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Other Side of the Moon

The Cardigans - Other Side of the Moon Audio CD

A fair review of the The Cardigans "Other Side of the Moon" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Cardigans reviews here, or go back to the The Cardigans tabs.

Band: The Cardigans
Title: Other Side of the Moon
Rating:

Release Date: 1999-01-05
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: War(First Try) 2: I Figured It Out 3: Plain Parade 4: Laika 5: Pooh Song 6: Mr. Crowley 7: Emmerdale 8: The Boys Are Back In Town 9: Carnival(Puck Version) 10: Nasty Sunny Beam 11: Iron Man(First Try) 12: Blah Blah Blah 13: Losers(First Try) 14: Country Hell 15: After All 16: Cocktail Party Bloody Cocktail Party

How to recapture the early Cardigans magic?
But, let's also say that despite the powerful emotional lyrical content of Long Gone Before Daylight or the awesome pop perfection of Super Extra Gravity, you miss the original quirkiness, simplicity, and startlingly refreshing blend of woodwinds and a four-piece rock/pop combo prominent in the Cardigans' Emmerdale and Life period. So, let's say you bought all the Cardigans CDs over the years, and you've come to appreciate each album for its own merits. What can you do?

First, for the average collector, I recommend the 2 CD version of The Best Of released almost a decade after "Other Side" came out. The second disc has some great b-sides, unreleased songs, and "first try"s of favorite singles. This is really the motherlode, and should satisfy most fans' cravings.

Only for the avid collector seeking the last bits of juice, would I recommend this CD, which provides a few additional savory drops. Not on the 2-CD Best of: Mr. Crowley (a cappella Cardigans!), a cover of "The Boys are Back in Town", and the closing "Cocktail Party, Bloody Cocktail Party", which is a brilliant, touching, tongue-in-cheek jazz piano/lounge arrangement medley of: Daddy's Car, Tomorrow, Hey! Get Out of My Way, Gordon's Gardenparty, Carnival, Pikebubbles, and Beautiful One.

To summarize -- this is an excellent disc, and I'm glad I bought it. But, because of the availability of the 2-CD "Best of" and the pricetag of this discontinued CD (even used), this now only deserves 4 of 5 stars.

Enjoy!.

One of the best B-sides collections ever, well worth the price
"You mean I have to pay $18 or more for these songs that didn't make their LP releases?" Yes, you do. The pricetag on this collection is indeed intimidating. But you'll want to, and you'll never regret it.

This album collects nearly every B-side and rarity you could ever want from this band. Fans of the band should have no question in their minds: you MUST have this album.

For the casual fan? Well, the Cardigans are something special. They approach indie-pop with a bag full of jazz chords at times, and at other times with an electronica groove perfectly intertwined with Nina's eerie and moving vocals. They've reinvented themselves at least a few times, and we get glimpses of all those intermediary stages on this record.

The album leads off with "War (First Try)", which definitely would have felt at home in the tracklisting for their album Gran Turismo but has elements of their breakthrough sound on the First Band on the Moon LP. Much of the rest of the album represents similar transitional stages. A few simply embrace the sound off the Emmerdale and Life LPs, tracks which devotees of those albums will find absolutely essential.

Should you shell out the price tag on this import? Well, first of all, you should be aware that there is a lousy "napsterized" version of this album floating around the 'net that has incomplete tracks and even incorrect tracks (substituting the LP versions for the alternates in a few places. ) If you did the naughty thing and snagged it somewhere, you probably do not have the real album. You probably will need to buy the legit copy to be sure you have it right.

In a general sense, if you were just led to this link because you were sitting around remembering how much you liked that song "Lovefool" from the Leo DiCaprio film, then you probably won't want to shell out the dough for this quite yet. Buy "First Band on the Moon" and "Life" first, then come back to this one. It's essential for the fan of the Cardigans, and essential for fans of indie-pop, but you needn't rush into the hefty price tag on this until you're good and ready. When you're ready, don't balk, just get it! And if you're already a Cardigans fan, you will absolutely adore this album and you simply must have it, especially with the price dipped under $20.

Saw it, grabbed it, loved it
He introduced me to indie type of music. I never heard of the Cardigans until I accidentally saw the Emmerdale CD from a friend of mine. I listened to Emmerdale and loved the jangly tunes accompanied by Nina's soothing voice. This experience launched my Cardigans collection. I got all the CDs except for Gran Turismo (in case of any die-hard fans, the CD is just for the sake of completing the series). When I saw this Import version at a CD specialty store, I readily got it and was enthralled by the last track which truly gives you value for your money. Its amazing 15 minute length of a medley of Cardigans songs from the Life album truly made this CD worthwhile.

Don't let the price stop you: can you put a price on beauty?
I was a casual Cardigfan at first (yeah, "Love me, love me . . ") but eventually bought their "LIFE" cd on a whim and never regretted it.

THIS, children, is the best Cardigans CD there is. Most all of the B-Sides from the import singles (up until the marginally terrible "GRAN TURISMO"), all on one disc. It's all good, but without giving a track-by-track description, I'd reccommend:

WAR -- (Imagine Nina's silky voice singing, "Ohhhhh, come crush me now, I'm armed . . . and ready to die" -- simply haunting).

THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN -- (lounge music-style, and a it's fun that it's a song you should already know by heart, so you can sing-a-long).

CARNIVAL (puck version) -- (Puck, you say? It's the song, but song by a male and in a slower, way more melancholy downtempo style . . . grab your hankie, it's a cry-er).

NASTY SUNNY BEAM -- (peppy lil' number, pre-Turismo Cardigans we all know and love).

BLAH BLAH BLAH -- (another great, fun sing-a-long song).

COUNTRY HELL -- (the best song on the CD . . . the chorus goes, "If you fall apart . . . fall into my arms . . . ". I could just melt with this one).

AFTER ALL -- (different arrangement from the version that appears on the "Emmerdale" CD - this one is sooooo much better. You can't help but feel her sadness in this one).

COCKTAIL PARTY BLOODY COCKTAIL PARTY -- (Unlike what the Amazon editorial review says, this is definitely NOT a remake of "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath". This is, like, a 15 or 16 minute "piano bar" instrumental medley wherein some guy plays snippets of most of the songs from the LIFE cd. Very nice stuff, and soothing too.

Anyway, if you even like the Cardigans' old stuff just a LITTLE bit, this disc is worth grabbing before they are out-of-print forever. If for nothing else, just get it so that when your friends are over and checking out your CD collection, you can casually point to this and they will go, "Wow! I never saw THIS one before. " Either way, you get a GREAT CD.

Simply a great compilation of B-sides...
I strongly recommend this compilation since it contains great songs like 'I figured Out' or 'Nasty Sunny Beam' which are very characteristic of Cardigans' own and unique style; there's also 'Plain Parade' and a puck version of 'Carnival' which take you into a nice world. . 'The boys are back in town' has got a similar rhythm to that of Lovefool and it makes it great. The versions of Iron man and Loser are, in my opinion, funnier than those included in First band on the moon. So, every Cardifan deserves this pearl.

You can see a complete list of all The Cardigans discography, or go back to the The Cardigans tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.