NoMan - Returning Jesus (9 tracks) +Album Reviews

JESUS HAS INDEED RETURNED

Mike | North Carolina | 06/10/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"WOW what an incredible release! How do you even begin to explain this to people! RETURNING JESUS..maybe they named it this because its the feeling of AWE that you would have gotten if you were standing there and saw JESUS RETURN!

You can get technical and cross compare to other things but how can you compare this to something else..its absoluely stunning release! Sultry....Classy....heavy and jazzy! This music has AIR...it has CLIMATE and the climate is as high as EVEREST! Listening to this collection of music by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree fame is unlike anything i have heard by him yet.

I have heard a lot of stuff by him and even have some of this on other releases. BUT this release is by far my favorite..not to overshadow FLOWERMOUTH but....its equally fantastic.

I am still processing this music after the first listening and i am sure it will grow more beautiful.

Hope you all enjoy it as much as i do!

BEST!

Mike"

GRAN DISCO DE NO-MAN!!

Guillermo Fino | TULTITLAN, MEXICO | 05/15/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"ES UNO DE MIS DISCOS FAVORITOS!!! EXCELENTE MUSICA, SI REALMENTE AMAS LA MUSICA, DEBERIAS TENER ESTE DISCO."

A Christlike Recording

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 06/02/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As some reviewers have said, those who really want to enjoy the music of No-Man need to set aside the time, put aside other distractions, and listen attentively. There are so many important but low-key aspects to a No-Man recording that you will miss out on much of its beauty if you don't give it the undivided attention it deserves.

Like many other fans, I came to No-Man via Porcupine Tree, but quickly discovered that this project spotlights a completely different side of Steven Wilson's musical personality. When listening to Returning Jesus, I find myself often reminded of the mellowist recordings of Michael Franks and the Mark-Almond Band, a reminder that is reinforced by the superb play of the backing musicians.

My favorites here are No Defence, the steady, hypnotic Outside the Machine, and the solemn All That You Are. The music imparts intense feelings of sheer relaxation and peace of mind.

Returning Jesus is truly a Christlike recording. I suspect that if He were to hear it, He would agree. If you are already a fan of No-Man, you already know what a great musical partnership Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness have. If you are merely curious and are just sniffing around, Returning Jesus is as good a recording as any on which to begin your own No-Man odyssey."

A truly powerful and magnificent album.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 07/04/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Craftsmanship in pop music often has undesirable consequences. Too much perfection and you boil away the emotion from the music. And certainly albums with long gestation cycles tend to have this problem. And while we're on the subject, there's nothing like taking a leap into a new direction in the studio to make you wonder, "what were they thinking".

Of course, there's all that, and then there's No-Man's "Returning Jesus".

A complete about-face and yet organic outgrowth of their previous efforts, "Returning Jesus" may well be as close to a perfect album as you'll ever hear. Vocalist Tim Bowness and instrumentalist Steven Wilson (better known for his other band, Porcupine Tree), spent some seven years assembling this record, a timespan in which they'd record two other fantastic albums and a number of EPs. But in this long gestating period, they accomplished the seemingly impossible, they made a great album with a new sound and top notch craftsmanship.

"Returning Jesus" is in many ways a statement in downtempo mood and melancholy, of pain and loss, and yet hope and unwillingness to surrender. Drawing equally from Secrets of the Beehive, Bryter Layter, Low and So, it contains at least one absolutely perfect cut (the fantastic, sentimental, powerful and understated leadoff single, Carolina Skeletons) to anchor a record that moves from sound to sound, from feel to feel-- moody strings (borrowed from Flowermix cut "No Neck") and pained vocals giving way to fractured guitars and a simply stunning trumpet solo courtesy of Ian Carr (opener "Only Rain"), a thorough modernization of a '50s pop sound to provide a great launching pad for Bowness' most plaintiff vocal ("No Defence"), metallic percussion, unusual synthesizers and complete desperation (the title track) and almost fierce hope (second single All That You Are, featuring an unnervingly powerful vocal from Bowness) finishes playing, you're ready to start the album over again.

No-Man has through their career been one of the most satisfying bands I listen to, some mix of fearlessness, craftsmanship, emotional directness and pop brilliance. "Returning Jesus" may be their best effort, and it certainly puts all of these on display. It is an essential part of anyone's music collection."

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