Stardom Road Music Cd

Marc Almond - Stardom Road

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Stardom Road      Artist : Marc Almond      List Price : $18.98 USD        Your Price : $18.98 USD      ProductGroup: Music      Release Date : 2007-06-26      Studio : Sanctuary Records      Label : Sanctuary Records      Avg. Customer Rating : (5 reviews)

Reviews Customer Reviews for Stardom Road      Came for Antony. Stayed for Marc.      Rating:      I had been a Marc fan for some time, emphasis on the past tense because his output became so repetitively prodigious that somewhere circa Fantastic Star I threw in the towel. (I mean, who has that kind of room on their cd shelves? And just how many albums can you release with the word Star in the title?) I picked this up because I'm a huge Antony fan and love "Ballad of the Sad Young Men." M&A do a good job on it (although it's nowhere near as focused or ultimately arresting as Anita O'Day's read), but I was even more pleasantly surprised with the unexpected excellence of the rest of the disc. The covers are surprisingly sharp, often unexpected and exceedingly well-chosen (love the resurrection of the Barry Ryan and especially the Dana Gillespie - perhaps he's saving "Weren't Born a Man" for a b-side?). Best surprise? The one original damn near outshines the lot. Welcome back, Marc!     Customer Reviews for Stardom Road Cd      Marc Almond's best solo effort since Enchanted      Rating:      As a fan of Soft Cell, I've always viewed Almond's solo albums as hit or miss. He's dabbled in many musical styles, always with mixed results. Naturally, I approached the new album with caution, unsure if I should buy it or not. I'm glad I did. He returns to the sound he did so successfully on "The Stars We Are" and even updates it a bit here and there with the occasional synth or strange mixing effect. The album starts off strong with "I Have Lived" and even though he didn't write it, it seems poignantly personal after his motorcycle accident and subsequent recovery. In fact, most of the songs on the album cover themes that Almond has always been fond of which, strangely, makes it almost feel like an album of originals. There are only a couple of songs that I don't care for, like the plodding "London Boys" and "Backstage (I'm Lonely)". I really, REALLY want to hate "Kitsch" but it's so damn catchy I can almost forgive the over-produced, bombastic arrangement (complete with a bizarre "Also Sprach Zarathustra" ending). Almost. I suppose if you're going to do a song called "Kitsch" you might as well make it hammy. The album's single original, "Redeem Me (Beauty Will Redeem The World)" is a fantastic song and, even though Almond has sworn to only record covers, shows that he's still got great songwriting chops as well. His vocals are surprisingly in top form and I only noticed him going flat on maybe two notes over the course of the entire album. All in all a wonderful piece of work. Editorial Reviews for Stardom Road Audio Cd      Album Description      2007 album from the flamboyant performer best known as the voice behind Soft Cell. The album is a musical journey of cover songs that have influenced Marc through his life and his significant growth as an artist. The album also contains one new song, 'Redeem Me (Beauty Will Redeem The World)', which Almond wrote specifically for Stardom Road. This collection features many of the genres that Marc has been associated with over the years, including Torch Song; the 1950's crooners; the grand orchestral sounds of the1960's; the 'over the top' pop glam of the 70's and the electro-style of the 80's that made him famous as part of Soft Cell. Stardom Road gives the listener a personal glimpse into Marc Almond's inspirations, aspirations and conclusions. It is a tremendously important album, being his first since his near-fatal motorcycle crash in 2004. The crash proved life changing, as such ordeals often are. Recording this album has formed an important part of the recovery process and represents the turning point as Marc Almond the artist, returns to form. The album has been compiled with the help of Tris Penna, who produced many of the tracks with the acclaimed producer Marius de Vries and arranger Mike Smith. It features guest spots from Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons; Jools Holland, with whom Marc has often toured; and Sarah Cracknell from St Etienne. Sanctuary.