfrapp's vocals, which are distorted, melded and turned into something else entirely. The title track features yodelling (!) and is gloriously strange, evoking a winter's sleigh ride through snowy forests. The kooky "Oompa Radar" is probably one instrumental too many and drags the pace of the album a bit, but proceedings really picks up with the splendid, panoramic "Utopia", which thrillingly soars during that incredible chorus and finale. "Horse Tears" makes for an effectively downbeat closer, wrapping up a playful, very strong first album which despite the odd weak or so-so track, is a striking first shot from a duo who would, remarkably, shift gears in quite substantial fashion for their next, even better album.
Magical, 06 Oct 2007
I bought this album because i liked the Oh La La record so I bought supernature. I thought supernature was fantastic so I bought Black Cherry well imagin my suprise when I find out the Black Cherry is even beter than Supernature (if that was possible) so I had to have Felt mountain and well I Could not believe it completly different but utterly fantastic, you want to listen and listen.
If I had any complaint it would be that the album is TOO SHORT, She sings opera and I could listen to a whole album of her singing opera, she whistles and dah dahs its just great.
I bought the DVD also and the live versions of Dear stop are fantastic!
However one word of warning all the songs are about sex!
This album stands on its own unique it is so different to the second and third albums (which incidentely are both great albums).
When they were great., 14 Aug 2006
There are good albums, there are great albums and there are those very special albums that stop you in your tracks because you realise that you're hearing something unlike anything else. Such is Felt Mountain, the best debut album ever. So much style, so much class, so much imagination - dazzling. This is an album packed with promise - promise which, sadly, Goldfrapp have failed to live up to. It would seem that Felt Mountain is to be a magnificent one-off - but there's so much to love.
Sultry, Demanding Exoticism, 05 Jun 2006
"Wilfully weird" and "intoxicating" are words you probably would not generally associate from two musicians from Wiltshire, but in Goldfrapp's case, it is a description of borderline proportions. Joining forces after showcasing their wares on other ventures most notably within the arenas of trip hop and chill out dance, Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ingratiated themselves onto the pop world with "Felt Mountain" in 2000 with little fanfare that soon turned into a critically-acclaimed storm. Cinematically epic in its sound with echoes of European lounge pop and Goldfrapp's sexually insatiable vocal slithering all over it, pop music had found its new auteurs and the "after-club" experience had found a new soundtrack upon "Mountain's" release.
Cinematic is a term almost always associated with Goldfrapp's music, particularly their first album, which clearly sets itself within the realms of Sergio Leone's sinister epic landscapes, with equal dashes of David Lynch's surreal dreams and François Ozon's camp sexiness thrown in for good measure. All of these elements coalesce into an album that doesn't sound like anything before or since its inception, at once melodious in its sexual malaise but also fraught with tension and desire, incorporating various out-of-leftfield instruments with string ensembles and subtle programming. The string and brass arrangements in particular, the forte of Gregory (who co-writes, mixes and produces with Goldfrapp, but never tours or performs with her), help to transport the music into the realms of the otherworldly.
However, the real revelation of the album is Goldfrapp herself and the solid sultriness with which she commands the material. Arch without ever resorting to pantomime and seductive whilst just staying on the right side of camp spectacle, her vocal is the catalyst that sends the listener's mind and pulse racing on key tracks. Cementing her dolefully sexy reputation best are the title track, in which she merely hums and improvises over the gorgeous arrangements in the background, "Human", the closest the album gets to mid-tempo with a Latino-influenced brass arrangement, and "Lovely Head", opening with a plaintive whistle that immediately sounds like it has glided straight out of the Alps and frozen your heart. It's a stellar performance; however, it still cannot save the album from its lapses into indulgence.
Goldfrapp and Gregory do let their arty nature get the better of them sometimes, and the results may sound refreshingly off-kilter to some, but the likes of "Oompa Radar" and "Horse Tears" will fall on deaf ears thanks to the album's seeming lack of emotional depth. As gorgeous and textured as the music frequently is, there is a distinct lack of emotional investment to help turn the music into something truly stirring and memorable. In many respects, Goldfrapp and Gregory may have got it right as the album does effortlessly glide by and is at times incendiary to listen to thanks to the classy craftsmanship of the music inside. What one can forget though is that this album concerns itself with the darker, subtler side of human sexuality, of how enveloping it can be on the body and mind in all of its sensuality and danger. At times, "Mountain" is as irresistible as the subject matter it sings about ... dark, sinful and sinister, and yet so sweetly melodic you cannot rip your ears away from it. And for someone who can sing an opening line as baiting as "Brown Paper Bag's" without sounding self-conscious or coy, Alison Goldfrapp is a voice to be reckoned with.
Delightfully Sexy, 13 Apr 2008
1. Crystalline Green. 10/10
2. Train. 10/10
3. Black Cherry. 10/10
4. Tiptoe. 8/10
5. Deep Honey. 7/10
6. Hairy Trees. 8/10
7. Twist. 10/10
8. Strict Machine. 11/10
9. Forever. 9/10
10. Slippage. 8/10
OVERALL GRADE: 10/10
This album is undeniably sexy, but Goldfrapp wouldn't be Goldfrapp without some duff songs.
One of the sexiest, most heavenly pop rushes ever..., 05 Jan 2008
Rating: 10/10
Best tracks: "Strict Machine", "Black Cherry", "Tiptoe", "Forever".
It's difficult for me to convey just how fantastic Black Cherry sounded when I first heard it; being mildly aware of Goldfrapp (thanks to "Lovely Head"'s ubiquity on advertisements and TV soundtracks) but not having heard the whole of their Felt Mountain album, it took a few outrageously (and totally justified) salivating reviews in the press and fantastic first single "Train" to make me double-take. To put it mildly, this is one of the best electro-pop records ever made, and (now I realise) a huge departure from the duo's previous style; whereas Felt Mountain was all wintry, seductive, cosy, atmospheric, rural and movie-soundtrack-esque, Black Cherry is the sound of the summer, of the dance floor, of the glitter, the neon, and even more so than before, it's all drenched in sticky, sexy lyrical flirtatiousness. Yet like its predecessor, it's also an album of broken hearts, mystery, lyrical obliqueness and the odd thoroughly bizarre touch. Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory's mastery of conjuring atmospheric, layered and enveloping soundscapes has sharpened here to perfection, with the former's astonishing voice making for one of the most inviting, seductive musical propositions you're ever likely to hear.
Opening song "Crystalline Green" makes for a fine, dreamy opener, but it's "Train" that sends the album into supernova; a dirty, sexy keyboard refrain, glorious, lovely vocals and a stomping, vaguely glam-rock beat...it's simultaneously throwaway yet lasting, trashy yet crammed with the kind of detail that keeps you coming back again and again. The title track is even better, a truly, maddeningly heartbreaking thing of beauty that's as good as the first album's "Pilots", and that's saying an awful lot. With a swooning, blossoming chorus and some painfully lovely musical passages that'll have you swept away, "Black Cherry" is probably my favourite ever Goldfrapp song....or is it? There's something just as good later on the album...
Anyway, next track "Tiptoe" is stupendously fine, even better than "Train" in terms of delivering a stomping, filthy electronic beat; the fact that Alison has often referred to her admiration of Prince is given musical credence here, as her vocals in the verses have been treated to almost sound androgynous, which is similar to what he was doing around the time of his Sign O' the Times album when he was crediting his altered vocals under the name of "Camille". The song itself builds to a terrific, hypnotic, almost insanely fine finale; again, great singing! Seriously, Alison's got one of the most luscious, fantastic voices ever, and on this album in particular, she's a lead singer to fall for. The very sexy "Deep Honey" has a sparse, sad synthesiser line to begin with, later embellished with some eerie strings (reminiscent of the duo's earlier work) that make it the perfect bridge between this album and its predecessor. This song's also got a spectacular ending, with Alison sighing over dramatic, deep, down, dirty orchestration.
The lovely "Hairy Trees" is another song that `s slightly Felt Mountain-ish, but given the new Black Cherry treatment, it's a gem. A pair of glam-fuelled electro peaches arrive next; "Twist" has the terrific line "Put your dirty angel face between my legs and knicker lace" which instantly makes it a bit of a classic, and the tune, all grimy, saucy keyboards and wild, orgasmic singing, is a thrilling, sexy pop-blast from start to finish.....rivalling "Black Cherry" for the title of the best song on the album is the all-out masterpiece that "Strict Machine", which despite being re-released as a single, still never became the huge, huge hit it should have been; this is definitely Goldfrapp's most successful integration of their new, electronic direction; every second of this one's an absolute dream, the kind of synthesisers that make your hair stand up on end, an insanely funky, catchy rhythm and an explosive, absolute thriller of a chorus that'll have you on your knees worshipping the majesty of the Frapp in no time. By the time the song's all over after that gorgeous finale, I'm left breathless.
"Forever" is a divinely sad, melancholic thing of beauty, a little like "Deep Honey", but further drenched in bittersweet atmospherics; I've noticed that a lot of Goldfrapp songs end really, really well; this one in particular's got an absolutely heartbreaking coda. Okay, so the dark "Slippage" is not really the killer closing track it should have been, and despite some good moments is clearly the weakest thing here, but it doesn't stop Black Cherry from being one of the greatest pop rushes of all time; it's sexy, mysterious, strange, beautiful and something to get hopelessly addicted to.
Yum, 11 Nov 2006
First came `Felt Mountain', dragging the feel of a sexy, downhearted 1930's lounge act into the modern age with clever instruments and classical orchestras. Now comes the second release that is a great follow-on, far more upbeat, far more electronic and even sexier.
One thing that keeps up the sultry standards is the unforgettable vocals from Alison Goldfrapp; they're still delicious and perfect, with an impressive range that boasts of a classically trained background and should be a commodity that all women wish for. If a voice could make you orgasm, it's hers. Lyrics are sometimes obscure, but approachable and contagious. But as if it needed an underline, such downright fuckable songs like `Twist' beg you to: "put your dirty angel face between my legs and knicker lace".
Almost all tracks include a stomping, lo-fi beat, with strange pipping/ booming/ fizzing sounds, but the emotions conveyed cover a wider spectrum than hinted. The hip BAM-BAM-BAM beat of `Train' is quickly followed by the lush and calm title track. Later on, the bopping, anthem-esque attack of `Strict Machine' is subdued by the tones of `Forever' - a recurrent roller coaster that underlies the whole album.
Meanwhile, real back-to-basics synth sounds make most songs strong candidates for a wave of very 80's and extremely ill advised Robot Dancing to surge through dance floors nationwide. Though, as musicians, they seem more comfortable with this heavier slant, as it comes across as stuff that will be far easier to transfer into a live performance.
It has everything that warped electro fans strive to make and is led by lush melodies that many songwriters would kill for. `Felt Mountain' displayed a skill for the chilled out and the rich, `Black Cherry' sees the two-piece hit the studio with avidness, refreshed energy and clearly enjoying what they are doing. This is an inspirational album that is fresh, fashionable and icy cool.
Goldfrapp is ace!!, 24 Jul 2006
I first listened to this album with broken headphones, so the panning was all out of proportion - it sounded really cool like that!! But then I listened to it on a stereo and it sounded so much better! I love the way in which Goldfrapp as a partenership utilise electronic sounds and use the synthesiser to create an out-of-this-world kind of atmosphere, along with the sexual and rather raunchy singing style of Alison herself.
I really like this CD because the lyrics are so simple in effect and so futuristic and really it does remind me of some odd Tim Burton-esque film with loads of add female lead characters pracing around in high heeled shoes and stripy tights and odd, but awesome clothing ...
Tracks from "Supernature!" their newest album are just as promising as these older ones. Buy this album if you like strange but wonderful music.
Mel.
What Sex Should Sound Like ..., 07 Jun 2006
With "Black Cherry", Goldfrapp would take a critic-baiting chance in letting their work take them into another direction. Having already ensnared the indie-darling limelight with their half-million selling debut, "Felt Mountain", the pressure was on for Alison Goldfrapp and her trusted collaborator Will Gregory to come up with something that would continue to make the world swoon at Gregory's full-blooded orchestral arrangements and Goldfrapp's unsettlingly seductive vocals. And so, with true showmanship, Goldfrapp stumped their critics with an album completely polarised in style and content from its predecessor, replacing "Mountain's" melodious eeriness with a techno stomp that wears its sexiness on its sleeve and makes no apologies. Aside from a few welcome lapses into the Goldfrapp we knew before, the sexuality that had threatened to eclipse "Mountain" had been well and truly set loose.
The musical influences behind this LP should be spoken about to hint at an idea as to how disparate "Black Cherry" is to its creators' first effort. "Mountain's" soundscapes were clearly secured within the realms of film score and influence, Gregory even thanking Sergio Leone in the notes of the CD sleeve. Meanwhile, "Cherry's" influence, aside from the Kraftwerk-style synths and programming that pepper the music so indelibly, is clearly rooted in the late 1970s-early 1980s pop era, "Crystalline Green" and "Strict Machine" (their irreplaceable breakout hit) in particular sounding like they've been trapped in a time capsule for twenty years. However, the industrial techno leanings, exemplified best by "Train" and "Tiptoe", exhibit a futuristic knowingness, often coming across as darker versions of Richard X-produced pop fluff by Rachel Stevens, Liberty X and all the other ones you cannot remember. Even the slower numbers herald a poppier sound for the dance duo, the programming more overt and less subtle than on Mountain and often almost unlistenable (hear "Slippage", or not), hitting the right balance between conventional pop and that old fad, electroclash.
Their calling card could be "the natural successors to the Eurythmics" if Goldfrapp and Gregory weren't so fiercely sexual in their content. One has to commend Goldfrapp for making the first convincingly sexy 21st century pop album but, as fans of the first album will know, Goldfrapp's world is one that revolves around everything to do with sex. More upfront and glamorous than most of today's "plop"-stars put together, Goldfrapp's lyrics and voice have not sounded so rapt with pleasure and awe before or since, from the orgasmic screams of "Twist" to the pained warbling of the title track. Alongside the mechanised rhythm sections and Goldfrapp's unconventional vocal gymnastics, Gregory duly supplies the arrangements that served his muse and him so well first time around, standouts including the closing moments of "Black Cherry" and "Tiptoe". It sounds a million times more authentic than anything Madonna or Aguilera have insultingly thrown at us in the name of raunch and is offset by the album's mellower tracks beautifully, "Hairy Trees" and "Black Cherry" in particular.
However, if there are any problems with "Cherry", they are the very factors which limited their debut CD. If the listener can buy into the glamorous vacuum that Goldfrapp have created, then there is much to enjoy. And though the arrangements are often nothing short of spellbinding, if you are left cold or affronted by the shallow emotions plundered on this CD (fabulous, yes, but ultimately shallow), chances are best that you will not become a convert. However, one cannot deny Goldfrapp's sheer pop excellence on this album precisely because they are not hiding behind über-pop producers or former pop-stars-turned-songwriters, but are showing the world how degrading, dangerous, sexy and sublime pop music can be. It's testament to their craftsmanship that, even after Girls Aloud and Rachel Stevens near enough ripped them off over a year later, "Black Cherry" still holds up as one of the best pop CDs of the new century, and most certainly the sexiest.
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Moon Safari
Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
*Best price found from Amazon Marketplace seller
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*Amazon: £3.72
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Product Description
Moon Safari, the first album proper by this pair of middle-class Frenchmen, easily survives unscathed from its billing as that most deadly of sub-genres: dinner party music. True, Moon Safari, with its blatant bliss-provoking easy listening chimes, sits well beside Everything But the Girl's Walking Wounded or Portishead's Dummy, but the album is steeped in too much musical verve and gallic humour to become as dull as Chardonnay. "Sexy Boy", the first single, is a rock-out slab of electronica about a toy monkey, for instance--hardly the thing to discuss in polite society. This album's highs come with their two marriages with the contributing vocals of American Beth Hirsch. "All I Need" and "You Make It Easy" are shockingly successful, with Hirsch bringing gravitas and sincerity, flagging the album with strong emotional pointers in the midst of their musical adventures. If you didn't know, you'd think her words were sampled from a lost jazz classic--that's how good this record sounds. --Charlie Porter
Customer Reviews
Enter a Total Relaxing Utopia!!!!, 13 Apr 2008
1. Lovely Head. 10/10
2. Paper Bag. 8/10
3. Human. 10/10
4. Pilots. 10/10
5. Deer Stop. 5/10*
6. Felt Mountain. 9/10
7. Oompa Radar. 9/10
8. Utopia. 10/10
9. Horse Tears 9/10
* OUCH!!! Totally PAINFUL!!!!
If you like "Supernature", "Black Cherry", and "Seventh Tree", have "Felt Montain". Obviously it's the weakest out of the 4, though really relaxing and entres you into a total state of calm.
OVERALL GRADE: 10/10
A great debut...., 05 Jan 2008
Rating: 8/10
Best tracks: "Paper Bag", "Pilots", "Utopia", "Deer Stop".
A beautiful, beguiling debut, Felt Mountain is weird, atmospheric and sexy, full of cinematic, offbeat instrumentation, unusual lyrics and one hell of a winning hand in Alison Goldfrapp's gorgeous, sensual voice. Alison and multi-instrumentalist Will Gregory add lashings of delightful touches and quirks to proceedings, be they whale calls, whistling, Theremins, whip cracks, Hammond organs and much more. Despite being one of many albums connected a super cool, chill-out wave of artists such as Royksopp, Air, Zero 7 and others, Felt Mountain has far too much character, personality and emotion for it to be dismissed as mere coffee table/dinner party fodder. It's imperfect, but let's go easy on it; it's only a first album, after all! Those turned on by Black Cherry and Supernature may be surprised at how different this debut is; there's no glitter ball disco beats to be found here!
The opening "Lovely Head" was used for a commercial (I can't remember which one) and got a little bit overplayed, but listening to it again after some time away from it has proved to be a delight; a surreal, erotic, playful wonder. A special mention has to go to the massively atmospheric "Paper Bag", which is the main reason why this album stands out from the crowd; a thoroughly beguiling mix of folk, spy-movie soundtrack (very much in the John Barry style), chilly ambience, not to mention a fantastic opening line that'll stop you dead in your tracks, this song takes from all manners of influences and melds them into something entirely new and fresh; the effect is spellbinding. A more blatant John Barry/007 influence is present on "Human", which isn`t the best thing here. Granted, it does quicken the pace of the album, which for the most part is quite sedate, but this is one of the few songs here that feels like mere pastiche, whereas most of the other songs here use their variety of influences to mould something inventive from them. Much better is the late-night beauty of "Pilots", which is genuinely, vividly romantic, evocative of starry skies and stolen kisses; managing to pull of the feat of being dreamily love-struck, yet (for me) heartbreakingly melancholic, it was released as a single in an inferior version....believe me, the mix on Felt Mountain is all you'll ever need.
"Deer Stop" is a near-funereal piece, made extra weird and wonderful by Goldfrapp's vocals, which are distorted, melded and turned into something else entirely. The title track features yodelling (!) and is gloriously strange, evoking a winter's sleigh ride through snowy forests. The kooky "Oompa Radar" is probably one instrumental too many and drags the pace of the album a bit, but proceedings really picks up with the splendid, panoramic "Utopia", which thrillingly soars during that incredible chorus and finale. "Horse Tears" makes for an effectively downbeat closer, wrapping up a playful, very strong first album which despite the odd weak or so-so track, is a striking first shot from a duo who would, remarkably, shift gears in quite substantial fashion for their next, even better album.
Magical, 06 Oct 2007
I bought this album because i liked the Oh La La record so I bought supernature. I thought supernature was fantastic so I bought Black Cherry well imagin my suprise when I find out the Black Cherry is even beter than Supernature (if that was possible) so I had to have Felt mountain and well I Could not believe it completly different but utterly fantastic, you want to listen and listen.
If I had any complaint it would be that the album is TOO SHORT, She sings opera and I could listen to a whole album of her singing opera, she whistles and dah dahs its just great.
I bought the DVD also and the live versions of Dear stop are fantastic!
However one word of warning all the songs are about sex!
This album stands on its own unique it is so different to the second and third albums (which incidentely are both great albums).
When they were great., 14 Aug 2006
There are good albums, there are great albums and there are those very special albums that stop you in your tracks because you realise that you're hearing something unlike anything else. Such is Felt Mountain, the best debut album ever. So much style, so much class, so much imagination - dazzling. This is an album packed with promise - promise which, sadly, Goldfrapp have failed to live up to. It would seem that Felt Mountain is to be a magnificent one-off - but there's so much to love.
Sultry, Demanding Exoticism, 05 Jun 2006
"Wilfully weird" and "intoxicating" are words you probably would not generally associate from two musicians from Wiltshire, but in Goldfrapp's case, it is a description of borderline proportions. Joining forces after showcasing their wares on other ventures most notably within the arenas of trip hop and chill out dance, Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ingratiated themselves onto the pop world with "Felt Mountain" in 2000 with little fanfare that soon turned into a critically-acclaimed storm. Cinematically epic in its sound with echoes of European lounge pop and Goldfrapp's sexually insatiable vocal slithering all over it, pop music had found its new auteurs and the "after-club" experience had found a new soundtrack upon "Mountain's" release.
Cinematic is a term almost always associated with Goldfrapp's music, particularly their first album, which clearly sets itself within the realms of Sergio Leone's sinister epic landscapes, with equal dashes of David Lynch's surreal dreams and François Ozon's camp sexiness thrown in for good measure. All of these elements coalesce into an album that doesn't sound like anything before or since its inception, at once melodious in its sexual malaise but also fraught with tension and desire, incorporating various out-of-leftfield instruments with string ensembles and subtle programming. The string and brass arrangements in particular, the forte of Gregory (who co-writes, mixes and produces with Goldfrapp, but never tours or performs with her), help to transport the music into the realms of the otherworldly.
However, the real revelation of the album is Goldfrapp herself and the solid sultriness with which she commands the material. Arch without ever resorting to pantomime and seductive whilst just staying on the right side of camp spectacle, her vocal is the catalyst that sends the listener's mind and pulse racing on key tracks. Cementing her dolefully sexy reputation best are the title track, in which she merely hums and improvises over the gorgeous arrangements in the background, "Human", the closest the album gets to mid-tempo with a Latino-influenced brass arrangement, and "Lovely Head", opening with a plaintive whistle that immediately sounds like it has glided straight out of the Alps and frozen your heart. It's a stellar performance; however, it still cannot save the album from its lapses into indulgence.
Goldfrapp and Gregory do let their arty nature get the better of them sometimes, and the results may sound refreshingly off-kilter to some, but the likes of "Oompa Radar" and "Horse Tears" will fall on deaf ears thanks to the album's seeming lack of emotional depth. As gorgeous and textured as the music frequently is, there is a distinct lack of emotional investment to help turn the music into something truly stirring and memorable. In many respects, Goldfrapp and Gregory may have got it right as the album does effortlessly glide by and is at times incendiary to listen to thanks to the classy craftsmanship of the music inside. What one can forget though is that this album concerns itself with the darker, subtler side of human sexuality, of how enveloping it can be on the body and mind in all of its sensuality and danger. At times, "Mountain" is as irresistible as the subject matter it sings about ... dark, sinful and sinister, and yet so sweetly melodic you cannot rip your ears away from it. And for someone who can sing an opening line as baiting as "Brown Paper Bag's" without sounding self-conscious or coy, Alison Goldfrapp is a voice to be reckoned with.
Delightfully Sexy, 13 Apr 2008
1. Crystalline Green. 10/10
2. Train. 10/10
3. Black Cherry. 10/10
4. Tiptoe. 8/10
5. Deep Honey. 7/10
6. Hairy Trees. 8/10
7. Twist. 10/10
8. Strict Machine. 11/10
9. Forever. 9/10
10. Slippage. 8/10
OVERALL GRADE: 10/10
This album is undeniably sexy, but Goldfrapp wouldn't be Goldfrapp without some duff songs.
One of the sexiest, most heavenly pop rushes ever..., 05 Jan 2008
Rating: 10/10
Best tracks: "Strict Machine", "Black Cherry", "Tiptoe", "Forever".
It's difficult for me to convey just how fantastic Black Cherry sounded when I first heard it; being mildly aware of Goldfrapp (thanks to "Lovely Head"'s ubiquity on advertisements and TV soundtracks) but not having heard the whole of their Felt Mountain album, it took a few outrageously (and totally justified) salivating reviews in the press and fantastic first single "Train" to make me double-take. To put it mildly, this is one of the best electro-pop records ever made, and (now I realise) a huge departure from the duo's previous style; whereas Felt Mountain was all wintry, seductive, cosy, atmospheric, rural and movie-soundtrack-esque, Black Cherry is the sound of the summer, of the dance floor, of the glitter, the neon, and even more so than before, it's all drenched in sticky, sexy lyrical flirtatiousness. Yet like its predecessor, it's also an album of broken hearts, mystery, lyrical obliqueness and the odd thoroughly bizarre touch. Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory's mastery of conjuring atmospheric, layered and enveloping soundscapes has sharpened here to perfection, with the former's astonishing voice making for one of the most inviting, seductive musical propositions you're ever likely to hear.
Opening song "Crystalline Green" makes for a fine, dreamy opener, but it's "Train" that sends the album into supernova; a dirty, sexy keyboard refrain, glorious, lovely vocals and a stomping, vaguely glam-rock beat...it's simultaneously throwaway yet lasting, trashy yet crammed with the kind of detail that keeps you coming back again and again. The title track is even better, a truly, maddeningly heartbreaking thing of beauty that's as good as the first album's "Pilots", and that's saying an awful lot. With a swooning, blossoming chorus and some painfully lovely musical passages that'll have you swept away, "Black Cherry" is probably my favourite ever Goldfrapp song....or is it? There's something just as good later on the album...
Anyway, next track "Tiptoe" is stupendously fine, even better than "Train" in terms of delivering a stomping, filthy electronic beat; the fact that Alison has often referred to her admiration of Prince is given musical credence here, as her vocals in the verses have been treated to almost sound androgynous, which is similar to what he was doing around the time of his Sign O' the Times album when he was crediting his altered vocals under the name of "Camille". The song itself builds to a terrific, hypnotic, almost insanely fine finale; again, great singing! Seriously, Alison's got one of the most luscious, fantastic voices ever, and on this album in particular, she's a lead singer to fall for. The very sexy "Deep Honey" has a sparse, sad synthesiser line to begin with, later embellished with some eerie strings (reminiscent of the duo's earlier work) that make it the perfect bridge between this album and its predecessor. This song's also got a spectacular ending, with Alison sighing over dramatic, deep, down, dirty orchestration.
The lovely "Hairy Trees" is another song that `s slightly Felt Mountain-ish, but given the new Black Cherry treatment, it's a gem. A pair of glam-fuelled electro peaches arrive next; "Twist" has the terrific line "Put your dirty angel face between my legs and knicker lace" which instantly makes it a bit of a classic, and the tune, all grimy, saucy keyboards and wild, orgasmic singing, is a thrilling, sexy pop-blast from start to finish.....rivalling "Black Cherry" for the title of the best song on the album is the all-out masterpiece that "Strict Machine", which despite being re-released as a single, still never became the huge, huge hit it should have been; this is definitely Goldfrapp's most successful integration of their new, electronic direction; every second of this one's an absolute dream, the kind of synthesisers that make your hair stand up on end, an insanely funky, catchy rhythm and an explosive, absolute thriller of a chorus that'll have you on your knees worshipping the majesty of the Frapp in no time. By the time the song's all over after that gorgeous finale, I'm left breathless.
"Forever" is a divinely sad, melancholic thing of beauty, a little like "Deep Honey", but further drenched in bittersweet atmospherics; I've noticed that a lot of Goldfrapp songs end really, really well; this one in particular's got an absolutely heartbreaking coda. Okay, so the dark "Slippage" is not really the killer closing track it should have been, and despite some good moments is clearly the weakest thing here, but it doesn't stop Black Cherry from being one of the greatest pop rushes of all time; it's sexy, mysterious, strange, beautiful and something to get hopelessly addicted to.
Yum, 11 Nov 2006
First came `Felt Mountain', dragging the feel of a sexy, downhearted 1930's lounge act into the modern age with clever instruments and classical orchestras. Now comes the second release that is a great follow-on, far more upbeat, far more electronic and even sexier.
One thing that keeps up the sultry standards is the unforgettable vocals from Alison Goldfrapp; they're still delicious and perfect, with an impressive range that boasts of a classically trained background and should be a commodity that all women wish for. If a voice could make you orgasm, it's hers. Lyrics are sometimes obscure, but approachable and contagious. But as if it needed an underline, such downright fuckable songs like `Twist' beg you to: "put your dirty angel face between my legs and knicker lace".
Almost all tracks include a stomping, lo-fi beat, with strange pipping/ booming/ fizzing sounds, but the emotions conveyed cover a wider spectrum than hinted. The hip BAM-BAM-BAM beat of `Train' is quickly followed by the lush and calm title track. Later on, the bopping, anthem-esque attack of `Strict Machine' is subdued by the tones of `Forever' - a recurrent roller coaster that underlies the whole album.
Meanwhile, real back-to-basics synth sounds make most songs strong candidates for a wave of very 80's and extremely ill advised Robot Dancing to surge through dance floors nationwide. Though, as musicians, they seem more comfortable with this heavier slant, as it comes across as stuff that will be far easier to transfer into a live performance.
It has everything that warped electro fans strive to make and is led by lush melodies that many songwriters would kill for. `Felt Mountain' displayed a skill for the chilled out and the rich, `Black Cherry' sees the two-piece hit the studio with avidness, refreshed energy and clearly enjoying what they are doing. This is an inspirational album that is fresh, fashionable and icy cool.
Goldfrapp is ace!!, 24 Jul 2006
I first listened to this album with broken headphones, so the panning was all out of proportion - it sounded really cool like that!! But then I listened to it on a stereo and it sounded so much better! I love the way in which Goldfrapp as a partenership utilise electronic sounds and use the synthesiser to create an out-of-this-world kind of atmosphere, along with the sexual and rather raunchy singing style of Alison herself.
I really like this CD because the lyrics are so simple in effect and so futuristic and really it does remind me of some odd Tim Burton-esque film with loads of add female lead characters pracing around in high heeled shoes and stripy tights and odd, but awesome clothing ...
Tracks from "Supernature!" their newest album are just as promising as these older ones. Buy this album if you like strange but wonderful music.
Mel.
What Sex Should Sound Like ..., 07 Jun 2006
With "Black Cherry", Goldfrapp would take a critic-baiting chance in letting their work take them into another direction. Having already ensnared the indie-darling limelight with their half-million selling debut, "Felt Mountain", the pressure was on for Alison Goldfrapp and her trusted collaborator Will Gregory to come up with something that would continue to make the world swoon at Gregory's full-blooded orchestral arrangements and Goldfrapp's unsettlingly seductive vocals. And so, with true showmanship, Goldfrapp stumped their critics with an album completely polarised in style and content from its predecessor, replacing "Mountain's" melodious eeriness with a techno stomp that wears its sexiness on its sleeve and makes no apologies. Aside from a few welcome lapses into the Goldfrapp we knew before, the sexuality that had threatened to eclipse "Mountain" had been well and truly set loose.
The musical influences behind this LP should be spoken about to hint at an idea as to how disparate "Black Cherry" is to its creators' first effort. "Mountain's" soundscapes were clearly secured within the realms of film score and influence, Gregory even thanking Sergio Leone in the notes of the CD sleeve. Meanwhile, "Cherry's" influence, aside from the Kraftwerk-style synths and programming that pepper the music so indelibly, is clearly rooted in the late 1970s-early 1980s pop era, "Crystalline Green" and "Strict Machine" (their irreplaceable breakout hit) in particular sounding like they've been trapped in a time capsule for twenty years. However, the industrial techno leanings, exemplified best by "Train" and "Tiptoe", exhibit a futuristic knowingness, often coming across as darker versions of Richard X-produced pop fluff by Rachel Stevens, Liberty X and all the other ones you cannot remember. Even the slower numbers herald a poppier sound for the dance duo, the programming more overt and less subtle than on Mountain and often almost unlistenable (hear "Slippage", or not), hitting the right balance between conventional pop and that old fad, electroclash.
Their calling card could be "the natural successors to the Eurythmics" if Goldfrapp and Gregory weren't so fiercely sexual in their content. One has to commend Goldfrapp for making the first convincingly sexy 21st century pop album but, as fans of the first album will know, Goldfrapp's world is one that revolves around everything to do with sex. More upfront and glamorous than most of today's "plop"-stars put together, Goldfrapp's lyrics and voice have not sounded so rapt with pleasure and awe before or since, from the orgasmic screams of "Twist" to the pained warbling of the title track. Alongside the mechanised rhythm sections and Goldfrapp's unconventional vocal gymnastics, Gregory duly supplies the arrangements that served his muse and him so well first time around, standouts including the closing moments of "Black Cherry" and "Tiptoe". It sounds a million times more authentic than anything Madonna or Aguilera have insultingly thrown at us in the name of raunch and is offset by the album's mellower tracks beautifully, "Hairy Trees" and "Black Cherry" in particular.
However, if there are any problems with "Cherry", they are the very factors which limited their debut CD. If the listener can buy into the glamorous vacuum that Goldfrapp have created, then there is much to enjoy. And though the arrangements are often nothing short of spellbinding, if you are left cold or affronted by the shallow emotions plundered on this CD (fabulous, yes, but ultimately shallow), chances are best that you will not become a convert. However, one cannot deny Goldfrapp's sheer pop excellence on this album precisely because they are not hiding behind über-pop producers or former pop-stars-turned-songwriters, but are showing the world how degrading, dangerous, sexy and sublime pop music can be. It's testament to their craftsmanship that, even after Girls Aloud and Rachel Stevens near enough ripped them off over a year later, "Black Cherry" still holds up as one of the best pop CDs of the new century, and most certainly the sexiest.
Excellent!, 20 Oct 2008
One of my all time favourite albums. This will be a classic of the French chill-out genre for decades to come. Buy it!
SexyBoySexyCock, 16 Aug 2008
Detached, hypnotic, and retro (much like Pink Floyd's song "Breathe" from the Dark Side Of The Moon--and yet not Pink Floyd) is how I would describe the sound of this debut CD. Released in 1988, Moon Safari is the first release from the Surrender Monkeys-French electronica duo Air, consisting of Nicolas Godingodiva and Jean-Benoît Dunckelly. (The name "Air" is an acronym for Amour, Imagination, Rêve -- How life changing is that !)
Not only is Air's music a chillout blend of Love, Imagination, and Dreams, but it is a light blend of psychedelic musical influences (including Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream, and Jean Michel Jarre and other obscure retro stuff). Standout Moon Safari tracks include "Sexy Boy," "Kelly Watch the Stars," and "All I Need." (Yes, you've heard the song "La Femme D'argent" in a L'Oreal Paris ad, the song "Sexy BoySexyC0ck" in the TV series Queer as Folk, and the song "All I Need" in the TV series Felicity.) The complete album setlist includes:
1. La Femme D'argent (7:11)
2. Sexy Boy (4:58)
3. All I Need (4:28)
4. Kelly Watch The Stars (3:45)
5. Talisman (4:16)
6. Remember (2:34)
7. You Make It Easy (4:00)
8. Ce Matin LÃ (3:39)
9. New Star In The Sky (5:40)
10. Le Voyage De Pénélope (3:10)
Dr Gonzo Clarke : 7/10.
I wore out my 1st Air Moon Safari CD.........., 29 Jun 2008
............and am purchasing replacement because I couldn't live without it. Play it any time of day. If I play it after bedtime reading to my 6yr old, without a doubt, they'll be asleep before the CD finishes! This album can lift you, relax you, whatever you need, it can do it. Definately in my top 10 and I haven't changed my mind since that first Moon Safari CD purchased many years ago!
A few tracks are ok, 22 Jun 2008
I bought this because it had so many good reviews, also i like this genre of music however i don't understand what all the fuss is about. It's not bad but certainly not outstanding or original. There's much better albums around.
Air - Moon Safari, 13 May 2007
A great album. a worthy buy. This album has one of my top 10 fav tracks of all time "All I Need". All I Need has great sounds and is very simple format but carries accross a great feeling.
The last review a little harsh... if you like easy going ambient french sounds and you have familurised yourself with Airs previous work then you wont be bored. I like this album and have it on CD and vinyl.
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The Christmas Chillout Album
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Various Artists;
Music Club;
2003-10-27;
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Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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*Amazon: £3.94
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Customer Reviews
Enter a Total Relaxing Utopia!!!!, 13 Apr 2008
1. Lovely Head. 10/10
2. Paper Bag. 8/10
3. Human. 10/10
4. Pilots. 10/10
5. Deer Stop. 5/10*
6. Felt Mountain. 9/10
7. Oompa Radar. 9/10
8. Utopia. 10/10
9. Horse Tears 9/10
* OUCH!!! Totally PAINFUL!!!!
If you like "Supernature", "Black Cherry", and "Seventh Tree", have "Felt Montain". Obviously it's the weakest out of the 4, though really relaxing and entres you into a total state of calm.
OVERALL GRADE: 10/10
A great debut...., 05 Jan 2008
Rating: 8/10
Best tracks: "Paper Bag", "Pilots", "Utopia", "Deer Stop".
A beautiful, beguiling debut, Felt Mountain is weird, atmospheric and sexy, full of cinematic, offbeat instrumentation, unusual lyrics and one hell of a winning hand in Alison Goldfrapp's gorgeous, sensual voice. Alison and multi-instrumentalist Will Gregory add lashings of delightful touches and quirks to proceedings, be they whale calls, whistling, Theremins, whip cracks, Hammond organs and much more. Despite being one of many albums connected a super cool, chill-out wave of artists such as Royksopp, Air, Zero 7 and others, Felt Mountain has far too much character, personality and emotion for it to be dismissed as mere coffee table/dinner party fodder. It's imperfect, but let's go easy on it; it's only a first album, after all! Those turned on by Black Cherry and Supernature may be surprised at how different this debut is; there's no glitter ball disco beats to be found here!
The opening "Lovely Head" was used for a commercial (I can't remember which one) and got a little bit overplayed, but listening to it again after some time away from it has proved to be a delight; a surreal, erotic, playful wonder. A special mention has to go to the massively atmospheric "Paper Bag", which is the main reason why this album stands out from the crowd; a thoroughly beguiling mix of folk, spy-movie soundtrack (very much in the John Barry style), chilly ambience, not to mention a fantastic opening line that'll stop you dead in your tracks, this song takes from all manners of influences and melds them into something entirely new and fresh; the effect is spellbinding. A more blatant John Barry/007 influence is present on "Human", which isn`t the best thing here. Granted, it does quicken the pace of the album, which for the most part is quite sedate, but this is one of the few songs here that feels like mere pastiche, whereas most of the other songs here use their variety of influences to mould something inventive from them. Much better is the late-night beauty of "Pilots", which is genuinely, vividly romantic, evocative of starry skies and stolen kisses; managing to pull of the feat of being dreamily love-struck, yet (for me) heartbreakingly melancholic, it was released as a single in an inferior version....believe me, the mix on Felt Mountain is all you'll ever need.
"Deer Stop" is a near-funereal piece, made extra weird and wonderful by Goldfrapp's vocals, which are distorted, melded and turned into something else entirely. The title track features yodelling (!) and is gloriously strange, evoking a winter's sleigh ride through snowy forests. The kooky "Oompa Radar" is probably one instrumental too many and drags the pace of the album a bit, but proceedings really picks up with the splendid, panoramic "Utopia", which thrillingly soars during that incredible chorus and finale. "Horse Tears" makes for an effectively downbeat closer, wrapping up a playful, very strong first album which despite the odd weak or so-so track, is a striking first shot from a duo who would, remarkably, shift gears in quite substantial fashion for their next, even better album.
Magical, 06 Oct 2007
I bought this album because i liked the Oh La La record so I bought supernature. I thought supernature was fantastic so I bought Black Cherry well imagin my suprise when I find out the Black Cherry is even beter than Supernature (if that was possible) so I had to have Felt mountain and well I Could not believe it completly different but utterly fantastic, you want to listen and listen.
If I had any complaint it would be that the album is TOO SHORT, She sings opera and I could listen to a whole album of her singing opera, she whistles and dah dahs its just great.
I bought the DVD also and the live versions of Dear stop are fantastic!
However one word of warning all the songs are about sex!
This album stands on its own unique it is so different to the second and third albums (which incidentely are both great albums).
When they were great., 14 Aug 2006
There are good albums, there are great albums and there are those very special albums that stop you in your tracks because you realise that you're hearing something unlike anything else. Such is Felt Mountain, the best debut album ever. So much style, so much class, so much imagination - dazzling. This is an album packed with promise - promise which, sadly, Goldfrapp have failed to live up to. It would seem that Felt Mountain is to be a magnificent one-off - but there's so much to love.
Sultry, Demanding Exoticism, 05 Jun 2006
"Wilfully weird" and "intoxicating" are words you probably would not generally associate from two musicians from Wiltshire, but in Goldfrapp's case, it is a description of borderline proportions. Joining forces after showcasing their wares on other ventures most notably within the arenas of trip hop and chill out dance, Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ingratiated themselves onto the pop world with "Felt Mountain" in 2000 with little fanfare that soon turned into a critically-acclaimed storm. Cinematically epic in its sound with echoes of European lounge pop and Goldfrapp's sexually insatiable vocal slithering all over it, pop music had found its new auteurs and the "after-club" experience had found a new soundtrack upon "Mountain's" release.
Cinematic is a term almost always associated with Goldfrapp's music, particularly their first album, which clearly sets itself within the realms of Sergio Leone's sinister epic landscapes, with equal dashes of David Lynch's surreal dreams and François Ozon's camp sexiness thrown in for good measure. All of these elements coalesce into an album that doesn't sound like anything before or since its inception, at once melodious in its sexual malaise but also fraught with tension and desire, incorporating various out-of-leftfield instruments with string ensembles and subtle programming. The string and brass arrangements in particular, the forte of Gregory (who co-writes, mixes and produces with Goldfrapp, but never tours or performs with her), help to transport the music into the realms of the otherworldly.
However, the real revelation of the album is Goldfrapp herself and the solid sultriness with which she commands the material. Arch without ever resorting to pantomime and seductive whilst just staying on the right side of camp spectacle, her vocal is the catalyst that sends the listener's mind and pulse racing on key tracks. Cementing her dolefully sexy reputation best are the title track, in which she merely hums and improvises over the gorgeous arrangements in the background, "Human", the closest the album gets to mid-tempo with a Latino-influenced brass arrangement, and "Lovely Head", opening with a plaintive whistle that immediately sounds like it has glided straight out of the Alps and frozen your heart. It's a stellar performance; however, it still cannot save the album from its lapses into indulgence.
Goldfrapp and Gregory do let their arty nature get the better of them sometimes, and the results may sound refreshingly off-kilter to some, but the likes of "Oompa Radar" and "Horse Tears" will fall on deaf ears thanks to the album's seeming lack of emotional depth. As gorgeous and textured as the music frequently is, there is a distinct lack of emotional investment to help turn the music into something truly stirring and memorable. In many respects, Goldfrapp and Gregory may have got it right as the album does effortlessly glide by and is at times incendiary to listen to thanks to the classy craftsmanship of the music inside. What one can forget though is that this album concerns itself with the darker, subtler side of human sexuality, of how enveloping it can be on the body and mind in all of its sensuality and danger. At times, "Mountain" is as irresistible as the subject matter it sings about ... dark, sinful and sinister, and yet so sweetly melodic you cannot rip your ears away from it. And for someone who can sing an opening line as baiting as "Brown Paper Bag's" without sounding self-conscious or coy, Alison Goldfrapp is a voice to be reckoned with.
Delightfully Sexy, 13 Apr 2008
1. Crystalline Green. 10/10
2. Train. 10/10
3. Black Cherry. 10/10
4. Tiptoe. 8/10
5. Deep Honey. 7/10
6. Hairy Trees. 8/10
7. Twist. 10/10
8. Strict Machine. 11/10
9. Forever. 9/10
10. Slippage. 8/10
OVERALL GRADE: 10/10
This album is undeniably sexy, but Goldfrapp wouldn't be Goldfrapp without some duff songs.
One of the sexiest, most heavenly pop rushes ever..., 05 Jan 2008
Rating: 10/10
Best tracks: "Strict Machine", "Black Cherry", "Tiptoe", "Forever".
It's difficult for me to convey just how fantastic Black Cherry sounded when I first heard it; being mildly aware of Goldfrapp (thanks to "Lovely Head"'s ubiquity on advertisements and TV soundtracks) but not having heard the whole of their Felt Mountain album, it took a few outrageously (and totally justified) salivating reviews in the press and fantastic first single "Train" to make me double-take. To put it mildly, this is one of the best electro-pop records ever made, and (now I realise) a huge departure from the duo's previous style; whereas Felt Mountain was all wintry, seductive, cosy, atmospheric, rural and movie-soundtrack-esque, Black Cherry is the sound of the summer, of the dance floor, of the glitter, the neon, and even more so than before, it's all drenched in sticky, sexy lyrical flirtatiousness. Yet like its predecessor, it's also an album of broken hearts, mystery, lyrical obliqueness and the odd thoroughly bizarre touch. Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory's mastery of conjuring atmospheric, layered and enveloping soundscapes has sharpened here to perfection, with the former's astonishing voice making for one of the most inviting, seductive musical propositions you're ever likely to hear.
Opening song "Crystalline Green" makes for a fine, dreamy opener, but it's "Train" that sends the album into supernova; a dirty, sexy keyboard refrain, glorious, lovely vocals and a stomping, vaguely glam-rock beat...it's simultaneously throwaway yet lasting, trashy yet crammed with the kind of detail that keeps you coming back again and again. The title track is even better, a truly, maddeningly heartbreaking thing of beauty that's as good as the first album's "Pilots", and that's saying an awful lot. With a swooning, blossoming chorus and some painfully lovely musical passages that'll have you swept away, "Black Cherry" is probably my favourite ever Goldfrapp song....or is it? There's something just as good later on the album...
Anyway, next track "Tiptoe" is stupendously fine, even better than "Train" in terms of delivering a stomping, filthy electronic beat; the fact that Alison has often referred to her admiration of Prince is given musical credence here, as her vocals in the verses have been treated to almost sound androgynous, which is similar to what he was doing around the time of his Sign O' the Times album when he was crediting his altered vocals under the name of "Camille". The song itself builds to a terrific, hypnotic, almost insanely fine finale; again, great singing! Seriously, Alison's got one of the most luscious, fantastic voices ever, and on this album in particular, she's a lead singer to fall for. The very sexy "Deep Honey" has a sparse, sad synthesiser line to begin with, later embellished with some eerie strings (reminiscent of the duo's earlier work) that make it the perfect bridge between this album and its predecessor. This song's also got a spectacular ending, with Alison sighing over dramatic, deep, down, dirty orchestration.
The lovely "Hairy Trees" is another song that `s slightly Felt Mountain-ish, but given the new Black Cherry treatment, it's a gem. A pair of glam-fuelled electro peaches arrive next; "Twist" has the terrific line "Put your dirty angel face between my legs and knicker lace" which instantly makes it a bit of a classic, and the tune, all grimy, saucy keyboards and wild, orgasmic singing, is a thrilling, sexy pop-blast from start to finish.....rivalling "Black Cherry" for the title of the best song on the album is the all-out masterpiece that "Strict Machine", which despite being re-released as a single, still never became the huge, huge hit it should have been; this is definitely Goldfrapp's most successful integration of their new, electronic direction; every second of this one's an absolute dream, the kind of synthesisers that make your hair stand up on end, an insanely funky, catchy rhythm and an explosive, absolute thriller of a chorus that'll have you on your knees worshipping the majesty of the Frapp in no time. By the time the song's all over after that gorgeous finale, I'm left breathless.
"Forever" is a divinely sad, melancholic thing of beauty, a little like "Deep Honey", but further drenched in bittersweet atmospherics; I've noticed that a lot of Goldfrapp songs end really, really well; this one in particular's got an absolutely heartbreaking coda. Okay, so the dark "Slippage" is not really the killer closing track it should have been, and despite some good moments is clearly the weakest thing here, but it doesn't stop Black Cherry from being one of the greatest pop rushes of all time; it's sexy, mysterious, strange, beautiful and something to get hopelessly addicted to.
Yum, 11 Nov 2006
First came `Felt Mountain', dragging the feel of a sexy, downhearted 1930's lounge act into the modern age with clever instruments and classical orchestras. Now comes the second release that is a great follow-on, far more upbeat, far more electronic and even sexier.
One thing that keeps up the sultry standards is the unforgettable vocals from Alison Goldfrapp; they're still delicious and perfect, with an impressive range that boasts of a classically trained background and should be a commodity that all women wish for. If a voice could make you orgasm, it's hers. Lyrics are sometimes obscure, but approachable and contagious. But as if it needed an underline, such downright fuckable songs like `Twist' beg you to: "put your dirty angel face between my legs and knicker lace".
Almost all tracks include a stomping, lo-fi beat, with strange pipping/ booming/ fizzing sounds, but the emotions conveyed cover a wider spectrum than hinted. The hip BAM-BAM-BAM beat of `Train' is quickly followed by the lush and calm title track. Later on, the bopping, anthem-esque attack of `Strict Machine' is subdued by the tones of `Forever' - a recurrent roller coaster that underlies the whole album.
Meanwhile, real back-to-basics synth sounds make most songs strong candidates for a wave of very 80's and extremely ill advised Robot Dancing to surge through dance floors nationwide. Though, as musicians, they seem more comfortable with this heavier slant, as it comes across as stuff that will be far easier to transfer into a live performance.
It has everything that warped electro fans strive to make and is led by lush melodies that many songwriters would kill for. `Felt Mountain' displayed a skill for the chilled out and the rich, `Black Cherry' sees the two-piece hit the studio with avidness, refreshed energy and clearly enjoying what they are doing. This is an inspirational album that is fresh, fashionable and icy cool.
Goldfrapp is ace!!, 24 Jul 2006
I first listened to this album with broken headphones, so the panning was all out of proportion - it sounded really cool like that!! But then I listened to it on a stereo and it sounded so much better! I love the way in which Goldfrapp as a partenership utilise electronic sounds and use the synthesiser to create an out-of-this-world kind of atmosphere, along with the sexual and rather raunchy singing style of Alison herself.
I really like this CD because the lyrics are so simple in effect and so futuristic and really it does remind me of some odd Tim Burton-esque film with loads of add female lead characters pracing around in high heeled shoes and stripy tights and odd, but awesome clothing ...
Tracks from "Supernature!" their newest album are just as promising as these older ones. Buy this album if you like strange but wonderful music.
Mel.
What Sex Should Sound Like ..., 07 Jun 2006
With "Black Cherry", Goldfrapp would take a critic-baiting chance in letting their work take them into another direction. Having already ensnared the indie-darling limelight with their half-million selling debut, "Felt Mountain", the pressure was on for Alison Goldfrapp and her trusted collaborator Will Gregory to come up with something that would continue to make the world swoon at Gregory's full-blooded orchestral arrangements and Goldfrapp's unsettlingly seductive vocals. And so, with true showmanship, Goldfrapp stumped their critics with an album completely polarised in style and content from its predecessor, replacing "Mountain's" melodious eeriness with a techno stomp that wears its sexiness on its sleeve and makes no apologies. Aside from a few welcome lapses into the Goldfrapp we knew before, the sexuality that had threatened to eclipse "Mountain" had been well and truly set loose.
The musical influences behind this LP should be spoken about to hint at an idea as to how disparate "Black Cherry" is to its creators' first effort. "Mountain's" soundscapes were clearly secured within the realms of film score and influence, Gregory even thanking Sergio Leone in the notes of the CD sleeve. Meanwhile, "Cherry's" influence, aside from the Kraftwerk-style synths and programming that pepper the music so indelibly, is clearly rooted in the late 1970s-early 1980s pop era, "Crystalline Green" and "Strict Machine" (their irreplaceable breakout hit) in particular sounding like they've been trapped in a time capsule for twenty years. However, the industrial techno leanings, exemplified best by "Train" and "Tiptoe", exhibit a futuristic knowingness, often coming across as darker versions of Richard X-produced pop fluff by Rachel Stevens, Liberty X and all the other ones you cannot remember. Even the slower numbers herald a poppier sound for the dance duo, the programming more overt and less subtle than on Mountain and often almost unlistenable (hear "Slippage", or not), hitting the right balance between conventional pop and that old fad, electroclash.
Their calling card could be "the natural successors to the Eurythmics" if Goldfrapp and Gregory weren't so fiercely sexual in their content. One has to commend Goldfrapp for making the first convincingly sexy 21st century pop album but, as fans of the first album will know, Goldfrapp's world is one that revolves around everything to do with sex. More upfront and glamorous than most of today's "plop"-stars put together, Goldfrapp's lyrics and voice have not sounded so rapt with pleasure and awe before or since, from the orgasmic screams of "Twist" to the pained warbling of the title track. Alongside the mechanised rhythm sections and Goldfrapp's unconventional vocal gymnastics, Gregory duly supplies the arrangements that served his muse and him so well first time around, standouts including the closing moments of "Black Cherry" and "Tiptoe". It sounds a million times more authentic than anything Madonna or Aguilera have insultingly thrown at us in the name of raunch and is offset by the album's mellower tracks beautifully, "Hairy Trees" and "Black Cherry" in particular.
However, if there are any problems with "Cherry", they are the very factors which limited their debut CD. If the listener can buy into the glamorous vacuum that Goldfrapp have created, then there is much to enjoy. And though the arrangements are often nothing short of spellbinding, if you are left cold or affronted by the shallow emotions plundered on this CD (fabulous, yes, but ultimately shallow), chances are best that you will not become a convert. However, one cannot deny Goldfrapp's sheer pop excellence on this album precisely because they are not hiding behind über-pop producers or former pop-stars-turned-songwriters, but are showing the world how degrading, dangerous, sexy and sublime pop music can be. It's testament to their craftsmanship that, even after Girls Aloud and Rachel Stevens near enough ripped them off over a year later, "Black Cherry" still holds up as one of the best pop CDs of the new century, and most certainly the sexiest.
Excellent!, 20 Oct 2008
One of my all time favourite albums. This will be a classic of the French chill-out genre for decades to come. Buy it!
SexyBoySexyCock, 16 Aug 2008
Detached, hypnotic, and retro (much like Pink Floyd's song "Breathe" from the Dark Side Of The Moon--and yet not Pink Floyd) is how I would describe the sound of this debut CD. Released in 1988, Moon Safari is the first release from the Surrender Monkeys-French electronica duo Air, consisting of Nicolas Godingodiva and Jean-Benoît Dunckelly. (The name "Air" is an acronym for Amour, Imagination, Rêve -- How life changing is that !)
Not only is Air's music a chillout blend of Love, Imagination, and Dreams, but it is a light blend of psychedelic musical influences (including Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream, and Jean Michel Jarre and other obscure retro stuff). Standout Moon Safari tracks include "Sexy Boy," "Kelly Watch the Stars," and "All I Need." (Yes, you've heard the song "La Femme D'argent" in a L'Oreal Paris ad, the song "Sexy BoySexyC0ck" in the TV series Queer as Folk, and the song "All I Need" in the TV series Felicity.) The complete album setlist includes:
1. La Femme D'argent (7:11)
2. Sexy Boy (4:58)
3. All I Need (4:28)
4. Kelly Watch The Stars (3:45)
5. Talisman (4:16)
6. Remember (2:34)
7. You Make It Easy (4:00)
8. Ce Matin LÃ (3:39)
9. New Star In The Sky (5:40)
10. Le Voyage De Pénélope (3:10)
Dr Gonzo Clarke : 7/10.
I wore out my 1st Air Moon Safari CD.........., 29 Jun 2008
............and am purchasing replacement because I couldn't live without it. Play it any time of day. If I play it after bedtime reading to my 6yr old, without a doubt, they'll be asleep before the CD finishes! This album can lift you, relax you, whatever you need, it can do it. Definately in my top 10 and I haven't changed my mind since that first Moon Safari CD purchased many years ago!
A few tracks are ok, 22 Jun 2008
I bought this because it had so many good reviews, also i like this genre of music however i don't understand what all the fuss is about. It's not bad but certainly not outstanding or original. There's much better albums around.
Air - Moon Safari, 13 May 2007
A great album. a worthy buy. This album has one of my top 10 fav tracks of all time "All I Need". All I Need has great sounds and is very simple format but carries accross a great feeling.
The last review a little harsh... if you like easy going ambient french sounds and you have familurised yourself with Airs previous work then you wont be bored. I like this album and have it on CD and vinyl.
If You Like Good (Christmas) Muzak, 16 Dec 2007
For the price, this album is great value. The orchestrations are well done without being overblown and the sound quality is excellent. This is an ideal CD to have playing quietly in the background as you wrap presents, decorate the tree or trim the sprouts. It won't stop you in your tracks and make you think "That's stunning!", but neither will you wince. Definitely worth getting. I bought it for just one track, Carol of the Bells, and I was quite pleased with the rest as well.
So not Christmas, 26 Oct 2007
You can see what they were trying to achieve with this album but however the Christmas "standards" just do not work with pan pipes! It's just not right!
Chillout says it all, 15 Dec 2005
If you like ambient-style chillout, you'll like this. What sets it apart is that the tracks vary in style, instrumentation and performer. This isn't an album where everything is played on a synth emulating a sax or panpipes. Tones and moods vary. Some tracks are lush, others are sparse. It's a good mix.
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The Best of Groove Armada
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Groove Armada;
Jive;
2004-11-01;
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Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
*Best price found from Amazon Marketplace seller
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*Amazon: £2.33
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Product Description
The Best of Groove Armada charts the success of one of the UK's most popular dance acts. Featuring the biggest hits from their last three albums, this anthology of their time on the Jive label is packed with downbeat and upbeat anthems, and an array of music as heard in film, television and radio. The subdued intro and trombone melody of "Superstylin" opens the collection softly with the now legendary bassline kicking in for a perfect euphoric moment. Other upbeat anthems include the piano house of "If Everybody Looked the Same", the Fatboy Slim mix of Gramma Funk's "I See You Baby" (both of which have been used to sell cars) and the more recent disco hit, "Easy". However, although Tom Findlay and Andy Kato pack dance floors every weekend, it's their downbeat soul that receives most attention, partly due to the "chillout" explosion of 2000 that made "At the River" a classic of the genre. With their last album Lovebox, GA showed a more versatile, band-influenced side with songs like the Status Quo sampling "Purple Haze", the rocky "Madder" and fun-loving ska of "But I feel Good". The Best of Groove Armada is a great selection of songs showing the diversity and musical progression of the band, a perfect introduction for the un-initiated and a good collection for those already converted.--Georgina Collins
Customer Reviews
Enter a Total Relaxing Utopia!!!!, 13 Apr 2008
1. Lovely Head. 10/10
2. Paper Bag. 8/10
3. Human. 10/10
4. Pilots. 10/10
5. Deer Stop. 5/10*
6. Felt Mountain. 9/10
7. Oompa Radar. 9/10
8. Utopia. 10/10
9. Horse Tears 9/10
* OUCH!!! Totally PAINFUL!!!!
If you like "Supernature", "Black Cherry", and "Seventh Tree", have "Felt Montain". Obviously it's the weakest out of the 4, though really relaxing and entres you into a total state of calm.
OVERALL GRADE: 10/10
A great debut...., 05 Jan 2008
Rating: 8/10
Best tracks: "Paper Bag", "Pilots", "Utopia", "Deer Stop".
A beautiful, beguiling debut, Felt Mountain is weird, atmospheric and sexy, full of cinematic, offbeat instrumentation, unusual lyrics and one hell of a winning hand in Alison Goldfrapp's gorgeous, sensual voice. Alison and multi-instrumentalist Will Gregory add lashings of delightful touches and quirks to proceedings, be they whale calls, whistling, Theremins, whip cracks, Hammond organs and much more. Despite being one of many albums connected a super cool, chill-out wave of artists such as Royksopp, Air, Zero 7 and others, Felt Mountain has far too much character, personality and emotion for it to be dismissed as mere coffee table/dinner party fodder. It's imperfect, but let's go easy on it; it's only a first album, after all! Those turned on by Black Cherry and Supernature may be surprised at how different this debut is; there's no glitter ball disco beats to be found here!
The opening "Lovely Head" was used for a commercial (I can't remember which one) and got a little bit overplayed, but listening to it again after some time away from it has proved to be a delight; a surreal, erotic, playful wonder. A special mention has to go to the massively atmospheric "Paper Bag", which is the main reason why this album stands out from the crowd; a thoroughly beguiling mix of folk, spy-movie soundtrack (very much in the John Barry style), chilly ambience, not to mention a fantastic opening line that'll stop you dead in your tracks, this song takes from all manners of influences and melds them into something entirely new and fresh; the effect is spellbinding. A more blatant John Barry/007 influence is present on "Human", which isn`t the best thing here. Granted, it does quicken the pace of the album, which for the most part is quite sedate, but this is one of the few songs here that feels like mere pastiche, whereas most of the other songs here use their variety of influences to mould something inventive from them. Much better is the late-night beauty of "Pilots", which is genuinely, vividly romantic, evocative of starry skies and stolen kisses; managing to pull of the feat of being dreamily love-struck, yet (for me) heartbreakingly melancholic, it was released as a single in an inferior version....believe me, the mix on Felt Mountain is all you'll ever need.
"Deer Stop" is a near-funereal piece, made extra weird and wonderful by Goldfrapp's vocals, which are distorted, melded and turned into something else entirely. The title track features yodelling (!) and is gloriously strange, evoking a winter's sleigh ride through snowy forests. The kooky "Oompa Radar" is probably one instrumental too many and drags the pace of the album a bit, but proceedings really picks up with the splendid, panoramic "Utopia", which thrillingly soars during that incredible chorus and finale. "Horse Tears" makes for an effectively downbeat closer, wrapping up a playful, very strong first album which despite the odd weak or so-so track, is a striking first shot from a duo who would, remarkably, shift gears in quite substantial fashion for their next, even better album.
Magical, 06 Oct 2007
I bought this album because i liked the Oh La La record so I bought supernature. I thought supernature was fantastic so I bought Black Cherry well imagin my suprise when I find out the Black Cherry is even beter than Supernature (if that was possible) so I had to have Felt mountain and well I Could not believe it completly different but utterly fantastic, you want to listen and listen.
If I had any complaint it would be that the album is TOO SHORT, She sings opera and I could listen to a whole album of her singing opera, she whistles and dah dahs its just great.
I bought the DVD also and the live versions of Dear stop are fantastic!
However one word of warning all the songs are about sex!
This album stands on its own unique it is so different to the second and third albums (which incidentely are both great albums).
When they were great., 14 Aug 2006
There are good albums, there are great albums and there are those very special albums that stop you in your tracks because you realise that you're hearing something unlike anything else. Such is Felt Mountain, the best debut album ever. So much style, so much class, so much imagination - dazzling. This is an album packed with promise - promise which, sadly, Goldfrapp have failed to live up to. It would seem that Felt Mountain is to be a magnificent one-off - but there's so much to love.
Sultry, Demanding Exoticism, 05 Jun 2006
"Wilfully weird" and "intoxicating" are words you probably would not generally associate from two musicians from Wiltshire, but in Goldfrapp's case, it is a description of borderline proportions. Joining forces after showcasing their wares on other ventures most notably within the arenas of trip hop and chill out dance, Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ingratiated themselves onto the pop world with "Felt Mountain" in 2000 with little fanfare that soon turned into a critically-acclaimed storm. Cinematically epic in its sound with echoes of European lounge pop and Goldfrapp's sexually insatiable vocal slithering all over it, pop music had found its new auteurs and the "after-club" experience had found a new soundtrack upon "Mountain's" release.
Cinematic is a term almost always associated with Goldfrapp's music, particularly their first album, which clearly sets itself within the realms of Sergio Leone's sinister epic landscapes, with equal dashes of David Lynch's surreal dreams and François Ozon's camp sexiness thrown in for good measure. All of these elements coalesce into an album that doesn't sound like anything before or since its inception, at once melodious in its sexual malaise but also fraught with tension and desire, incorporating various out-of-leftfield instruments with string ensembles and subtle programming. The string and brass arrangements in particular, the forte of Gregory (who co-writes, mixes and produces with Goldfrapp, but never tours or performs with her), help to transport the music into the realms of the otherworldly.
However, the real revelation of the album is Goldfrapp herself and the solid sultriness with which she commands the material. Arch without ever resorting to pantomime and seductive whilst just staying on the right side of camp spectacle, her vocal is the catalyst that sends the listener's mind and pulse racing on key tracks. Cementing her dolefully sexy reputation best are the title track, in which she merely hums and improvises over the gorgeous arrangements in the background, "Human", the closest the album gets to mid-tempo with a Latino-influenced brass arrangement, and "Lovely Head", opening with a plaintive whistle that immediately sounds like it has glided straight out of the Alps and frozen your heart. It's a stellar performance; however, it still cannot save the album from its lapses into indulgence.
Goldfrapp and Gregory do let their arty nature get the better of them sometimes, and the results may sound refreshingly off-kilter to some, but the likes of "Oompa Radar" and "Horse Tears" will fall on deaf ears thanks to the album's seeming lack of emotional depth. As gorgeous and textured as the music frequently is, there is a distinct lack of emotional investment to help turn the music into something truly stirring and memorable. In many respects, Goldfrapp and Gregory may have got it right as the album does effortlessly glide by and is at times incendiary to listen to thanks to the classy craftsmanship of the music inside. What one can forget though is that this album concerns itself with the darker, subtler side of human sexuality, of how enveloping it can be on the body and mind in all of its sensuality and danger. At times, "Mountain" is as irresistible as the subject matter it sings about ... dark, sinful and sinister, and yet so sweetly melodic you cannot rip your ears away from it. And for someone who can sing an opening line as baiting as "Brown Paper Bag's" without sounding self-conscious or coy, Alison Goldfrapp is a voice to be reckoned with.
Delightfully Sexy, 13 Apr 2008
1. Crystalline Green. 10/10
2. Train. 10/10
3. Black Cherry. 10/10
4. Tiptoe. 8/10
5. Deep Honey. 7/10
6. Hairy Trees. 8/10
7. Twist. 10/10
8. Strict Machine. 11/10
9. Forever. 9/10
10. Slippage. 8/10
OVERALL GRADE: 10/10
This album is undeniably sexy, but Goldfrapp wouldn't be Goldfrapp without some duff songs.
One of the sexiest, most heavenly pop rushes ever..., 05 Jan 2008
Rating: 10/10
Best tracks: "Strict Machine", "Black Cherry", "Tiptoe", "Forever".
It's difficult for me to convey just how fantastic Black Cherry sounded when I first heard it; being mildly aware of Goldfrapp (thanks to "Lovely Head"'s ubiquity on advertisements and TV soundtracks) but not having heard the whole of their Felt Mountain album, it took a few outrageously (and totally justified) salivating reviews in the press and fantastic first single "Train" to make me double-take. To put it mildly, this is one of the best electro-pop records ever made, and (now I realise) a huge departure from the duo's previous style; whereas Felt Mountain was all wintry, seductive, cosy, atmospheric, rural and movie-soundtrack-esque, Black Cherry is the sound of the summer, of the dance floor, of the glitter, the neon, and even more so than before, it's all drenched in sticky, sexy lyrical flirtatiousness. Yet like its predecessor, it's also an album of broken hearts, mystery, lyrical obliqueness and the odd thoroughly bizarre touch. Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory's mastery of conjuring atmospheric, layered and enveloping soundscapes has sharpened here to perfection, with the former's astonishing voice making for one of the most inviting, seductive musical propositions you're ever likely to hear.
Opening song "Crystalline Green" makes for a fine, dreamy opener, but it's "Train" that sends the album into supernova; a dirty, sexy keyboard refrain, glorious, lovely vocals and a stomping, vaguely glam-rock beat...it's simultaneously throwaway yet lasting, trashy yet crammed with the kind of detail that keeps you coming back again and again. The title track is even better, a truly, maddeningly heartbreaking thing of beauty that's as good as the first album's "Pilots", and that's saying an awful lot. With a swooning, blossoming chorus and some painfully lovely musical passages that'll have you swept away, "Black Cherry" is probably my favourite ever Goldfrapp song....or is it? There's something just as good later on the album...
Anyway, next track "Tiptoe" is stupendously fine, even better than "Train" in terms of delivering a stomping, filthy electronic beat; the fact that Alison has often referred to her admiration of Prince is given musical credence here, as her vocals in the verses have been treated to almost sound androgynous, which is similar to what he was doing around the time of his Sign O' the Times album when he was crediting his altered vocals under the name of "Camille". The song itself builds to a terrific, hypnotic, almost insanely fine finale; again, great singing! Seriously, Alison's got one of the most luscious, fantastic voices ever, and on this album in particular, she's a lead singer to fall for. The very sexy "Deep Honey" has a sparse, sad synthesiser line to begin with, later embellished with some eerie strings (reminiscent of the duo's earlier work) that make it the perfect bridge between this album and its predecessor. This song's also got a spectacular ending, with Alison sighing over dramatic, deep, down, dirty orchestration.
The lovely "Hairy Trees" is another song that `s slightly Felt Mountain-ish, but given the new Black Cherry treatment, it's a gem. A pair of glam-fuelled electro peaches arrive next; "Twist" has the terrific line "Put your dirty angel face between my legs and knicker lace" which instantly makes it a bit of a classic, and the tune, all grimy, saucy keyboards and wild, orgasmic singing, is a thrilling, sexy pop-blast from start to finish.....rivalling "Black Cherry" for the title of the best song on the album is the all-out masterpiece that "Strict Machine", which despite being re-released as a single, still never became the huge, huge hit it should have been; this is definitely Goldfrapp's most successful integration of their new, electronic direction; every second of this one's an absolute dream, the kind of synthesisers that make your hair stand up on end, an insanely funky, catchy rhythm and an explosive, absolute thriller of a chorus that'll have you on your knees worshipping the majesty of the Frapp in no time. By the time the song's all over after that gorgeous finale, I'm left breathless.
"Forever" is a divinely sad, melancholic thing of beauty, a little like "Deep Honey", but further drenched in bittersweet atmospherics; I've noticed that a lot of Goldfrapp songs end really, really well; this one in particular's got an absolutely heartbreaking coda. Okay, so the dark "Slippage" is not really the killer closing track it should have been, and despite some good moments is clearly the weakest thing here, but it doesn't stop Black Cherry from being one of the greatest pop rushes of all time; it's sexy, mysterious, strange, beautiful and something to get hopelessly addicted to.
Yum, 11 Nov 2006
First came `Felt Mountain', dragging the feel of a sexy, downhearted 1930's lounge act into the modern age with clever instruments and classical orchestras. Now comes the second release that is a great follow-on, far more upbeat, far more electronic and even sexier.
One thing that keeps up the sultry standards is the unforgettable vocals from Alison Goldfrapp; they're still delicious and perfect, with an impressive range that boasts of a classically trained background and should be a commodity that all women wish for. If a voice could make you orgasm, it's hers. Lyrics are sometimes obscure, but approachable and contagious. But as if it needed an underline, such downright fuckable songs like `Twist' beg you to: "put your dirty angel face between my legs and knicker lace".
Almost all tracks include a stomping, lo-fi beat, with strange pipping/ booming/ fizzing sounds, but the emotions conveyed cover a wider spectrum than hinted. The hip BAM-BAM-BAM beat of `Train' is quickly followed by the lush and calm title track. Later on, the bopping, anthem-esque attack of `Strict Machine' is subdued by the tones of `Forever' - a recurrent roller coaster that underlies the whole album.
Meanwhile, real back-to-basics synth sounds make most songs strong candidates for a wave of very 80's and extremely ill advised Robot Dancing to surge through dance floors nationwide. Though, as musicians, they seem more comfortable with this heavier slant, as it comes across as stuff that will be far easier to transfer into a live performance.
It has everything that warped electro fans strive to make and is led by lush melodies that many songwriters would kill for. `Felt Mountain' displayed a skill for the chilled out and the rich, `Black Cherry' sees the two-piece hit the studio with avidness, refreshed energy and clearly enjoying what they are doing. This is an inspirational album that is fresh, fashionable and icy cool.
Goldfrapp is ace!!, 24 Jul 2006
I first listened to this album with broken headphones, so the panning was all out of proportion - it sounded really cool like that!! But then I listened to it on a stereo and it sounded so much better! I love the way in which Goldfrapp as a partenership utilise electronic sounds and use the synthesiser to create an out-of-this-world kind of atmosphere, along with the sexual and rather raunchy singing style of Alison herself.
I really like this CD because the lyrics are so simple in effect and so futuristic and really it does remind me of some odd Tim Burton-esque film with loads of add female lead characters pracing around in high heeled shoes and stripy tights and odd, but awesome clothing ...
Tracks from "Supernature!" their newest album are just as promising as these older ones. Buy this album if you like strange but wonderful music.
Mel.
What Sex Should Sound Like ..., 07 Jun 2006
With "Black Cherry", Goldfrapp would take a critic-baiting chance in letting their work take them into another direction. Having already ensnared the indie-darling limelight with their half-million selling debut, "Felt Mountain", the pressure was on for Alison Goldfrapp and her trusted collaborator Will Gregory to come up with something that would continue to make the world swoon at Gregory's full-blooded orchestral arrangements and Goldfrapp's unsettlingly seductive vocals. And so, with true showmanship, Goldfrapp stumped their critics with an album completely polarised in style and content from its predecessor, replacing "Mountain's" melodious eeriness with a techno stomp that wears its sexiness on its sleeve and makes no apologies. Aside from a few welcome lapses into the Goldfrapp we knew before, the sexuality that had threatened to eclipse "Mountain" had been well and truly set loose.
The musical influences behind this LP should be spoken about to hint at an idea as to how disparate "Black Cherry" is to its creators' first effort. "Mountain's" soundscapes were clearly secured within the realms of film score and influence, Gregory even thanking Sergio Leone in the notes of the CD sleeve. Meanwhile, "Cherry's" influence, aside from the Kraftwerk-style synths and programming that pepper the music so indelibly, is clearly rooted in the late 1970s-early 1980s pop era, "Crystalline Green" and "Strict Machine" (their irreplaceable breakout hit) in particular sounding like they've been trapped in a time capsule for twenty years. However, the industrial techno leanings, exemplified best by "Train" and "Tiptoe", exhibit a futuristic knowingness, often coming across as darker versions of Richard X-produced pop fluff by Rachel Stevens, Liberty X and all the other ones you cannot remember. Even the slower numbers herald a poppier sound for the dance duo, the programming more overt and less subtle than on Mountain and often almost unlistenable (hear "Slippage", or not), hitting the right balance between conventional pop and that old fad, electroclash.
Their calling card could be "the natural successors to the Eurythmics" if Goldfrapp and Gregory weren't so fiercely sexual in their content. One | | |