by Catatonia List Price:$25.00 Our Price:$25.00 Availability: Usually ships in 4 to 6 days
Product Details
Media: Audio CD
Release Date: Monday, August 06, 2001
Label: Route
Average Customer Review: 4.42 Based on 12 reviews.
Sales Rank: 999999
Tracks
1.
Apple Core
2.
Beautiful Loser
3.
Blues Song
4.
Vilage Idiots
5.
Arabian Derby
6.
Shore Leave
7.
Imaginary Friend
8.
Is Everybody Here On Drugs
9.
The Mother Of Misogyny
10.
Stone By Stone
11.
What Is It
12.
Fuel
13.
Immediate Circle
14.
Godspeed
Top Customer Reviews
Rating:
4 Sad to lose such an obviously talented band...
Now that Cerys Matthews has officially left Catatonia, it is doubtful that the band will ever be the same. True, its the band member Robert Catatonia that writes the material but it was Cerys's husky vocals that really gave the songs life. This record is once again completely different from their past albums. For one, it seems to have a much more forlorn tone. Gone are novelty tunes such as Londinium, Karaoke Queen and Mulder and Scully, and it's in with all of those intelligent numbers that we all knew they were capable of. Perhaps the best examples of this are 'Fuel' and 'Village Idiots'. However, it would be a very boring album indeed if every song was the same and the tale of the album seems to be love lost. In particular, 'Godspeed' is outstanding and should definitely have been a single. It would be difficult to highlight any tracks as not being good because the album is incredibly consistent - perhaps 'Apple Core' is a slightly alarming change of direction that doesn't fit with the rest of the album. I fail to give this five stars because I'm conscious of doing that far too much these days and this album isn't 100% perfect. However, it will be in the cream of any record collection. It's just a shame that Catatonie every produced four albums. I could have done with some more...
Rating:
4 A Grand Exit
If what I've heard is true and Cerys is leaving the band then this is a grand exit. Song for song, I think this is the best one yet. And the production is excellent. Before you even notice the improved songwriting, the sound of it all just leaps from your speakers. But that's just surface. The songs themselves are uniformly great. Highlights include "Stone By Stone," "Fuel," "Immediate Circle," "Godspeed," and "Mother Of Misogyny." Cerys voice is fantastic and the lyrics are as biting and intelligent as ever. Perhaps a song or two too long but that's just quibbling. An improvement over the good (but not great) EC&B and a match for International Velvet. If you are one of those who bought the IV but then lost interest in Catatonia (and the lackluster album sales in the UK show that there are many of you), the album proves that the best was yet to come.
Rating:
5 Poignantly, the last from a great pop band
I have all Catatonia records, and I have to say this is more mature and sophisticated than the others. Cerys never sounded better. Such a pity they disbanded. But I am ready for Cerys' solo career - she's got such a unique voice and personality, and now that she's married and healthy again, I'm sure we will hear more great stuff from her.
Rating:
4 Breaking up with a bang
If Catatonia's previous album, Equally Cursed and Blessed, didn't do as well as their earlier albums, it was because they gained production gloss at the expense of the wonderfully manic energy that infused International Velvet or Way Beyond Blue. Thankfully, Catatonia regain their footing with Paper Scissors Stone.The songs on this album pack the old Catatonia punch, while keeping the polish that their studio work has attained since Equally Cursed and Blessed. The music is far more rich and textured than ever before, but it's all produced so well that the sound leaves just enough space for Cerys Matthews to show off her unique, surprisingly emotional voice.Look to tracks like "Blues Song," "Stone by Stone," "Beautiful Loser" and "Is Everybody Here on Drugs?" to keep you both off-balance and hooked. Heretofore, Matthews has been the big star, but in this album, the guys (guitarists Mark Roberts and Owen Powell, bassist Paul Jones, drummer Aled Richards--THERE IS NO "ROBERT CATATONIA" WHO WRITES ALL THE SONGS, BY THE WAY) really grab your attention this time around, as the music gives the album as much character as Matthews does.This may be the first album where Catatonia really come together as a band, so it's a real tragedy that they've broken up now. It's also a tragedy that Paper Scissors Stone, the album to rival and even surpass International Velvet, and the album that has the best chance at widespread commercial success, has not been released out of the UK.
Rating:
5 Excellent album from a sadly-broken up band
It seems like lately any band that I begin to like end up breaking up. Even though I've only known of Catatonia for about 8 months, I was crushed by the announcement. I'm not usually into the genre of music (I hate to call it pop, because each track has a unique sound), but Catatonia is one exception I have grown to make. I know that in Europe and the UK, Catatonia was one of the more famous bands, but in the United States they are sadly unheard of, as is the case with many bands that originate from Europe (I had to get "Paper Scissors Stone" off of Amazon because I could not find it anywhere locally). In April of this year, I heard their smash single "Mulder and Scully", and that got me hooked. I bought "International Velvet" and "Equally Cursed and Blessed" and I was pleasantly surprised by the variety and the quality of their music. I was ecstatic when I found out "Paper Scissors Stone" had been released this summer -- and is absolutely no exception, if not better than their other albums. Frontwoman Cerys Matthews has an amazing voice like none anyone's ever heard, and the lyrics are powerful -- ranging from sad and depressing [Mother of Misogyny, Imaginary Friend] to uplifting [Stone by Stone] to just plain weird [Is Everybody Here On Drugs?]. The accompanying band members also do a great job, changing their sound each track, making each one unique and fun to listen to. It is unfortunate that the band's internal conflicts led to the break up, but Catatonia has undoubtedly made a mark on the music industry.
