Customer Reviews

Love Over and Over

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is another majestic offering from Kate & Anna, which combines upbeat, catchy tunes like Move Over Moon and Love Over & Over, with soulful, aching ballads such as I Cried For Us and Jesus Lifeline. For me the standout tracks are Sun,Son and On My Way to Town (both these are also found in the magnificent French Record, the latter being a translation and the former totally remodelled on this version), though there are no bad tracks. It is unfortunate, though, that so little emphasis is placed on the musical side of things in this album, and I have to say that Talk To Mo Of Mendocino remains my favourite McGarrigle track. However, this is a great album, and a good introduction to the McGarrigles. Nice to see some new French material in the form of Tu Vas M'Accompagner, too.

Surprised to notice that this was rating just 3 and a half stars. It turns out that previous reviewers (only two of them) have both praised the recording highly, only to then give it a lukewarm rating.

Anyway, there are many glorious things to be found here, particularly the first four tracks ('move over moon', 'sun son', 'i cried for us', 'love over and over') and the sublime 'on my way to town'.

It is, of course, incontestably a 5-star recording, even in this expanded version (the final two songs did not originally belong here, and they don't quite fit).

So there you go ... now it's averaging 4 stars, which is slightly closer to the mark.

Great songwriting once again is the striking feature of this album; Anna especially opting for a more soulful approach in her songs. The McGarrigles exude cleverness and sensitivity with a sharp & attuned manner of expression. From a songwriting point of view the album gets 5/5 but the production lets it down a little. The clarity and natural shine of Joe Boyd/John Wood' production & engineering which so graced the first two albums is sorely lacking here...the arrangements are a little cluttered and bottom heavy, the vocals aren't particularly made to stand out....the overall effect is a somewhat dated and a touch cheesy which is dissapointing considering the first-class songwriting. Nonetheless this is a must for any McGarrigle fan, Kate's 'I Cried for us' is possibly the standout track, radiance & majesty personified in song.

Kate and Anna are my favorite singing/songwriting sisters. Their combination of humor and intimacy is impressive: tongue-in-cheek lyrics one minute, then unadorned and compassionate songs the next. Love Over And Over covers a wide range for musical styles including toe-tapping rock (Move Over Moon, Love Over And Over), piano-based ballads (I Cried For Us, Babies If I Didn't Have You), cryin'-in-your-beer country-blues (Star Cab Company), and gospel (Jesus Lifeline). The bouncing title song, 'Love Over And Over,' features Mark Knopfler's enchanting guitar licks. The CD opens with Kate and Anne questioning their astrological horoscope, then taking charge of their destiny declaring "Move over moon. Get out of Uranus." The characters here are also exotic: a daughter pleads with her cab drivin' mother "Don't throw the meter mamma" (Star Cab Company).

Contrary to their quirky wit, Kate and Anna also tackle serious stuff. A solo piano or acoustic guitar introduction is a clear sign that they're about to "reach for the heart." 'I Cried For Us' is a simply structured but sorrowful "good-bye" composition. There's a heartwarming song about independence and apprehension which manages to sound 100-years old (On My Way To Town). Loss and fear are the subject of the touching 'Babies If I Didn't Have You.' Love Over And Over celebrates life's pleasures and tribulations. Very gratifying.