Search - Morel :: Lucky Strike

A sleeper ready to blossom, Lucky Strike is right on target!

Jack Gerard | Silver Spring, MD USA | 03/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been following Richard Morel for quite awhile, as my eyes widened significantly with his stunning debut, Queen of The Highway. Although there is a band that plays with Morel (and I would not want to minimize the band) I will mostly refer to MOREL as Richard Morel, the author, creator of electronic dance music & lead singer. Rich Morel was a big influence & one of the architects of the amazing Junk Science, an original House music album which was produced by Deep Dish. Coming from both a rock band background and as a studio engineer, Morel co-penned a few of those tunes in Junk Science, especially those with ambient guitar riffs and I have been in love with that sound ever since.



It's COOL, to have rock guitar in House music, and Morel certainly leans towards the punk rock sound at times. That edgy daddy/guy-next-door voice is now inescapably Morel. At times sounding like Leonard Cohen, it is a bit rough & very sweet,-- all at once! (he has an excellent falsetto) Morel's compositions span several musical genres, have a wonderful hypnotic bouncy beat at times, but then he handles more ballady songs very well too. The melodies, mesmorizing lyrics, orchestration & layering are what I think makes Morel unique. And that is why I believe he will continue to be a key pioneer in the evolution of dance music. Lucky Strike has that rock star quality & emotional angst that distinguishes Rich Morel's musical style & lyrics.



The motorcycle, cars and on-the-road references bring back images of Jack Kerouac & the Beat Generation. In fact, the wonderfully beautiful & trancy song, Heaven 65 has a fabulous speaking part that references Andy Warhol, the bridge, and the brilliant view of San Francisco from there.



In addition to Heaven 65, I will mention a few other gems. There is a key phrase in the wonderful song, If You Love Me: "It's getting hard to be with you, it's getting hard to be all by myself." What wonderful dischotomy & emotions come out in this song and in others in Lucky Strike! In that song and in American Flag, there are some parallels with the sound of the Pet Shop Boys, in their originality, lyrics, and instrumentation. One song has two different treatments, I'll Do What I Can Not To Touch You. Part one is very bluesy and slower, Part Two is a straight-away infectious dance hit. This Song is Broken is classic dance pop! Algebra has shades of Pink Floyd in the guitar work.



Because of Morel's brilliance in all these aspects of rock and dance and instrumentation, I think MOREL will be discovered by more of the masses very soon. If The Scissor Sisters can be such a huge hit, certainly MOREL's Lucky Strike deserves lots of attention!! That is why I give it a 5-Star Diamond rating.



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Lucky for us

Karen sanfran | CA | 12/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I got my copy of Lucky Strike 3 days ago. I haven't written a review before but after reading alternacubs I felt I needed to give my view. "Lucky Strike" is a visionary cd. Perhaps he hasn't actually listened to the cd. From the opening strings of "Cheerful" to the end I have been hooked. The lyrics are both uplifting and tragic. I know Morel's remixes for Depeche Mode and T.A.T.U. and some of the brilliance of those can be heard as well. Not sure what that alternaguy's problem is. Morel has worked with Depeche Mode and shows no signs of wanting to be like them. I have Morel's first record "Queen of the Highway" and believe this to be a great follow up."

Under a disco and loving it

stephen graham | NYC | 11/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Amazing record from start to finish. If you like Bowie, New Order, Scissor Sisters, and anything glam you will love this record. Its rare to find a record with both lyrical honesty and strong melody. I first heard Morel on his stunning collaboration with 16B "Driving to Heaven" which is also included on Lucky Strike. A must have cd."