Search - Pizzicato Five :: Sound of Music By Pizzicato Five

Good Pi 5 release

pagu63 | Atlanta, GA USA | 06/17/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I like this album for listening in the car when I am driving. There are some slow parts on this one that I wish that weren't there ^mainly rock and roll^.My favorites on here are The Night is Still Young; Happy Sad; CDJ; Peace Music (actually St. Etienne Remix); Strawberry Sleighride; and Airplace. The biggest problem that friends have with this CD is the fact that there are only a few English songs on here. I reccomend that you get Happy End of the World if you want an Pizzicato Five release with english on it. For those of you who do like to listen to Japanese music, this one is a good one for the collection. Although I won't say that it is a must have."

I'm feelin' so happy sad

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 05/05/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Never can it be said that Pizzicato Five doesn't have fun with their music. In "The Sound of Music," this Japanese band revels in glitzy sound and poppy melodies. Dancey, sparkly, plastic, sugary and enchantingly earnest, this is kitschy pop at its most entertaining.



After a brief intro with children singing about how they love "P. 5, oh yes we do," the band launches into the thoroughly danceable (and ill-named) "Rock'n'Roll," an infectious little song that would be maddening if it weren't so much fun, and so darn cute.



To judge from "Sound of Music," Pizzicato Five seem to be cheerfully cannibalizing various popular American music periods: There's a disco tune, a bit of bossa nova, bouncy funk, jazz, dance, and bubblegum pop that refuses to be serious about anything. A few -- like the conversation-filled "Groupie" -- are somewhat less charming, but it's hard not to be charmed by the repeated sentiment of "If I were a groupie..."



Pizzicato Five made music for years before "Sound of Music" started to capture American listeners. It's amazing that these guys didn't get attention before that. Rather than the wild experiments of Cornelius and Buffalo Daughter, Pizzicato Five are out to enjoy themselves (okay, they experiment once or twice). And they do so with great gusto -- the entire album sounds like a party where nobody cares what's cool, only what's fun.



Perhaps one of the most entertaining things about "Sound of Music" is that the band does absolutely nothing halfway. If the music is jazz, it drips jazz from every note. If it's dance, the tempo is mad. If they inject weird sound effects, it sounds like a haunted house. Synth, keyboard, wild drums and samples add to the fun, colorful maelstrom.



For anyone who doesn't speak Japanese: Most of the lyrics won't make any sense at all, despite the odd English word ("groovy!") thrown in. "Happy Sad" is one of the exceptions, with a the upbeat question "shoop-e-doop-e-doop/happy sad/are you feelin'/are you feelin' bad?/Happy sad..."



Pizzicato Five enchants in "The Sound of Music," a delightfully unpretentious album that tries out just about every variety of pop there is. The hills are alive!"