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Rating:
Beth Gibbons, with Portishead now on standby for years, released this album in 2002, along with Rustin' Man. It is a record far removed from trip-hop, from slowed hip hop rhythms, from disillusionments and pains, yet it remains very captivating, starting with the opening "Mysteries", an acoustic gem, a noble dark ballad, not coincidentally chosen as the first single: a piece of absolute beauty that aims for the rarity and sparseness of sounds: just an acoustic guitar about to perform an irresistible melody, Beth's voice caressing and hovering with insightful and somewhat dark emotions and a barely perceptible chorus, very much prewar '40s folk.
Still beautiful in the following "Tom The Model", the piece most inclined to trip hop, but still light years away, is enlivened by a very original rhythm and it is impossible not to listen to it twice.
The rest of the album is a kaleidoscope of jazzy pieces, with the extraordinary "Romance" standing out, a piece that, despite its title, does not sound like a love song as much as a piece that instills pain with that deep voice capable of tearing hearts, imparting pain but also admiration. A parade of more or less successful jazz pieces, from which the first two tracks and "Resolve", acoustic and short, yet certainly a great song, "Funny Time Of The Year", the pinnacle of Beth's art: a dream/nightmare where instruments chase each other in a crescendo of absolute splendor, and the less successful but creative "Rustin Man" that dangerously veers into a dreamy ambient.
An excellent album, not to be forgotten, to dream, forget worries, and enjoy a bit of art.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Mysteries (04:41)
God knows how I adore life
When the wind turns on the shores lies another day
I cannot ask for more
When the time bell blows my heart
And I have scored a better day
Well nobody made this war of mine
And the moments that I enjoy
A place of love and mystery
I'll be there anytime
Oh mysteries of love
Where war is no more
I'll be there anytime
When the time bell blows my heart
And I have scored a better day
Well nobody made this war of mine
And the moments that I enjoy
A place of love and mystery
I'll be there anytime
Mysteries of love
Where war is no more
I'll be there anytime
02 Tom the Model (03:42)
How can I forget your tender smile
Moments that I have shared with you
Our hearts may break
But they're on their way
And there's nothing I can do
Ohh...
So do what you're gotta do
And don't misunderstand me
You know you don't ever have to worry 'bout me
I'd do it again
I can understand that it can't be
Guess it's hard as you were meant for me
But I can't hide my own despair
I guess I never will
Ohh...
So do what you're gotta do
And don't misunderstand me
You know you don't ever have to worry 'bout me
I'd do it again
So tired of life
No fairytale
So hold your fire
'Cause I need you
Ohh...
Just do what you're gotta do
And don't misunderstand me
You know you don't ever have to worry 'bout me
I'd do it again
Do what you're gotta do
And don't misunderstand me
You keep going over every word that we've said
But you don't have to worry
About me
04 Romance (05:11)
You know what they say about romance
You know what they say about romance
Ever changing love that you can't
Keep on side a parking keel
Better the thought than the feeling
It's plain to see
All the things we suffer
From the hands of humanity
But that ain't me
That ain't me
But that ain't me
That ain't me
And I know there's a god inside it
Should I love your key
Adorn you
And get inside
But that ain't me
That ain't me
But that ain't me
That ain't me
And I know I may come to doubt it
But if I ever wish
I wish we could all believe
That in this daylight world
Is a world
Where love can be
And I won't ever forget it
Cuz that ain't me
That ain't me
Cuz that ain't me
Well that ain't me
07 Resolve (02:53)
Time rolls
As days go by
And now I've figured
That I ain't gonna last
Summer skies
Are leaving me behind
So resolve your loving said all
I'll be lost when you're gone
Blind me from keep
Blind me
Times told
These days go by
I still ponder this old question why
But now I know
There's no time to decide
So resolve your loving said all
I'll be lost when you're gone
Blind me from keep
Blind me
And daylight knows
How my eyes have tired
Like the circles
Like the evermore will bear
So resolve your loving said all
I'll be lost when you're gone
Blind me from keep
Blind me
08 Drake (03:56)
Turning now she caught his eye
For all he knows he cannot see
Pleasures smoulder inside
Cover seasons that fell from view
Long ago
Blame on your heart
But then you know that now
What do you do
You hide lies inside
Why do you do that
I don't know why
How long did i know you
For i don't know why you had to go
If only you had told her
The words to enfold her
Long ago
She took a breath and she never spoke
The words that tasted like to know she told a matinee
There was an odour/Unannounced anyway
But you can take and you can see
There's never enough of love for destiny
Don't look back from day to day
What i noticed wasn't me
Strangers they'll part again
They'll never know
For all the years they've disguised inside
Knowing their years of loss remain
How long did i know you
For i don't know why you had to go
If only you had told her
The words to enfold her
Long ago
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Other reviews
By Axelmoloko
Gibbons had all the time to find her personal artistic path, creating a work that is both intimate and emotional.
Despite being written in the age of full technological exploitation, the album moves wonderfully between folk and jazz atmospheres.
By Enkriko
Everything in this album is beauty, whispered power, infinite sweetness.
There are no more taxes and bills to pay... There is the ultimate desire to love, once again, despite the suffering and the fact that it is inevitable.
