Search - ed Harcourt :: The Beautiful Lie

His best -- and that's saying something

royalninjaturtle | California | 09/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been listening to Ed Harcourt since I recieved "Here Be Monsters" as a promotional disc about 4 years ago, and have bought every album since. Ed Harcourt is one of the best musical talents of the new millenium and,sadly, has yet to find any sort of recognition in the US. Unlike "Strangers", where he tried his hand at a few poppier tunes, Ed finds himself back where he started and embraces his dramatic flair turning out a very complete and utterly satisfying album. Like "Here Be Monsters", Ed orchestrates elaborate ballads complete with horns and strings, and maintains his brooding style in even his most upbeat songs resulting in perhaps his most well rounded and mature sounding album yet. He takes his songs in all the right directions, and strays from the pitfalls of predictable songwriting keeping his sound fresh and giving the album incredible replay value. "The Beautiful Lie" is like a good novel with all of its chapters joined by a unifying theme. Each song flows from the first to the last and leaves you wanting to replay the album as soon as it's finished. If I had to pick a favorite song(--seriously--every song is great)I would probably pick one of "shadowboxing"/"until tomorrow then"/or "good friends are hard to find". On every track Ed Harcourt emotes his lyrics with genuine passion and binds his words and his music together to paint images that are sometimes haunting and sometimes whimsical, yet always sincere . This is his best work definitely and deserves much more attention than its going to get."

Heartbreaking indeed

Christopher Costabile | Clearwater, FL USA | 05/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I find it unbelievable that after nearly a full year, this disc remains undistributed in America. Ed Harcourt is one of the best singer/songwriters of our generation, and he's only getting better with each successive album. He released an online-only double album of demos and throwaways called "Elephant's Graveyard," whose quality puts to shame most artists' official releases.



"Beautiful Lie" is Ed's latest and greatest effort. It contains his most heartbreaking ("Until tomorrow then," "Late Night Partner") and uproarious ("Shadowboxing") songs yet. Songwriters everywhere should be taking notes on how to craft melodies like these, yet Ed Harcourt remains in relative obscurity. Although it is well worth the 20 odd bucks you will spend for the import, I officially chastise record companies everywhere for not releasing this in the states. CONSIDER YOURSELVES CHASTISED!!!!!"