Search - Marykate O'Neil :: Marykate O'Neil

REAL Music for 2002

johnnietahoe | Lake Tahoe, CA United States | 08/22/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sick of the same old crap on the radio, MTV, VH1....and everything in between? Getting tired of Viacom, Disney, and SONY attempting to control EVERYTHING you see and hear? If you answered yes to these questions, then CLICK on the ADD TO SHOPPING CART Icon on your screen and read no further! Still not convinced? Then buy this CD on good faith that once you start playing it, you will not stop! Marykate's lyrics, melody, harmony, and rythym will place you into a hypnotic trance of constant listening as your heartbeat will follow the strumming of her confident and firm grip on her 5 string. The lead song "Hudson" will rock your socks off and have you standing on the edge of your chair (or car seat) in anticipation for the next tune of "Getting Out". And it doesn't stop there. And once track 14 is complete, you'll cry that there is no 15, 16, 17....no worries! Go ahead and hit that repeat button - finally we have access to a great CD which gives that REPEAT button some true meaning! Kudos to the production team (Jill Sobule!) and Brad Jones! True Musical Professionals for the new millenium!"

A Very Lucky Find

Henry R. Jordan | Fort Worth, TX USA | 07/23/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This Album Holds My Record for Number of "Non-Stop" Listens in A Row. Eight Times Thru Between Pittsburgh and Detroit! By The Time That Journey Was Done I Was Happily Singing Along Using My Steering Wheel for Additional Percussive Effect. (Couldn't Find My Name Listed in the Credits though).This Reminds Me of the Music That I Grew Up On In The 60's. Back When I Would Bring Records Home And Play Them Over And Over, Screaming Along And Bouncing On The Furniture Until My Parents Got Fed Up And Sold Me Into Slavery! (Ok, slight exaggeration, actually they just locked me out of the house.)Marykate has crafted a style that proudly wears it's influences without getting lost inside them. She Seems To Use These Influences in Much the Same way As Rappers Use Sampling. Not As Plagiarism but As A Nod of Acknowledgement and Respect. About The Time You Recognize A Style She Has Playfully Moved Off In Another Direction Leaving You Just Plain Delighted!This Could Be Called 60's Style Pop. But It Is So Much More. Some Byrdslike Guitar, Beatlesque Harmonies, Monkeelike Melodies, And A Voice That Is 100% Her Own! I Played Her Music for A Friend of Mine who said, "She Sounds like an Angel!". Ok, I'll buy Into That. Her Voice Comes Across As Very Real. Upbeat, Optimistic, And Likable as Hell!I Found the Production To Be Just About Flawless. Multilayered without Being Overwhelming. The Songwriting Is Also Top Notch. Fourteen Tunes And I Haven't Felt The Urge To Hit The Forward Button Even Once! I'm not sure that This Album Really Will Fit into Any Particular Radio Format That Currently Dictates the Listening tastes Of the Masses. This Is Unfortunate. This Would Be A Positive Addition to the Soundtrack of Anyone's Life!I'll bet Marykate Has A Great Album Collection."

A Charmer!

Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 05/04/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Marykate O'Neil's debut CD is an excellent set. My favorite track is the opener "Hudson" with its bouncy rhythms & Micky Grimm's percolating percussion, "I'm soaked down through the bones; I never thougt I'd be this cold; It's never like it is on the TV." "Getting Out of Bed" has a great power pop feel with some stinging electric lead guitar. The midtempo "Radio Shack" has a pretty pop melody with lovely guitar. "Another Saturday" sounds like Revolver-era Beatles while "Newsday" starts like the Kinks' oldie "All Day & All of the Night" before hitting cruise control. Marykate takes one of Spice Girls' strongest songs, "Stop," and gives the only cover tune in this set a great performance with a driving beat. "Bedsore Brain" is an acoustic samba. "I've got a secret; I'm crazy in love with you," Marykate sings on "Secret Crush" with a pounding rhythm track by Dennis Diken of Smithereens. The CD concludes with a cute ballad "8th & 14th" that clocks in under 2 minutes. Jill Sobule produced and cowrote much of this disc. Marykate's vocals work well; and the entire set is a real charmer. Enjoy!"