Search - Poi Dog Pondering :: Wishing Like a Mountain & Thinking Like the Sea

Better Than Prozac

Owen | 05/09/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This eclectic, happy, utterly original collection literally saved my life in the early nineties. Seldom does one come across a CD that is completely unique, completely honest, completely creative. Even the CD insert is a work of art with original sketches and heartfelt thanks to practically everyone who ever brushed up against them. Second (and equal) only to their first untitled release, "Wishing Like a Mountain and Thinking Like the Sea" combines traditional instruments like the guitar, violin, mandolin, trumpet, xylophone and snare drum with the whimsical sounds of bells, woodblocks, frying pans, cow bells, tap dancing, and (my personal favorite) a bicycle with playing cards. The happy, layered, rich sounds created by these instruments are accentuated with uplifting, philosophical, carry-around-with-you-all-day phrases like "let me be the yeast inside your bread; let be the new thought inside your head," "You should wear with pride the scars on your skin; they're a map of the adventures and the places you've been," "I know you're bitter, but why? Don't you know that two wrongs don't make a right," "You get to know things better when they go by slow," and "I owe my soul to each fork in the road, each misleading sign..." The idea and lyrics of "Spending the day in the shirt you wore" inspired me as an undergraduate to create a series of oil paintings that illustrated their lyrics... all fingerpainted in the wee hours of the night while I danced barefoot in the huge, empty art studio at the University of Arizona... this music is that inspiring. I defy anyone to listen to this brilliant collection and not walk away a little taller, a little lighter, a little more hopeful. No matter what tragedy befalls me, what trials life sends my way, I always know that I can play a little Poi Dog and recapture my own joy. BUY THIS CD!"

"I like the pondering one, Dave..."

Owen | Seattle, WA | 04/26/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Living on a military base in the Aleutian Islands of AK at the end of the 80's and trying to decide what to do with my life after graduation, somehow this platter came along to save my life (and sanity). It was a mesh of ideas twixt average rock n' roll riffs, lush orchestration, americana, world beat and just about everything else. Personal faves are "Watermelon song" "Fruitless" and the unbridled whimsy of "Spending the day in the shirt you wore". Although I rarely skip through any of the tunes. It's a great album and a personal soundtrack to some of the best times and friends in my life. I can always sit back listen, and at the end of "Everybody's trying" (which they performed on Letterman), hear my friend Aliesha say, "I like the Pondering one, Dave" like Paul Schaeffer. What can I say? It's like a basket of strawberries on a warm morning in May. Succulent and beatific."

Poetic, Poppy Poi Dog

L. L. Moore | Seattle, WA USA | 06/01/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Whenever I'm in the mood for something fun and upbeat, this is the CD I pop in. The rhythms are catchy and the lyrics range from silly ("the days of wine and roses and the rubbing of noses") to philosophical ("Would our paths cross if the pain it had cost us was paid in vain"). This CD never fails to make me smile."