Search - Go-Betweens :: Oceans Apart

Crazy Beautiful.

Roger G. Williams | VA | 07/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"No nostalgia here, just objectivity. Very hard with McLennan's recent passing.



I found the last 2 LPs from the reformed duo: welcomed, eagerly anticipated, OK, perhaps I expected too much from the creators of one of my 5 D.I.D. LPs of all time. They were nice, but not over the top from this duo who has given us so much beautiful music over the years. Actually I hesitated to purchase this until the flood of great reviews forced my little lifeboat over the precipice of Niagra.



I popped it in on the way home from work on one of those early June evenings when the sun is alternately breaking thru the potentially dam busting summer shower skies in the mid atlantic USA. First track OK, nice chug. Nice mix. haven't heard this since "Was There Anything..." Urgent. Then the LP just unfolds in this cacophony of sunshine and gorgeous melodies from then on until the end. I was so stunned I called up friends and held up the phone and yelled do you remember the groove from these guys?



Me don't do this at my age no more. This is the most stunning LP I have heard in the past 5 years. This surpasses all your expectations in it's beauty, production, and sheer magnitude of its songwriting. It's like the way we ultimately want our musical friends to return when they've been away. The lads have been saving up for this. The first 2 reformed LPs I won't discount, but this time it's like "16 Lovers Lane" where they went for the brass ring... and they got it.



I have loved Grant's songwriting and sighed over his lyrics for so many years - group and solo. But on this LP, I finally tapped completely into Robert - every one of his songs is perfect here. "Part of a Family" is hilarious and could be the song for the rest of my life and for all those kindred souls who have come from wonderful wombs, but God knows why, we just gotta stretch out a bit. "Lavender" - just put this on in the summer with the window down, driving, thinking about an untamed lover you were just so damn lucky to have known once in your life.



I can't cry here. Have already. Get this. It's damn perfect. Mature. Immature. Silly. Heartbreaking. Breathtakingly beautiful. Has one of Grant's greatest songs on it ("Boundary Rider"). Has Robert emerging into incredibly more than confident songwriter mode.



Brass ring.



Robert, gold ring? I'll be there, mate."

A masterpiece of songwriting ruined by senseless CD masterin

P. Obbard | Boston, MA | 05/19/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"No question, this is the Go-Betweens best or perhaps second best album (after 16 LOVERS LANE or LIBERTY BELLE), with stellar song after song. Unfortunately, the CD is mastered far too loud, with noticeable distortion(!) blanketing quieter tracks like "This Night's For You". Was the mastering engineer asleep at the switch? (This problem afflicts both the US Yep-Roc and UK Lo-Max releases).



As a result, I find myself listening to THAT STRIPED SUNLIGHT SOUND (recorded on the tour promoting OCEANS APART) far more often, but maybe someday someone at the label will wake-up and fix this disc. We can only hope."