Aztec Camera - Love (9 tracks) +Album Reviews

Roddy Frame tries out some blue-eyed soul!

02/09/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Obviously this wasn't exactly what the fans were expecting after the first two Aztec Camera records. Roddy Frame went from indie to more mainstream, soul-inspired music using numerous American session players - and that's just the good thing with Roddy, you never know what he will do next. Each new Aztec Camera album seems to take a completely different direction. Granted, some of the songs on 'Love' aren't Roddy as his best, but this album does include a couple of real gems. The smooth, funky ballad 'Working In A Goldmine' with Will Lee bassing, 'Paradise' featuring Marcus Miller and Steve Gadd, and 'Deep And Wide And Tall' are my personal favourites, with brilliant guitar solos from Roddy on the last two. 'How Men Are' is also a melodic soul pop effort, and 'Killermont Street' is the typical Aztec Camera acoustic guitar ballad. And a suggestion: Check out his following albums 'Stray', which has everything from pure jazz to harsh guitar rock on it, and 'Dreamland', his most consistent album brilliantly produced by Japanese keyboard wizard Ryuichi Sakamoto. They show Roddy at his peak and are must haves in any record collection."

None Too Subtle

11/07/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This album suffers from overproduction. Roddy often sounds overwhelmed by the horns, female backing vocals, and big drum sound. "Everybody Is A Number One" and "One And One" are pretty much unlistenable. Other tracks fare better, despite the kitchen sink/sledgehammer production. "Deep & Wide & Tall," "How Men Are," and "More Than A Law" sound pretty swell. I just got this import CD to replace my domestic cassette version, and was disappointed to find that "Deep & Wide & Tall" here is in edited form. The full version is definitely better."

A low point, based on what came before & after - still good!

10/28/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There are some unbelievable songs on this album, most notably Killermont Street and Somewhere In My Heart - and How Men Are is amazing as well. Yes, Everybody is a Number One is worth skipping over, but as a whole, the album isn't as bad as some people might want you to think. And if you've given up on Aztec Camera, Roddy Frame has now "gone solo" and released an album in the UK called The North Star, which is a return to the sound used in High Land, Knife, and the songs on the Covers & Rare disk (Bad Education, Jump). You can find it here on amazon.com - and it's definitely worth a listen (or 10!) Also, the website has some audioclips from the new album to give a taste of what it sounds like."

Disappointing after the first two, but just wait.

08/19/1998

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Roddy's first two were brilliant, at his age, a musical genius. When I first threw on 'Love' my expectations were high. I was blown away. My initial thought: 'He's not bringing in the dough, he's gone pop.' There was one good song, and one cool guitar lick, but to put things in their proper place, the album was trash, and even worse when you consider that the first two 'High Land, Hard Rain' & 'Knife' didn't contain a song that failed to touch on briliance, what a heartbreak. Well, that was '89 or '88. About three months ago, now living in Luxembourg (that's not in, but near Germany) I came across a cd in a record shop called 'Dreamland' with this young kid resembling Roddy on its cover. This was not the same face as the guitar bearing genius of lyric and harmony that graced the back cover of 'Knife', looked more like a hard-rocker. In Europe, most record shops let you listen to an album before you buy it. I did, it was Roddy, the album was strictly 'Aztec' and I asked the guy to throw it on for a quick spin. It took about 3 and a quarter seconds to make the decision of whether to buy or not, I did, ran home and proceeded to heaven for the next hour. What that album did to me has changed the last three months of my life. Then came 'Frestonia', a bootleg 'Sketch for Winter', my first listen at Roddy, live. What had happened since 'Love'? This was music that was mature, scalding hot, throw away that pop can and bring on an albums that mix High Land and Knife. I go through phases, and in these phases a single band dominates, it was the Style Council and before that, The Smiths and so on. Roddy, you've done it again. Perhaps that young genius of a boy got burned out after Knife. Maybe 'Love ' came too soon, but the following albums make up for everything we were disappointed in, in 'Love', just wait, no more burnouts, albums that will chill your spine and reassure you that Roddy is back. Don't think that just because the albums I mentioned aren't listed at Amazon, that they don't exist. Do what you have to do, get them and be pleased beyond belief. Gansch (in Luxembourg)"

Looking for this for sometime

05/02/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I really like this CD and have been looking for it for sometime. I am so glad to have found it. It is really enjoyable and tender romantic music."

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	Aztec Camera Love Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock Track Listings (9) - Disc #1 Deep And Wide And Tall How Men Are Everybody Is A Number One More Than A Law Somewhere In My Heart Working In A Goldmine One And One Paradise Killermont Street
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