Customer Reviews

Guest (Expanded) (Dvd)

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

You gotta say "Wow"

Wow, because I can't believe how many people think this is any good? I decided (because I was suspicious of my opinion) to wait for a few more cycles through the CD player before I wrote this. It's been over a month and probably ten complete cycles through... All I can say is:

Over-rated!

The singer is so over-the-top emotional on every track I'm exhausted by the third song. He needs to just relax a little bit, it's surely not life or death in pop music (is it?) I mean really, what is he 25 years old, for Gods sake, take a pill. The playing is tight and the band does nice stuff but it's also very "heard it before" for me, most of these songs, including the OC soundtrack "HIT" are kinda stereo typical of this genre today, radio rock. It's really not that good.

Try Rooney or Myracle Brah or Owsley, right here on Amazon, same Genre much better music...

Just my 2 cents:
I give it 4 stars because otherwise Amazon hides it in 3 days...

I'll dig up the review I wrote for a newspaper one of these days. In the meantime -- trust me, this is a PHENOMENAL album.

This is a great CD. I originally bought it because it had 'The OC' theme song on it, and I didn't want to wait for the soundtrack to come out. But all of the songs are good... really catchy stuff you find yourself humming days later.

this is honestly one of the best cds ive heard in a long time. its very catchy and includes the kind of songs you like to hear over and over and find yourself humming along to every time you hear them. though their newest album is supposedly entirely different, for better or for worse, this is definitely a cd most people should try. think weezer and dashboard confessional, and then maybe add a teeny bit of older blink 182 and youve got this album. i listen to it all the time and love all the songs on it, though turn smile shift repeat isnt my favorite. the rest are very good. a cd worth your money. its smething different for me, as i usually like more of the alternative rock sometimes a little punk, however this is a good break from all of that and can definitely cheer you up a little with its catchy melodies.

Phantom Planet's debut "The Guest" is a bright, enjoyably catchy powerpop album. While most of the music and lyrics are pretty unexceptional, their experiments and energy make this a pleasant listen. It won't rock your world, but it will make it bounce a little.

The popular single "California" is one of the weaker songs of this album, merely a simplistic yearning for... well, California. But the meat of "Guest" kicks off with bouncing love songs (the cute crush song "Always On My Mind") and panicked pleas ("In Our Darkest Hour," the desperate "All Over Again"). And the group veers into Radiohead territory with the somber, atmospheric "Turn Smile Shift Repeat," a surreal experiment that may be the best song in the album, along with the darkly enticing "Wishing Well."

Though the guys in Phantom Planet aren't adolescents anymore, there's a feeling of teenagerhood in this album. "All I can do is hope that she is thinking of me/If I could blink/if I could breathe/If I could get my legs to move..." sings Greenwald hopefully. Crushes, hopes to go to faraway oases of fun, trying to stay together with a girlfriend and "lonely lonely lonely lonely days" are sprinkled through the songs of "Guest."

Alex Greenwald has a nice versatile voice. It's clear and smooth; he can wail desperately like a man in a burning building, sing in monotone a la Thom Yorke, or just sing. The music is fairly typical, except when interrupted by faint electronica ("Turn Smile Shift Repeat," "Hey Now Girl") and the occasional dash of piano and sax. Lyrics are often quite typical (" If I get one ray of sunlight to hold in my hand/Maybe we can be happy again...") but occasionally they spring into well-written, evocative surreality.

The adolescent vigor of Phantom Planet is what makes it sparkle. While "Guest" has the roughness and simplicity of many debut albums, it's a pleasant collection that hints at greater scope in their future.

This band is one of my favorites, and i only listen to a CD if all the songs are good. In which case, this is a good CD. Its kinda a mix of the strokes and dashboard. the vocals from the strokes and the acoustics of dashboard and a beat of its own. This is an awsome band, check out the other stuff too!

Don't let the 3 stars mislead you, theres some solid pop/rock music on here. 'California' never really did anything for me, its more the chord progressions on other tracks like 'In Our Darkest Hour', or the melody for 'Lonely Day' set against its gloomy lyrics. The production has a good "full" sound as well..
Also, I "accidently" saw them play live, they'd opened for Elvis Costello for some dates on his '02 tour. Didn't really leave much of an impression on me, but then again I was there to see EC and to me, any opening band was just getting in the way of my seeing EC play ;)....
Recommended if you like the sound of All American Rejects, American Hi-Fi, Weezer, etc.

Like many of you, you have heard their single California as the theme song on the O.C. So, I decided that I would buy their CD The Guest, and I fell in love with the group after listening to the first few songs. They have a very mellow and soothing sound and everytime I listen I get something new out of their lyrics or songs. My personal favorites are Lonely Day, which everyone can relate to, Anthem, a song talking about the world,which has a catchy beat, and Turn Shift Smile Repeat, a song everyone should listen too. I also like the Phantom Planet album with somebody's baby. Well what are you waiting for buy The Guest and just give them a try, you'll love them!!!!!!

...The Guest, in my book, is the best and most palatable of all these alternative-pop-rock acts that came out last year. ... We tried to see them later that fall at the Black Cat only to walk up to the line and realize that the show had sold out ahead of time. Hopefully the same won't happen with their upcoming show here in the DC area. (Best of luck in finding the double-disc version of The Guest with the unreleased title track, and live cuts of "Do The Panic" & "California." Even more luck in also finding the 5-song live promo that was released before the actual cd too. ..."California" was the best thing about the ads for Fox's OC. Lead singer Alexander Greenwald even inflects a little country twang on "Always On My Mind" and "Nobody's Fault." I don't go a week without finding myself singing "Lonely Day" at least twice to myself...even without having listened to the cd in several months. There was a time too, in my more tortured moments, where "One Ray Of Sunlight" was my favorite of the tracks on here with the chorus of, "Try all you want to / I'm gonna try too / If I get one ray of sunlight to hold in my hand / Maybe we can be happy again." "Anthem" could be a postmodern protest song if played in the local football stadium's PA. "In Our Darkest Hour" is probably my least favorite of the tracks on The Guest; it's a little grungier, a little more garage than most of the songs and is mildly redeemed by the chorus' hook. "Turn Smile Shift Repeat" is probably their most atmospheric work to date and has drawn comparisons to dare I say it...Radiohead? The sax in the bridge makes the track though adding another layer uncommonly heard of in most of today's pop fare. "Hey Now Girl" works because it's under three minutes, same with "Nobody's Fault." The two of these songs together makes this ...boy jump up & down like he's with a bunch of kids at their first rock show. I'm a little older so I can't jump up & down for more than six minutes at a time. I think Sheryl Crow might've sampled the opening drums on "Soak Up The Sun" from the ending drums of "All Over Again." "Wishing Well" builds up from a repetitive piano note to an epic masterpiece that could rival, dare I say it...Radiohead?...even including some Bachrachian trumpets. And you all know what a sucker I am for trumpets and horns in pop music. Album closer, "Something Is Wrong," stands-out as the warmest song on The Guest keeping it acoustic letting the bass guitar reverberate and harkens back to all those old acoustic acts from the Sixties.

I think the future can hold even greater things for Phantom Planet, if the departure of drummer & Rushmore-star Jason Schwartzman doesnt affect the band too much. I would like to hear more Beach Boy style harmonies from them, but then again, I think everyone should be like the Beach Boys. I think it'll have to be their next album though to prove to the bulk of the world, yours truly excluded, that they're more than their famous last names...and that pretty boys really can pop-rock.

Why do so many people dislike Phantom Planet...and laugh when they say that I like them? Are pretty boys not allowed to rock...or pop-rock at least? You think the production of Mitchell Froom & Tchad Blake (Cibo Matto, Sheryl Crow, Crowded House, Ed Harcourt, Pretenders, Ron Sexsmith, Suzanne Vega, Tom Waits, the list really does go on & on) would've at least given them a little more respect. The Guest, in my book, is the best and most palatable of all these alternative-pop-rock acts that came out last year. I think Brian thought a little strangely of me for picking up this cd in the Boston Virgin Megastore but I think he got won over by them. We tried to see them later that fall at the Black Cat only to walk up to the line and realize that the show had sold out ahead of time. Hopefully the same won't happen with their upcoming show here in the DC area. (Best of luck in finding the double-disc version of The Guest with the unreleased title track, and live cuts of "Do The Panic" & "California." Even more luck in also finding the 5-song live promo that was released before the actual cd too. If you're nice, I might tell you who has it. ;-)

"California" was the best thing about the ads for Fox's OC. Lead singer Alexander Greenwald even inflects a little country twang on "Always On My Mind" and "Nobody's Fault." I don't go a week without finding myself singing "Lonely Day" at least twice to myself...even without having listened to the cd in several months. There was a time too, in my more tortured moments, where "One Ray Of Sunlight" was my favorite of the tracks on here with the chorus of, "Try all you want to / I'm gonna try too / If I get one ray of sunlight to hold in my hand / Maybe we can be happy again." "Anthem" could be a postmodern protest song if played in the local football stadium's PA. "In Our Darkest Hour" is probably my least favorite of the tracks on The Guest; it's a little grungier, a little more garage than most of the songs and is mildly redeemed by the chorus' hook. "Turn Smile Shift Repeat" is probably their most atmospheric work to date and has drawn comparisons to dare I say it...Radiohead? The sax in the bridge makes the track though adding another layer uncommonly heard of in most of today's pop fare. "Hey Now Girl" works because it's under three minutes, same with "Nobody's Fault." The two of these songs together makes this little gay boy jump up & down like he's with a bunch of kids at their first rock show. I'm a little older so I can't jump up & down for more than six minutes at a time. I think Sheryl Crow might've sampled the opening drums on "Soak Up The Sun" from the ending drums of "All Over Again." "Wishing Well" builds up from a repetitive piano note to an epic masterpiece that could rival, dare I say it...Radiohead?...even including some Bachrachian trumpets. And you all know what a sucker I am for trumpets and horns in pop music. Album closer, "Something Is Wrong," stands-out as the warmest song on The Guest keeping it acoustic letting the bass guitar reverberate and harkens back to all those old acoustic acts from the Sixties.

I think the future can hold even greater things for Phantom Planet, if the departure of drummer & Rushmore-star Jason Schwartzman doesnt affect the band too much. I would like to hear more Beach Boy style harmonies from them, but then again, I think everyone should be like the Beach Boys. I think it'll have to be their next album though to prove to the bulk of the world, yours truly excluded, that they're more than their famous last names...and that pretty boys really can pop-rock.