Date: Sun, 17 Nov 1996 19:40:27 PST 
      From: naor (naor_y@NETVISION.NET.IL) 
      Subject: FW: mazzy star - review of Among My Swan


 (from dez's reviews to pure-impure)
>Mazzy Star - Among My Swan (Capitol CD)
>The news is that Mazzy Star have changed....nothing. This is still the
>same old Velvet Underground three chord ballads with a bit of violin or
>bursts of guitar fuzz. But Hope's languid, almost lethargic vocals are
>still as erotic and mesmerising as ever, and the result is fifty or so
>minutes of blissful misery, or miserable bliss. Quite how they can be so



>wonderful whilst being so musically cliched is a mystery. But then does
>it matter?


I am just a poor uneducated boy from a developing country in one of the
non english
speaking parts of the world, and so trying to convey my impressions from
Mazzy Star's
music through e-mail would only result in frustration to everyone
involved. so I will
just say, before going on to review Among My Swan, that I have yet to
hear a MS song
that is less than amazingly beautiful. I will do my best, though, to
review AMS in
comparison to the previous MS albums without getting too excited. it may
be a less
then complete review.

ok. Mazzy Star have changed nothing. true. they simply decided, very
strangely and
imo regrettably, to exclude from AMS almost any hint of their psychedelic
past.
bad choice. while So Tonight That I Might See was a decidedly psychedelic
album,
with one or two acoustic minimalists songs, AMS is just the other way
round.
I don't quite understand the Velvet Underground comparison but most of
the songs
are indeed simple rock ballads, with simple guitar chords and bits of
violin and
fuzz.
non of that incredible drama of "mary of silence" or those amazing bursts
of
psychedelic guitars ala "she's my baby" or "ghost on the highway" or many
of
their previous songs. I am familiar with david roback's work since The
Rain Parade
and his unique guitar playing as been improving continuously to peak on
STTIMS. it's
hard to understand what has happened on AMS. the impression I get is that
roback
was tied to a chair in the studio and allowed to play using one hand and
one foot
only. he does this, providing inconspicuous background for hope's singing
until,
nearing the end of the album he manages to free himself and lets out all
of the
psychedelic energy that has built inside him into one incredible track
"umbilical" ,
that is just as good as the best songs of the previous albums.
unfortunately, the
malevolent forces that restricted him before, can't risk another escape
and they have
him amputated at once.

so the album is musically uninteresting, to say the least. the lyrics
also have
changed. a hint of optimism creeps into the songs, corrupting everything
it touches,
and the only song I can really identify with is "I've been let down".

but boring can still be beautiful and this is very important to
understand.
Hope's voice will make an airport pa system sound like music. mesmerising
is a good
word. so are languid and erotic and my favourite - crushing, but there's
really no
way of describing her voice in words. there's nothing more I can say
about this
without repeating myself, I simply don't know enough adjectives. in any
case, this
is what makes the difference and AMS is a beautiful album. very
beautiful.

so what do we learn from all this ?
well, nothing that we didn't already know. but now we can guess what
"going home"
may sound like. will we ever find out ... ?