A PERFECT DAY FOR A GIANT SOUL WITH AN UNCERTAIN SMILE

A PERFECT DAY FOR A GIANT SOUL WITH AN UNCERTAIN SMILE (POSTED ON US WWW.AMAZON.COM ON JANUARY 25TH, 2009). Allbum review written by Alceu Natali with Copyright protected by Brazilian law 9610/98

For my definition of 'great' albums please refer to my review of 'Heaven Or Las Vegas' by the Cocteau Twins. A cd store in a shopping mall is not the right place to look for great music. But once upon a time there was one in my neighborhood that was very promising. One of the salesmen there had an appreciation for This Mortal Coil. That was a good start. Their heap was small but not too ordinary. Side by side with disposable radio habitués you could also find a handful of classic candidates. And you could also listen to good music while browsing through their shelves. Curiously, and unlike the mainstream commercial music aired in almost every music place in town, that particular store used to play only cool songs like This Is The Day. I think that's the reason why that store did not last too long. In the 5th of all hells you cannot survive selling the real things only. The Brazilian devil's tacky taste reigns over the sanctified. I bought Soul Mining at that store that no longer exists only because of that song. The rest of The The's albums found their way into my collection through foreign channels. Many say 2. This Is the Day is the best track. It is really very cheerful and catchy with a beautiful accordion that brings to mind the best of Dominguinhos' swinging baiao. Gorgeous! Notwithstanding, 8. Perfect, with its famous Louie Louie's progression, a fat bass and a wonderful combination of different instruments and chorus is just sublime and second to none. 4. Uncertain Smile is less cheerful but splashes sugar while the drum bounces and the guitars water the beat until it leaves room to the amazingly brilliant and classy piano performance by Jools Hollands. Magnificent! 7. Giant is an incredibly beautiful crescendo from a simple drum beat joined by discrete keyboard, a fat bass, voice, more prominent keyboards, orchestral synthesizer, machine drumming, ritualistic chanting. It grows inside and beneath you and you feel like a giant looking over the tops of the trees in a jungle. 1. I've Been Waitin' for Tomorrow (All of My Life) is an aggressive attack by a desperate singing and led by a thundering drum beat, gradually joined by a nervous bass, a low and uneasy synth, a more voracious bass and hastier voice. The sound is threatening, pressing and alarming and suddenly stops. 3. The Sinking Feeling is sort of a short version of the entire album or a first interlude if you will. And it does work. 5. The Twilight Hour sounds like an early attempt to give birth to Giant 6. Soul Mining sounds very much like a second interlude and, once again, it does work very well. Some say Soul Mining got very close to the list of best records of the 80's and that it should definitely stir some intense debate over its inclusion in that decade's finest albums. It is not in my list of the 80's but my all time's greatest.