Word: stranger
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...slab of concrete rises and lowers to create a two-tiered set) and lovely images (two teenagers riding a motorcycle in the mist against a deep-blue, storybook night sky). If the musical fails to capture the film's gentle ironies, it adds some intriguing sexual tension between the stranger (a charismatic Marcus Lovett) and the chief child (Lottie Mayor, several years older than Hayley Mills in the film...
With Soul Asylum's new album, Candy from a Stranger, one cannot really comprehend why Soul Asylum faded so fast. Candy from a Stranger is not a bad album--in fact, it is quite good. After all, what is there not to like about Soul Asylum? Their lyrics are admirable, the music is interesting, and Pirner has a relatively unique voice. Yet, despite all the goodness of the new album, somehow Soul Asylum has not been able to distinguish itself from other one-hit wonder grunge-y bands; Pirner and the band have been unable to really make their mark...
Candy from a Stranger certainly possesses several well-done songs, while the rest of the album is mushed together in a string of undistinguished melodies and choruses. For example, the songs "Close" and "No Time for Waiting" are both extremely reminiscent of Broadway ballads. Although "Close" has a grabbing opening guitar line, it soon is overtaken by whininess and sounds too much like it should be sung on the Great White Way, not at a grunge concert. "No Time for Waiting" also feels like a showtune--it is too cartoonish, with no reality to its emotions. Perhaps these two songs...
...produce songs with true emotions: Witness "I Will Still Be Laughing," one of the best songs on the album. "I Will Still Be Laughing" grips the listener with its powerful start and does not dissolve into whining or cliches, as do most of the songs on Candy from a Stranger. Dealing with the ups and downs of teenage life, "I Will Still Be Laughing" sings of bitter revenge, but does so in a realistic and interesting way, rather than rehashing the stereotype of the angry teenager who hates the world. The song portrays teenage life as a cycle...
...whole, Candy from a Stranger is an album with some songs that manage to stand out. Generally, the songs sound very similar and are each tinged with bitterness in their own way. Candy from a Stranger is recommended, but do not expect much more than the occasional show of true emotion. We will still have to wait and see if Soul Asylum can move past its one-hit status, and Candy from a Stranger is certainly a step in the right direction away from that stigma, without erasing...