"On" is right on.
Richard Bell | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | 01/19/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've waited a long 10 years for Tasmin Archer to bloom again. I bought my copy of "On" directly from Tasmin's webstore rather then wait for the North American release and I'm glad I did.
If you're a Tamin Archer fan there's no doubt in my mind YOU ARE going to love this CD.
Once again teamed up with musical partner John Hughes, Tasmin presents 10 outstanding tunes. The melodys on this CD are extremely strong and the arrangements are well thought out.
On the second morning of owning the CD I woke up with the song "Emergency" running through my head. That's a good indicator that I'm going to like the album.
I popped it in the car and discovered the CD has another mark of a truely classic album as defined by whether or not you can sing along with the songs.
You can.
Not only can you sing along but Tasmin was gracoius enough to leave spaces for you to harmonize with her.
Now I realise not everyone is as crazy as I am but if you can do that with a CD and enjoy it that makes it a "BIG HIT" in my books.
The one fault I find with the album is that Tasmin sings a large portion of the songs in a very soft and airy voice. The result is that sometimes the vocals are hard to hear. Another choice of microphone and/or processing might have cured that problem but I would've much rather heard Tasmin belt it out a bit louder on some of these tunes. She has one of the most pure pop voices going without being obnoxious. I just would like to have heard a bit more effort behind the vocal performance.
So to sum up.
Writing - The best yet. Seriously the writing is very strong.
Music - John Hughes is one creative dude without being a show off. He's made some very nice tracks for Tasmin to sing with.
Vocal performance- while good and well sung, Tasmin for whatever reason chose to sing with a lighter touch and in a style that I think lacks the power to push this CD into mega-sales.
But I do like the CD a lot.
I recommend you hang out at the Tasmin Archer web-site and her myspace and sample some of the tunes. Start at http://www.tasminarcher.com"
Everytime I want it, someone else has got it before me.
Jason Stein | San Diego, CA United States | 11/23/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Tasmin Archer made a small impact in 1993 with her debut album, "Great Expectations" and her single "Sleeping Satellite". Following that, she released and EP in 1994, "Shipbuilding", and then a final album in 1996, "Bloom". That is, until now. She returns with her third album "On", and overall it's on par with her earlier work, though "On" may grow on me more over the ensuing years.
Ms. Archer deals with all the topics that originally made her compelling--mainly societal ills such as political and personal views on "Take Care" and consumerism on "Effect Is Monotony". Love and relationships appear in the form of "A Day Will Come", "Emergency" and "Violence". She ends on a strong note of unshakable willpower on "Hello".
I think I'd give this album three and half stars. "Bloom" was her best work, followed by "Great Expectations". "On" doesn't really have the strong songs that characterized her first two albums, but it's solid when you think about the fact that she hasn't made an album in ten years. Archer fans should enjoy it, but if you're new, you might want to search out "Great Expectations" first."
Tiny title, big entertainment
G. Tutin | San Francisco, CA United States | 11/14/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Maybe Ms Archer's best work to date, although "Bloom" is great, too. Thanks Amazon for saving us the fare to England to buy this.
Tasmin has a beautiful voice and sounds as lovely as ever - subtle yet commanding. The music and lyrics are unique and original. I recommend "Emergency" and "Effect is Monotony" but, really, it's an album I play right through because there is one wonderful song after another. Great gift, assuming you have a copy, because you won't want to part with yours."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1