Classic Albums #8 Damien Rice - O

[borneoman]

Not sure how to start. This is my favourite album ever and to me it´s a “modern classic”, an album for people who really want to feel something when they listen to music (so not for everybody). And it´s an album I can never get tired of. I still remember buying it back in the day (around 2002) and playing it non-stop for days and days, listening to it 3 or 4 times a days and never getting tired of it. Still today, after 12 years, I can listen to it from start to finish. As with many singer-songwriters, it´s the combination of music and lyrics that are so piercing and moving. And I guess that I do relate to his lyrics, really writes from the perspective of a guy in his late 20s/30s, someone who is insecure, doesn´t know what he wants in life, fecks up relationships. I totally relate to that, and that´s why I kinda identify with the songs so much. And he has this melancholic side, a mix of being lost, a bit lonely, his relationships have left him damaged and that translates into the songs. He can be romantic at times, but there´s also a lot of sexuality in his songs, but always a sorta teenager-y sexuality.

To put the album into perspective, Damien was part of an Irish band called Juniper, all of which were friends since high school. They got a deal and all but the record company was putting too much pressure on them, wanted them to be the next Radiohead or something, so Damien quit (the rest of guys went to form Bell XI) and decided to give up music for good. But eventually he got restless and after busking for months in Europe, he returned to Ireland and started working on his debut album O, which we he recorded mostly at home on his own label cos he didn´t wanna be constrained by a record label.

But the genious thing about O is that it has “three voices”. First, Damien. Second, Lisa Hannigan, who sings duets with Damien on three songs plus second vocals in the rest of the album. Lisa sings like an angel, subtle, never over-doing it, the anti-Mariah Carey. But then there is the third voice, the cello, played by Vivyenne Long. I think the combination of male and female voices, acoustic guitar and cello is perfection. And O is a perfect album, sure the more cohesive album I´ve ever listened. He had many more songs from the era but he sacrificed some of them in order to make a cohesive album instead of a Now27.

So going song by song… Delicate opens the album. Very soft track, sets the pace for the rest of the album. Volcano follows. First Damien/Lisa duet on the album and works perfectly. Lyrically one of his best songs, about when two people want different things in a relationship, when one is totally in love and in for a serious commitment, but the other is not and just wants a casual relationship (“you give me miles and miles of mountains, but I´ll ask for the sea”). The Blower´s Daughter follows, which is a quite well known song I´d say. Really like the simple lyrics, like when he sings “life goes easy on me, most of the time”, as usual, I really relate to that. A song about being obsessed with a girl, finishes with the line “I can´t take my mind off of you… til I find somebody new”, for once a positive ending. Cannonball follows. Even if overplayed, everytime I hear him singing it (as opposed to Little Mix) I realize what an amazing song this is. The lyrics are stellar from start (“Still a little bit of your taste in my mouth”) to finish (“It´s not hard to grow when you know that you just don´t know”. Only but accepting that we know nothing, we can being to grow up as a person… I find the lyrics in this song particularly “human”, like when he sings “love taught me to lie”… The first part of the album finishes with Older Chests, on the same melancholic tone of the whole album. Again, beautiful lyrics (time, there´s always time, on my mind, I´ll be fine, just give me time).
The second part of the album only gets better and, while it doesn´t include any singles, it includes some of his better songs. Starts with Amie, an old song from the Juniper days when the song was called Spaceship, again beautiful melody, beautiful lyrics about asking for a sign, for a change in life. Cheers Darlin follows. He always tells the story about the song during concerts, which is about when you met a girl, and you start talking and you kinda like her, and then she suddenly says that she has a boyfriend (“and I die, when you mention his name”. Most Cohen-esque song in the album.
The next two songs are my favourites and the true jewels of this album. First, Cold Water, again duet with Lisa. Very simple song, not many words, but the lyrics cannot be more beautiful (Cold water surrounds me not, and all I´ve got is your hand, God can you hear me now, or am I lost). And then I Remember, my one song in the history of music. Again a Damien/Lisa duet, this is almost like two songs. It starts very quiet and nice with Lisa singing about meeting someone for the very first time and how overwhelming that can be. Then the second part comes, and it changes completely. As Damien usually says when he sings it live, the girl dumps him and he turns to masturbation. So the second part is all guitars and angry lyrics (this is love, this is porn)… The album finishes with Eskimo. Beautiful song and nice opera vocals to close the album (although there is two hidden tracks *hint *hint)

I’m aware that this is not music for everybody but I’m sure it can strike a chord if you give it a chance. And to further convince you, I posted some amazing live videos. Damien and Lisa were really magic together, especially when they played live. Pity the personal and artistic relationship ended and they´re never gonna sing together again.

[Shireblogger]

Never listened to this album before, so I'll find out what I have or haven't missed.

[wonderwall]

Not heard this one for ages

[o]

Cheers Borneoman, thought You'd choose this
Not sure if I have it or not, but can always youtube and listen to it on there.

[vastar iner]

I ought to declare an interest right now, Lisa Hannigan is going to be Lady Vas one day, only she doesn't know it yet.

[thehitparade]

Yeah, I was just thinking on the way home today, I bet I know what he's going to pick.
This one shows up in charity shops a lot, so I might do the decent thing, once I've caught up with other reviews.

[o]

Have listened to it a couple of times on youtube, and apart from the hits which I guess I'm familiar with, I just find it hard going, and difficult to say anything positive about, so for the three singles that I like, I'll give it 3/10. Sorry.

[wonderwall]

I find this boring on repeated listens I could maybe listen to it now and again but find it all very boring really just not to my taste really 4/10

[vastar iner]

It;s all gone quiet. Is this thing on? OK, little bump and there it goes. World-weary-before-its-time voice over one of those slow badum-tish drum things, at the appropriate speed for something quiet, melancholic and would-be-grand, with occasional strings put in to make him sound like a depressed Corr. Then it fades away into nothing.

Second track, starts off a bit more urgently, but it’s more of the same. Quiet verses, slightly less quiet chorus with strings bringing it in. It’s all based around one note. Lisa, you’re gorgeous. They end it with a bit of entwined plainsong. It goes on a bit. Scratch that. It goes on a LOT. Instruments stop, but the singing doesn’t. Still going. STILL going. She stops. He doesn’t. Oh, hang on, has it segued straight into the next one? His voice, sparse guitar. And more instruments come in bit by bit. Oh, strings, what a surprise. Is there a bit of passion there? No, it stops as soon as it starts. He can’t take his eyes off someone, I presume the blower’s daughter, I also presume a glass-blower’s rather than a prostitute. He does not clarify, but re-emphasizes the inability to remove his ocular organs six times. Bit of a verse, and, guess what, he can’t take his eyes off her. Now Lisa comes in with her bits, sounding like a mermaid. Did I ever tell you, Lisa, I love mermaid voices? Just saying. Oh, now he can’t take his mind off “of” her. Oi, Rice, I saw her first. And I don’t agree with long-line fishing. YES, WE HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME! SHUT UP! Oh, he has. No, he hasn’t. God, did he have an erotic fascination for the fading desk?

And it segues straight into another one. I can now see why he has the fading thing. If he stopped dead and re-started, everyone would assume it’s the same song. This is pretty much identical to what has gone before, only there are no strings. Yet. “What’s going on?” Good question. Did he just say stones taught him to fly? Repeat ad nauseam. Where’s Lisa? He’s shut up now but is still picking at his guitar. It’s going on a bit. Again. And it’s fading, veeeery slowly. No, it’s making a comeback. I think. It’s difficult to tell. Or is that just more resonant notes? No, it is palpably fading. Still fading. Oops, stop.

And start. Again picking a guitar. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s all pretty much identical I’d put this down to ring composition. At least he hasn’t started singing again - his voice is grating after a while. Here he comes, whining. It’s the same thing over and over again. Has he given up on the strings? No - they’re back with a vengeance. Well, not so much vengeance as in their typical long note theme. I’m trying to listen to the lyrics, but they seem to be trite. “Children scream, louder than before, into stores, with bigger names, mama tries to wash their faces, but these kids lost their graces, daddy lost at the races…” I suppose someone bought him a rhyming dictionary for Christmas, there’s no real interest or insight, it’s endless moaning. Hello, Lisa, you would be SO much better without him.

I think it stopped, I wasn’t paying attention. Moves to the next song. This has a difference - there is ANOTHER instrument in at the start. Not sure what it is, is it a clarinet? Something woodwindy. Oh, and the strings are back again, again doing their long note thing, although this time there are more of them. “Sit on my wall and read me the story of old.” Is he Humpty Dumpty? Christ alive, there is still over half the album to go. Save me, Lisa. No, he just gives way to the strings. You know the strings at the end of “Dear Jessie”? THOSE were good, these are aimless. And they just stop. Eh? That was a bit unplanned. Ran out of recording tape?

What’s happening now? It’s like they’re tuning up. Is this still the same song? There’s a repeated clinking of glasses and Damien sounds like he’s acting a bit drunk. Rhymes “cheers” with “years”. This went top 10? Whereas Half Man Half Biscuit, who rhymed “cursed and sore” with “Thurston Moore” have never made it? There is no justice. Hello, he’s almost shouting. That’s a novelty. Seems to be some sort of whinge because someone is getting married to someone who is not him. Sorry, Damien, a bunch of 12 year olds did that about a million billion trillion times better before. Ooh, it suddenly wakes up. Now, for the first time, 33 minutes and 6 seconds into the album, there’s something energetic happening. It doesn’t last out the minute. Finishes though with some interesting music boxes. That little burst is the only bit so far that’s worth listening to.

OK, new song, “cold water surrounds me now”, well, I won’t send a lifeboat then. Where’s Lisa? Here she is. Her voice is much better than his. No wonder she went solo. Bloody hell, what’s that in the background? Sounds like a parade of druids has come in to mourn over the album. Damien shuts them up by grabbing the mike. They fade away and the druids return. They are more interesting in their twelve seconds than the rest of this album.

Lisa, you are WASTED on this. Your voice is suffused with emotion and power and intrigue and beauty, and you’re saddled with this warm-up exercise. Go solo. Now he’s stopped you singing and I can’t work out whether this is a new song or not. Sounds like it. Oh, SHUT UP! FOR CLIFF’S SAKE!!! AND TAKE YOUR STRINGS WITH YOU!!! No, hang on, the strings are taking over, all distorted and warped, it’s almost beginning to approach being a Sigur Ros pastiche. No, before it gets really interesting, it’s killed and meanders down into nothingness.

And another song. This is called “Eskimo”, but it should be called “The Same As Every Other F***ing Song On This Parade Of Drear”. He looks to his eskimo friend. Again and again and again. Surprise surprise, there’s more string building up. Oh Christ, they say it ain’t over till the fat lady sings, well, she’s singing now. Some operista warbling over the top of what I take to be crashing waves. Is this a parody?

Finally, that’s it. There are apparently bonus tracks, although “bonus” is a strange word to use for more of this. Let’s give them a go. Well, the first is even more boring than the rest, if that’s possible. Even slower, quieter and duller. And then to the surprise of nobody in every dimension under heaven gets louder in the chorus. Is he doing this by numbers?

Finally there’s a track which is just Lisa. But I can’t review this as part of a Damien Rice album as had no input in it. Bit like saying “Amarillo” is a Peter Kay song. Besides which, it’s an a cappella version of “Silent Night” with altered lyrics. It’s the best bit on the album by a distance comparable to the radius of the observable universe. Says it all.


I would normally try to listen again to get a second impression, and see whether I was missing out on something, but quite honestly I cannot dredge up the spirit to do so. I was going to see whether I could soften up the critique, but having listened through it all I am violently disposed against doing it. Leave it honest. Forget the political correctness. That is the sort of album that is better listened to comatose. The musical equivalent of gruel, there was no soul, no passion, no flavour, no taste, no interest, and getting through it was a mighty effort. I am proud of myself for sticking with it.

I am tempted to suggest that the album title was named after the amount of marks it deserves, but I think I have to scrape up to 1, just for trying and for not being a corpo-whore. I give myself 15 out of 10 for not defenestrating the pooter.

[thehitparade]

Just realised it's nearly the end of the month and I haven't turned up a copy in the Sue Ryder shop so I'm giving it a listen on Spotify. I've tried not to read the detailed reviews above yet so it doesn't steer me too much.

[Shireblogger]

I do intend to review this album, but as I don't own it, I'll need a little more time to listen to it properly over t'internet.

[raliverpool]

OK, hand on heart if I had to come up with a list of 10 "credible" singers from the 21st Century whose voice I strongly dislike then Damien Rice would be high up that list. To my ears he sounds like someone who has auditioned and failed to be successful in getting into an Irish manufactured boyband managed by Louis Walsh. Then in a fit of self pity and depression he has gone home and locked himself away with only his parent's John Martyn; Nick Drake; albums to listen to, which inspired him after a month to come up with these efforts.

Unfortunately, he and this album lacks any of those two great artists inspirational presence, songs, arrangements or stunning vocals. As this album is 71 minutes of sheer tedium and dirge like meandering furthered hindered by some terrible lyrics that a 6th former would be embarrassed by; some uninspired string arrangements that have tried and failed miserably to be like Robert Kirby's great efforts on many classic 1970s folk albums; the guitar playing is relatively basic and perfunctory at best; there is no light or shade to the drumming and occasional bass playing or arrangements and sound engineering ..... with the nearest thing to a saving grace being the all too rare vocal by Lisa Hannigan.

In many ways the album's nadir is its most well known song Cannonball. Clearly in defiance of one of "Professor" Brian Eno's mantras "Never call a new recording an unusual song title, if another song already exists with the same title, unless you've made a much better recording.." And anyone claiming Damien Rice's Cannonball is better than www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGXE7AF_sK4 probably regards David Moyes as a better football manager than Sir Alex Ferguson. And of course it has been gobbled up and spat out by numerous X-Factor alumni to highlight hey look see how serious I am, I'm an aspiring worthy "artist" not a popstar; etc.

In this, the work, as an organic expression of "oh look how worthy I am, aren't I credible anti-pop culture", cannot be rated according to any conventional scale to review long-playing popular music recordings, let alone the absurd 5 Star /out of 10/100 scale. Thus, consider the score of O recorded to be nothing less than a symbol of my great respect for what that represents, as in all matters of national art, the final court of appeal. Nothing less than this zero .... this immensely empty nought ... could encircle the passion and commitment, in all its similar forms, and nothing less than this massive bedazzled orifice O could do justice to the lack of judgement and discernment upon the musical sadomasochists who think this is a classic album in any shape or form. It is the perfect companion to the (in)famous French erotic novel by Pauline Réage (Story Of O) as the musical equivalent of the cruelty in the name of love that novel's heroine O underwent; as it makes the average Eastenders episode seem like Mrs Brown's Boys.

Track Rating:

1. "Delicate" 1.0
2. "Volcano" 2.0
3. "The Blower's Daughter" 8.0
4. "Cannonball" 1.0
5. "Older Chests" 1.5
6. "Amie" 3.5
7. "Cheers Darlin'" 0.5
8. "Cold Water" 4.0
9. "I Remember" 2.5
10. "Eskimo" (Hidden tracks "Prague", and "Silent Night" sung by Lisa Hannigan) 3.0

Overall: O


My recommendation for a similar album except its actually a great album as it achieves what this album fails miserably to do would be Guillemots - Through The Windowpane (2006) grooveshark.com/#!/album/Through+The+Windowpane/2670669

[thehitparade]

So I admit I wasn't looking forward to this one at all, because I'd heard a lot of songs I didn't like before by him, and I found his voice rather off-putting - he's always seemed quite self-important too. Still, I wanted to give it a fair hearing so off to the Spotify web player I went. (other streaming services are available).

Track One is called Delicate and rather the king of thing I was expecting from this album, earnest slow-paced singer-songwritery stuff, though the texture is rather more appealing than I expected, good use of the cello on this track. He really should have binned the "hallelujah/ nothin' to ya" rhyme though.

I remembered Volcano coming out as single, though not the song itself. As it turned out it's a faster and jazzier song than I was expecting, not unlike 'Underdog' by Turin Brakes (though not as good as that one). And Lisa Hannigan turns up to sing the second verse, which is a nice break.
Later in the song they take to singing different parts over the top of each other, which is a nice idea but doesn't quite work with the sparse arrangement. I'm still enjoying the production more than the songs but I was pleasantly surprised. 

My grandad used to be a glassblower but I already know The Blower's Daughter isn't about my auntie because it seems to have been a hit several times. I never really understood why as it's one of the dullest pieces of music I've ever heard and if I'm honest the main reason I was reluctant to listen to the album. A heavy-handed but inane song where he mistakes repetition for depth of feeling and keeps singing "I can't take my eyes off of you" over and over again. Where's Andy Williams when you need him? Hannigan shows up half way through and starts singing what sounds like a different (and more melodic) song, but then Damien grabs the mic back and starts repeating himself again. Pity he didn't, actually, he could have looked at a piece of paper and written some other words on it.  

It's not uncommon for a singer-songwriter to cover a pop song in search of a novelty hit, but I still think Little Mix's Cannonball was a strange choice...
I joke of course, this is a song that has been released as a single many times. In fact one of the first times I remember hearing about him was when early adopters complained that the single version of this track had been remixed and edited. I don't really agree with them as the album track is a bit too slow and tepid, forcing too much attention on his pseudo-profound lyrics. It lacks variation over the five minutes. Good song on the acoustic guitars though so well done whoever engineered this. 

More strumming at the start of Older Chests, although "older chests reveal themselves" is a confusing enough opening lyric to attract your attention. Nothing actually wrong with this song, but it is a bit samey as we end the first side (if this album was ever released on vinyl or cassette).

"Nothing unusual" he intones grimly at the start of Amie, and when he starts to sing about "the same old routine" it's almost like he's playing with us. Actually, this does introduce a slight variation in sound, with a fuller string arrangement rather than just the cello this time, so at least there's something a bit fresher about this track. It's also the song where he mentions The Story Of O, thus giving the album its title. There also seems to be an audible edit towards the end of the song which is distracting. 

More change arrives at the start of Cheers Darlin' - not only is the title not one I'd have expected him to come up with but the song starts on woodwind and party sound effects. As it turns out, the sound of clinking glasses is looped as a rhythm all the way through the song, and his vocal is pleasingly low in the mix. It sounds like he's singing as a drunken, not entirely welcome guest at a wedding and the soundscape is different from anything we've heard so far. A pleasant surprise although the track is, like many of the previous six, a bit overlong. 

We start slightly closer to type on Cold Water, except that this has the piano as lead instrument. A lot of Hannigan vocals on this one, though she seems to have caught his repeated lyric syndrome, there's a lot of "Lord can you hear me" and then Rice starts doing some heavy breathing which I didn't really want to hear. The track ends, uncharacteristically for this album, with a backwards sample of a choir, a very studio sound.

Hannigan again starts singing I Remember, as a very bare-bones acoustic number that makes me wonder whether I should listen to one of her solo albums. Then Rice shows up, a bit too close to the microphone and a bit shouty, but he has brought an orchestra and drummer with him who take over the song and try to drown out his odd grunting noises. In fact the twisty, slightly dub-like instrumental coda is one of the best bits of the album. 

Final track Eskimo resumes the folk-rock sound, at least until the surprising arrival of an opera singer in the middle. Honestly, this sounds like it would be a really good closing track to a more diverse album but I sort of feel like Ive heard a bit too much of this by now. 


In summation, this album is nowhere near as bad as I expected and I'm pleased to learn that the track I was most familiar with beforehand is my least favourite. Parts of the album did pleasantly surprise me and the change of pace in the second half is an interesting move but I don't think I'd buy this album. Call it a 6/10

[Shireblogger]

Damien Rice - O

Context
I have a friend who knows nothing about music at all. Which means the alarm bells go off whenever she starts raving about an album, because her selections are not driven by her actually liking it, but by the need to sound like she is in tune with times. Towards the end of 2004, she couldn’t stop expostulating on the merits of Damien Rice, but the odd track I heard washed over me completely, and I hadn’t tried the whole of “O” until this week.
1/10

General Overview
Far too earnest, and dull. There’s only so much of someone squeaking their fingers up and down a guitar string that I can take. Too much, and it pains me as much as finger nails on a blackboard. And lyrics in Finnish ? Do me a favour.
1/10

Intro & Outro
At least “Delicate” is representative of what’s to come. At the other end, hidden tracks are one of my pet hates. What is the sense of making track 10 last for 15 minutes and contain 3 completely separate songs ? It means I can’t access one of them without fiddling around for ages, and I don’t suddenly think, “My, how generous of Damien to give me a couple of freebies”.
0/10

Music
Nothing ear-catching, nothing memorable here. I’m sure Damien is a very accomplished musician. He just isn’t a very creative one.
0/10

Lyrics
Wallowing in self-pity. Is it any wonder all these girls walk away, when you’re so pathetically self-obsessed and vague, Damien ? What does “Stones taught me to fly” actually mean, apart from providing a rhyme with lie and die ?
1/10

Production & Sound
Singer-songwriter albums where the voice is primarily accompanied by an acoustic guitar and little else can be really compelling. Try Michelle Shocked as a prime example. But they can also be a one-dimensional, single-paced snoozefest. I offer you “O” as evidence, m’lud. Some of the strings are quite nice, for example on “Amie”, but that might be caused by the craving for a release from the squeaky guitar and moaning vocals.
1/10

High Points
Little Mix’s cover of “Cannonball” perhaps ? Actually, that is too harsh. Lisa Hannigan’s breathless, wistful contributions are actually quite adorable, and one of this album’s few saving graces. Shame she agreed to do "Silent Night" which just makes me want to smother Damien Rice with a smelly pillow.
2/10

Low Points
Start at 0:00 and finish 61:28 later. “Cheers Darlin’” is really, really painful.
0/10

Packaging
Distinctively, pretentiously juvenile. A nasty shade of beige, infantile stick men, and oh-so-impoverished worn-out typewriter font. Its only merit is that when I’m flicking through a CD rack in a charity shop or the latest HMV sale, I recognise it immediately, and move on.
0/10

On balance
If Rice hadn’t been a cousin of David Arnold, and if the music industry hadn’t needed another David Gray, he’d never have broken out of County Wicklow. I could happily go another 10 years before hearing any of this again.
1/10

TOTAL SCORE
Why do you sing…at all ?
7/100.

For Haven:
0.5/10

[thehitparade]

Shocked to see that I seem to have been the most positive reviewer of this one! Maybe I'm just more generous than the rest of you, or maybe it was my low expectations. For the record, I totally agree with Shire about the cover, but I didn't think it was really fair to include that, and I didn't review the hidden tracks because they aren't on the version I listened to - I'm not sure what I'd do about any subsequent albums that have them.

[Shireblogger]

Mar 1, 2014 14:15:24 GMT 1 thehitparade said:

For the record, I totally agree with Shire about the cover, but I didn't think it was really fair to include that, and I didn't review the hidden tracks because they aren't on the version I listened to.

I'm an old fashioned physical buyer, and one of the reasons is I like the artwork, lyrics and credits that come with a CD. Therefore the cover influences my opinion of an album, and I have factored that into all the reviews I've written.

Normally, I would review the standard, original release of an album. The version I listened to via YouTube included them, and wikipedia seemed to suggest they were there from the start, which is why I factored them in. If I got that wrong, then it doesn't make much difference in this case, but I'll try to avoid that mistake in the future.

[thehitparade]

Yeah, I'm not saying you were wrong to include the hidden tracks, but I didn't hear them so I couldn't.

[smokeyb]

Damien Rice – O

This is not the kind of music I usually listen to, very depressing. I wish I could be more positive, but apart from Cannonball which I remember as a single(although never liked) none of the other tracks made any impression on me.
Not much more I can add, suffice to say I gave up half way through, or was it track 3, oh dear.

0/10