Reviews
Rolling Stone (8/17/00, p.114) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...An orgy of space-rock guitar worship....achieving the intense sound their songs deserve: intense boy-girl vocals, psychedelic guitar power, rainy-day sprinkles of piano and strings..." Q (5/00, p.107) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...A celebration of human frailty and hope that challenges The Flaming Lips' SOFT BULLETIN and Mercury Rev's DESERTER'S SONGS for breadth of palette, imagination and emotional impact..." Alternative Press (7/00, p.90) - 4 out of 5 - "...Pretty much every song here is arena-sized...but the songs themselves retain the spirited vigor of the basement....[The album] is the best of both worlds, and in turn one of the best albums of the year." Magnet (1-2/01, p.44) - Included in Magnet's "20 Best Albums of 2000". Magnet (6-7/00, p.74) - "...Weaving their spell in the fast lane while ducking rumbling 18-wheelers of noise, [Alun] Woodward and Emma Pollock swap vocal leads...as effortlessly as Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto..." CMJ (5/22/00, p.3) - "...Their third and best album....this excellent and fully realized album lifts the Delgados into a league all their own." Melody Maker (4/25/00, p.51) - 4.5 stars out of 5 - "...Crushing....it represents a treasure of a band stepping from the shadows, tossing its tatty indie rags aside and charging at success, engine stoked to bursting. Last stop: your gut." Mojo (Publisher) - "The Hamilton four-piece's third album is packed with grand orchestral epics. They left the template for 'indie' looking redundant." Mojo (Publisher) (5/00, p.104) - "...It's bold, ambitious and skillfully wrought. The songs...have beautiful lyrics, surprising arrangements and unshakeable melodies....This is a robust record full of great ideas and stirring songs..." NME (Magazine) (12/30/00, p.78) - Ranked #28 in NME's "Top 50 Albums Of The Year". NME (Magazine) (4/15/00, p.34) - 6 out of 10 - "...[The album] undoubtedly moves...as it impresses...all swooping cellos, dulcimers, clarinets, flugelhorns, vibraphones..."
Additional information
The Delgados: Alun Woodward (vocals, electric & slide guitars, E-bow, dulcimer, keyboards, vibraphone); Stewart Henderson (vocals, guitar, autoharp, accordion, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, bass, sleigh bells, hand claps); Emma Pollock (vocals, guitar, vibraphone); Paul Savage (guitar, dulcimer, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Hammond organ, keyboards, drums, tubular bells, samples). Additional personnel: Jim Putnam (vocals); Charlie Cross (violin, viola); David Laing, Greg Lawson (violin); Alan Barr (cello); Camille Mason (flute, clarinet, piano); Graeme Wilson (saxophone); Lorne Cowieson (trumpet, flugelhorn); Paul Stone (trombone, euphonium); Barry Burns (piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Hammond organ, Korg synthesizer); Graham Flett (acoustic bass); Dave Fridmann (samples); Chris Renwick, Doug Summers (programming). On this, their third album, the Delgados' ambitions are clearly high. Having brought in Dave Fridmann, best known for his production work for Mercury Rev and the Flaming Lips, the band succeeds in combining disparate elements like folk influences and forceful string parts. Furthermore, THE GREAT EASTERN's expansive and imaginative arrangements seem to underline the fact that Fridmann has helped the band make an album representative of their lofty visions. Album opener "The Past That Suits You Best" has at least three vastly different sections, "Witness" employs similar dynamics, and the seven-minute long "No Danger" incorporates a gradual crescendo of sounds, starting quietly, and eventually ending in a pile of menacing tremolo. In other words, THE GREAT EASTERN is a musically dense affair, equally moving and impressive with its swooping cellos, clarinets, vibraphones and dulcimers. THE GREAT EASTERN provides the opportunity for this unusual and often-overlooked band to find a bigger audience.
