Search - Mary Weiss :: Dangerous Game

LABOR OF LOVE / RARE COLLABORATIVE EFFORT

J. Gambino | 04/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think I was only 12 when the Shangra-Las began their distintive string of hits in the mid-1960's. Most youth living in NYC at that time would likely identify with the regionalist attitude that music conveyed.



I purchased this CD more out of curiosity than nostalgia. The early strong reviews are quite accurate. When initially listening to the first few selections I felt awkward. It was like meeting a valued friend after many years when you are not quite sure there is still any common ground between you. However, by the third song I was so overwhelmed by the quality of the material and "that voice"; I was just consumed with enjoyment.



This collection is a cohesive effort by the main songwriter, the musicians, the producer, as well as Ms. Weiss. It displays a level of intimacy among the performers that is rarely achieved in popular music. The Reigning Sound are excellent. The producer had a clear vision of what he hoped to create and accomplished it "big time". There are 14 songs on this disk and not one is a clunker! The ballads are all stand outs. "Cry About the Radio" and "Stitch in Time" may prove to be modern classics.



I hope this body of work gets the attention and success it so richly deserves. May it lead to a long collaboration. This CD is not an anachronism, instead it is vital contemporary music. I no longer view this performer in terms of what she did in the past but on what she will do in the future.



When I was 12, I did not appreciate the unique and expressive vocalist that Mary Weiss is. " But kids...kids don't know s--t"."

One of rock's great voices returns

David J. Hogan | Arlington Heights, IL United States | 04/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The voice is a bit deeper now, certainly more mature, more knowing. When Mary Weiss was with the Shangri-las she was just a girl, hardly more than a child, but even then--musically untrained, unschooled, just a kid with an urgent gift--she gripped a lyric and wrung from it all the emotion it had. Dangerous Game is Mary's first full recording in four decades, and her first-ever solo effort. So many of us who regard the Shangri-las as artists, and as purveyors of a new sort of opera, hoped that one day Mary would return to the studio. But the stories of crummy contracts, stolen royalties, lawsuits, the enervating grind of other people's perfidy, made a return of any sort seem wildly unlikely. But it happened, and so now we consider the new, mature voice, which has the inflection and intonation of the girl-Mary, and additional power and emotional depth earned by living. Well served by songs that are mindful of Mary's range and persona, and by whip-smart backup from the Reigning Sound, the CD reveals that young Mary's talent was real (no surprise), and that, just by being herself all those years ago, she invented punk. Listen to her now, on this new recording, and you hear the ghost of Joey Ramone and the stylings and attitude of numberless other performers who wowed 'em at CBGB's and other New York clubs when Mary was running a business completely unrelated to music. Mary was busy with other things but her voice continued to be heard in the defiant, unrepentant cry of punk. Her artistry remains direct and pure; she's without pretension, and as bracing as a stinging drink splashed in your face. "Stop and Think it Over"--with "over" determinedly sung as "o-vuh," as the girl used to sing it; this is New York, this is Mary Weiss, sounding fine, looking slim, pretty and proud. It took ages for her to return but it's good because she didn't do it until it felt right, until she knew she was ready to let loose again. Ya got me as to the identity of the Queen of Rock, but Mary Weiss is in the game and in the running. Please: more."

WOW!

J. Niss | Western Mass | 04/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Triumphant return for one of the absolute greatest voices of rock. Thank god (and Mary Weiss) that the material and the band are up to the task of representing/re-presenting Mary Weiss without a single weak moment. Not one "uh-oh, thats too bad" micro-second. Amazing. Of course, it may just be that Mary Weiss singing pretty much anything that she likes is gonna stop you in yer tracks. It will me. She's simply brilliant.



Also, a single listen lays obvious the huge influence she has had over so much that came after her earlier work. There is certainly little out of NYC that doesn't bear her mark, from Patti Smith to the Ramones and beyond, and the material here is as informed by that catalogue as it was by hers (thank God again, and Greg Cartwright who wrote 9 of the 14 tracks). That makes this my favorite record of the year, and puts it on my desert island list.



Production, mastering and mixing are at a level that it sounds better on the best equipment (that means its very good indeed, as the best gear will reveal more weaknesses). For those that care, this was reviewed by me on a Naim CD5 w/flatcap outboard pwr srce, to an RSA Raptor headphone amp loaded with old telefunkins, through a pair of Grado PS1 headphones. It is such a treat to have that voice in very high quality sonics! And if you wanna feel 40 years younger play it on a car system with 1 speaker cause its gonna shine like that too!



I have one question though, is Dave Amels at least an honorary member of The Reigning Sound?"