Hyacinths & Thistles

• Artist : 6ths
• Binding : Audio CD
• EAN : 0036172948529
• Format : Import
• Label : Merge
• Manufacturer : Merge
• Number Of Discs : 1
• Package Dimensions : 0.54 inches (Height) x 5.55 inches (Length) x 0.18 pounds (Weight) x 4.97 inches (Width)
• Package Quantity : 1
• Product Group : Music
• Publisher : Merge
• Release Date : 2000-09-05
• SKU : 036172948529
• Studio : Merge
• UPC : 036172948529

Though something of an elaborate joke, The 6ths should not be taken lightly--as with all of Stephin Merritt's projects, there is something deadly serious, even earnest, at the core. Merritt, the modern classicist behind the Magnetic Fields, would probably like to be cast as a latter-day Cole Porter or Gershwin, but his devotion to his own iconoclastic tastes will probably forever doom him from the popularity--and populism--of those who came before him. As long as Merritt continues to produce albums like 69 Love Songs and Hyancinths and Thistles, though, it is doubtful that any in his devoted cadre of fans will object.Originally conceived (depending on whom you believe) as either an imaginary tribute to himself or an opportunity to experiment with other vocalists, Merritt gave The 6ths the hardest name in pop to pronounce--and then trumped it by calling the first album Wasp's Nests. No less a tongue twister, Hyacinths and Thistles is more accomplished than its predecessor; 13 songs of love that experiment in style and take advantage of the guest vocalists' gifts: Momus, accompanied solely by a zither, is delicate and ethereal; the earthy-voiced Sally Timms grounds "Give Me Back My Dreams"; St. Etienne's Sarah Cracknell weaves a sultry bedtime story of regret; and Bob Mould is reborn as an Elvis Costello-cum-Tom Waits interpreter. (The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon appears as an even more Waits-ish narrator on "The Dead Only Quickly".) Working with Odetta, Melanie and Marc Almond, Merritt gives into experimentation: Melanie is accompanied by classically-trained toy pianist Margaret Leng-Tan, Almond vamps his way through a tropical evening, and Odetta's accordion-accompanied "Waltzing Me All The Way Home" is a strangely triumphant cabaret. Only "You You You You You", featuring Squirrel Nut Zippers's Katharine Whalen, sounds like it could have appeared on Wasp's Nests, though there is never any doubt that this album could only have come from one man. --Randy Silver

- Amazon.co.uk Review

Tracks:

• Disc 1

  • 1: As You Turn To Go
  • 2: Give Me Back My Dreams
  • 3: He Didn't
  • 4: I've Got New York
  • 5: Just Like A Movie Star
  • 6: Kissing Things
  • 7: Lindy-Lou
  • 8: Night Falls Like A Grand Piano
  • 9: The Dead Only Quickly
  • 10: The Sailor In Love With The Sea
  • 11: Volcana!
  • 12: Waltzing Me All The Way Home
  • 13: You You You You You
  • 14: Oahu

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