Hour Of Bewilderbeast: Badly Drawn Boy: Amazon.ca: Music

1. The Shining

2. Everybody's Stalking

3. Bewilder

4. Fall In A River

5. Camping Next To Water

6. Stone On The Water

7. Another Pearl

8. Body Rap

9. Once Around The Block

10. This Song

11. Bewilderbeast

12. Magic In The Air

13. Cause A Rockslide

14. Pissing In The Wind

15. Blistered Heart

16. Disillusion

17. Say It Again

18. Epitaph

Product Description

From Amazon.co.uk

Derided as a joker, dismissed as an indie elitist--few believed the hype that frothed from critical mouths about Damon Gough, a bleary-eyed, bestubbled Mancunian with an acoustic guitar and a shambolic stage manner. But The Hour Of The Bewilderbeast--the debut album by Gough's alter-ego, Badly Drawn Boy--is utterly superb, an 18-track collection of futurist folk as intimate and well crafted as Nick Drake's Bryter Later. Gough leads a backing band comprising Mancunian post-folk chums Alfie, and together they unveil a breed of rock entirely without bombast--the intimate folds of "Stone On The Water" entrancing, rather than bludgeoning. And it's funny, too. "I'm dying..." Gough announces on "Everyone's Stalking". And then, bourne up on a swell of parping brass, he finishes the sentence with relish: "To put a little sunshine in your life!" Droll, yet touching, seldom immediate, but forever sublime. The Hour Of The Bewilderbeast weaves quiet, but affecting, spells. -- Louis Pattison

Product Description

BADLY DRAWN BOY The Hour Of Bewilderbeast (2000 UK 18-track CD album - The Hour Of The Bewilderbeast won the 2000 Mercury Music Prize and includes the singles Once Around The Block Another Pearl Disillusion & Pissing In The Wind)

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Customer Reviews

108 Reviews

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(5)

Average Customer Review

4.1 out of 5 stars (108 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars sloppy, but worthwhile, Dec 29 2000

By

sask - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hour Of Bewilderbeast (Audio CD)

After the first listen, Badly Drawn Boy's The Hour Of Bewilderbeast could easily be construed as Badly Done Beck. Cynics would say that Damon Gough owes a heck of a lot to American indie artists like Beck, Lou Barlow, and Mark Eitzel, and his lo-fi style is about six years too late. Overflowing with kooky combinations of instruments, studio effects, and lyrics that beat the listener over the head with wide-eyed charm and precociousness (much like being pummeled by Nerf balls), it's easy to get lost in this cd, which at first sounds like a big old mess (that jumbled feel of the record is conveyed on the collage album cover).

But then it gets its hooks in you. Underneath all the home studio knob-twiddling are some real pop-rock treasures. 'The Shining', which has been used in a well-known Gap Christmas ad, beats Belle & Sebastian at their own game; while the Scottish collective failed to live up to their early promise this year, Gough has created a gorgeous acoustic song with a string section enhancing the gentle, Nick Drake-like melody. 'Everybody's Stalking' takes a darker turn, while 'Stone On The Water''s acoustic guitar riff sounds lifted straight off Led Zeppelin III. The title track is a nice instrumental, while 'Magic In The Air' is so Stephen Merrit-like in its pop deftness that you swear you've heard the song before, it sounds that comfortably familiar.

Bewilderbeast's best songs are its three singles. 'Another Pearl' sports a slinky piano melody over an irresistable three-chord riff while Gough sings some of the more inexplicably pretentious lyrics you'll hear this year ("Follow the circle sur le plage/On a mono-coloured trip voyage"). Speaking of irresistable, nothing beats 'Once Around The Block', easily the catchiest song on the album; the 'doo-boo-doo-ba-da-da' chorus over the shuffling beat makes this one of the sweetest songs you'll ever hear. 'Disillusion', recorded with fellow UK mates Doves, is a bouncy tune that is also fun to listen to.

Being such an ambitious record, Bewilderbeast has both hits and misses. The (thankfully) brief 'Body Rap' is idiotic and useless, while 'Fall In A River' starts off nicely but stops suddenly with a big kersploosh sound effect (get it? *groan*...). 'Cause A Rockslide' is a pretty song, but it has several minutes of overbearing studio noodling that tries your patience.

On an album like this, in the end you giddily take the good with the bad. Damon Gough swings for the fences repeatedly, and while he doesn't connect every time, his successes more than make up for it. I reacted indifferently to the album at first, but now I love it. Badly Drawn Boy is far better than being just the Next Beck, and his future recordings will only get better.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Not to be forgotten, Aug 17 2007

By

Cary Brenson (London, ON) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hour Of Bewilderbeast (Audio CD)

I'm surprised that many people haven't heard of this album. It's amazing. Not in a "indie" sort of way but in a top album's list sort of way. Simply put, Badlydrawnboy's debut is amazing and a feat that he has yet to reproduce.

It is an album that needs to be listened through from track one and in sequence. His talent is apparent in about every song. I can agree with criticism of tacking on needless sound bits between songs. But some of them act exceptionally well in transitioning from song to song.

These poppy songs paint beautiful pictures with metaphor laced lyrics, innovative sound and wonderful guitar playing. I haven't heard songs this rich since and long for the day when Damon Gough can reproduce the efforts displayed in this album.

Give this album a listen. The songs are not the elitist type you'd expect from an indie debut. My dad happened to listen to it when I left the cd in my car and even he liked it.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning debut, Jun 19 2004

By

"toots11" (Melbourne, Vic) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hour Of Bewilderbeast (Audio CD)

The Hour of Bewildrebeast is just a stunning patchwork of different musical styles and influences that all flow together seemlessly. His songs sound so naked and timeless, i can't remember the last time i heard pop music like this. I guess the one criticism i have of Badly Drawn Boy is that he has so much talent he sometimes doesn't know where to focus it and while there is hardly a weak moment on this album, parts of it do sound a little tacked on. Still worth 5 stars though.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Pissing In the Wind
Simply a beautiful album. I can't state in words how this album made me feel the first time listening to it all the way through. Read more

Published on Jun 1 2004 by Nobody

5.0 out of 5 stars Kaleidoscopic debut by the english Beck
2000's splendorous debut by Manchester's prodigy songwriter Damon Gough should be regarded foe what it is:the last great pop album of the twentieth century. Read more

Published on May 12 2004 by Tezcatlipoca