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Seventh Tree

Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree Audio CD

A fair review of the Goldfrapp "Seventh Tree" 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 Goldfrapp reviews here, or go back to the Goldfrapp tabs.

Band: Goldfrapp
Title: Seventh Tree
Rating:

Release Date: 2008-11-24
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Clowns 2: Little Bird 3: Happiness 4: Road to Somewhere 5: Eat Yourself 6: Some People 7: A&E 8: Cologne Cerrone Houdini 9: Caravan Girl 10: Monster Love 11: Clowns [DVD][Live][Instrumental] 12: Happiness [DVD][Live] 13: You Never Know [DVD][Live] 14: Caravan Girl [DVD][Live] 15: Monster Love [DVD][Live] 16: Little Bird [DVD][Live] 17: A&E [DVD] 18: Happiness [DVD] 19: Caravan Girl [DVD] 20: Clowns [DVD] 21: Road to Somewhere [DVD] 22: Bonus Material [DVD]

Great album, cool DVD... if you still haven't got the album, this would be the most interesting version
Unlike the previous Supernature Special Edition, there are no extra tracks on the album, but the DVD nicely compensates for it. I already had the standard version, but the DVD sounded interesting, so I decided to sell my copy and buy it again. The videos are nice and there are some interesting live tracks, but the real treat are the TV performances. Too bad there are only two of these, but these are visually impressive and very cool to watch; I wish all TV performances were like these ones. . . If you still haven't got this album, this would be the version to pick. (As for the album itself, it's great stuff, provided that you don't expect another Supernature. This one has more to do with Cocteau Twins and Kate Bush than T. Rex and glam rock, as I'm sure you've already read somewhere else. ).

Pure bliss
"Seventh Tree" is an ablum of gasping beauty. an autumnal masterpiece with lush strings, beautiful accoustics, and the lilting ethereal pipes of Allison Goldfrapp. These folk pop gems are irresistable. Anyone put off by the electronica reputation of Goldfrapp fear not! This is like listening to a mash up of the psychedelic Beatles, Serge Gainsbourg and Nick Drake, all sung by an angel. "Clowns" and "Cologne Cerrone Houdini" are masterpieces, blasts of pure joy. . and this album, once in, will not leave your player of choice for a very long time.
This special edition features a bonus DVD that contains some live footage and videos (The clip for "Happiness" cribs just a bit from an 80's Peter Wolf video) that are notable only for the pleasure of seeing Ms. Goldfrapp herself. . . the real attraction here is the album.

Lyrics, please...
And the little bird chorus is "July, ly, ly" not do you lie lie lie! The orignial deluxe edition has a hand written lyric booklet with drawings, both by Alison herself. While I think this is a fantastic product, I have to berate all the people who are quoting it's lyrics - incorrectly!! Clowns starts off with "Only clowns would play with those balloons/what d'ya wanna look like Barbie for?" clearly an indictment of plastic surgery. It is difficult to decipher what she is singing, but don't post lyrics if you don't know them! Additionally, this is not a departure in sound for them, but more of a return to their inital sound from the first album "Felt Montain. " Goldfrapp are more complex than simply an electro-clash dance band. . . And as for releasing 2 deluxe versions, both with separate additional content, I am so tired of record companies doing this in a staggered fashion - why not release all versions at the same time and let us decide? Or simply do one deluxe version with all extra content. . . .

Feeling like I needed you
Now it has gone to the other extreme -- floaty, instrumental pop. I confess, I'm still getting used to the glitzy, glammy sound Goldfrapp had in its last album.

Fortunately it doesn't take long to get used to this new style, because it fits Goldfrapp like a fine silk glove. The dancy electrobeats are translated into shimmering downtempo, the hard edges softened into acoustics -- it's a floaty, dreamlike, bittersweetly beautiful little album, full of swirlingly addictive instrumentation and wistful vocals.

It opens with the mellow rippling guitar, overlaid with an ethereal fog of sorrowful violins, a touch of synth, clips of birds singing happily. "Only clowns would play with dull balloons," Alison Goldfrapp sings in a girlish slur. It's pretty hard to hear what's she singing ("Roasting, roasting, roast indeed, mahogany"), but the exquisite quality of the music makes up for it.

This is where you know it's all going to work.

And she doesn't disappoint in the songs after, startling with the quivering synth and satiny vocals of "Little Bird" ("We dance by the sea/the land of blue and gold/is where we were free/do you lie, lie lie?") and catchy, sunny "Happiness. " And it sets the tone for some of the songs that follow -- exquisitely sensuous pop melodies, odd chorale ballads, dramatic electronica, and the sprightly dancy chamberpop of "Caravan Girl. "

The highlight has to be "A&E," a warm fragile little melody spun that ripples with piano and soft keyboard. And as the melody picks up into a swirling instrumental speckled with electronic blips, the tone turns a bit darker. "I was trying to phone you when I'm crawling out the door. . . . I was feeling lonely, feeling blue/Feeling like I needed you/Like I've woken up surrounded by me/A&E. . . "

Most bands can't pull off a total change of sound -- they're going to disappoint a lot of, and often the quality of their music suffers because they're simply not used to this style. Fortunately Goldfrapp is not one of those bands -- it's hard to imagine anyone being turned off by the lush, bittersweet sound of this album.

The songs are spun out of a lot of acoustic instruments -- waves of elegant strings and a low-key piano, with some acoustic guitar and jazzy drums to keep the melodies grounded. But they haven't totally abandoned electronica -- there's a trip-hoppy downtempo flavour to these songs, mostly expressed in warm, misty synth that gently wraps around the chamberpop and folky melodies. But you do get some kooky catchy organ again toward the end.

And Alison Goldfrapp sounds like she's having fun. Her flexible, silky voice can become whatever the melody requires of her -- girly slurring, terrifying perkiness ("We're here to welcome you!"), an otherworldly balladeer -- but most of the time she sounds lovelorn and wistful.

And while the music may be more accessible, the songs she sings are flavoured with depression, moments stolen with a lover you'll never really have, and even drug overdoses ("It's a blue, bright blue Saturday, hey hey/And the pain has started to slip away/I'm in a backless dress on a pastel ward that's shining/Think I want you still/But it may be pills at work").

Assuming you don't already have the full album already, this deluxe version is a great find -- it has some really gorgeous live performances (which sometimes look/sound like fairy rock concerts), interludes from a TV show, and a cluster of music videos.

These are particular treats -- there's the lushly pastoral "A&E" with a disheveled Alison in the middle of a forest,surrounded by dancing leaf/tree monsters and woodland animals; "Happiness" follows a chirrupy white-clad guy who hops everywhere; and "Caravan Girl" is a peppy, quick affair that follows a girl who skateboards far from home.

Goldfrapp have really outdone themselves in the shimmering, exquisite "Seventh Tree," a sharp deviation from their previous music. Utterly spellbinding from beginning to end.

A must for fans
The DVD alone is worth getting. This a must for fans. It has all the released video's from the album and additional concert and TV footage that is entertaining in itself.

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