DISC 1 - COVERED
I'd recommend starting with disc 2. But after checking out the originals,
definitely come back to this excellent tribute to a true pop-genius. The
perfection of Johnston's craft runs through each of these covers, and it's
nice to hear what his extremely lofi tracks sound like on quality
recordings fleshed out by some of today's best acts. These artists all
praise Johnston's simple song-writing, lack of pretentiousness, and
expressive beauty. Most of them live up to the challenge of adapting his
wonderful pop songs quite admirably. The big names are fun, but some of
the lesser-known groups provide some really good renditions as well.
Personal favorites: 8, 10, 16

1- great song, sticks pretty true to the original
2- slows it down, lacks the exciting finish
3- gano turns this into a violent femmes song, turns out well, countryish
instrumentation
4- slow, calming, quite good
5- insistent piano pounding and harmonic singing gives this a beach
boys-like feel, chosen for "sad comfort of longing"
6- pleasant fem voice, drum machine and sample scratches, guitar solo at end
7- just deep voice and muffled percussive noises
*8- nice fem backup, great guitar solo in mid, organ at end. they really did
a quite nice job filling out johnston's a cappella version
9- they slowed it down too much and dragged it out for too long in my
opinion, but I do like the relaxed syncopated drumming
**10- acoustic guitar and harmonica, beck's "sea change" phase is a perfect
fit for this beautifully simple song, excellent
11- it's refreshing to hear the lips a little more stripped down than usual,
but still quite lush and pretty. wouldn't really identify it as a flaming
lips song until the deep computerish voice creepily echoes coyne's soft
singing.
*12- great textures, this song was a really nice fit for them. someone is
playing a the "continental breakfast," I'm still trying to figure what the
hell that means
13- fast, fem vocals
14- slow and droopy, very understated but full of pain, I like the singing.
*15- turned the short, simple a cappella track into something really
interesting full of strings, Alvin-like backup singing, and computer
noises. pretty exciting climax.
**16- slow, mostly acoustic guitar and really nice singing, very soothing.
makes me want to check this guy out, he sounds quite talented.
17- as much as guster bugs me, johnston's great melody and lyrics shine
through
18- crazy "mouth percussion" sounds like a tribal chant or something, once
the guitar comes in this gets in quite a nice groove. damn cool story
treated nicely by waits' distinct singing. -nate jones

DISC 2 -- DISCOVERED
Absolutely amazing. I can't think of enough superlatives to describe how
much I love this album. It can be beautiful, painful, uplifting,
insightful, and endearing all at the same time. Truly captures the scope
of human emotion as good as any singer/songwriter I've ever heard. Most of
the tracks are very simple (often quite lofi recordings that sound they were
recorded on a cheap boombox), but through the quality the exquisiteness of
these perfect pop tunes still shines. His untrained, high-pitched voice
sounds so innocent and unassuming, but conveys so much power and feeling.
Love is a central theme to most of the songs. It's a shame that he isn't
more widely recognized as one of the greatest pop songwriters of our time;
hopefully this collection will begin to earn him some of the credit he
deserves. I had a really hard time picking favorites off here, because
really you can't go wrong with any one of these. Try 1,2,7,8,16,18, or any
others you feel like.

*1- faster-paced, solid rock tune with upbeat message
*2- lofi, almost sounds like a kid playing with toy, very endearing, awesome
upbeat climax
3- midtempo, full band, great melody
4- lofi, piano, pounding piano solo to finish
5- lofi, starts with children's toy doing animal noises, a haunting track
that comes off very sweet but very lonely
6- lofi, acoustic guitar, short and sweet (1:12)
*7- lofi, strange tune, sounds out of tune but like it's meant to be. his
voice is so expressive of his ache. lyrics are painfully open and
self-deprecating
*8- a cappella. voice is clear, echoing, and somber, quite beautiful (1:01)
9- piano-driven, voice sounds lower and scratchier, bleak but beautiful for
first 4 minutes then picks up and goes someplace completely different with
drums and brighter piano melody to finish
10- lofi, acoustic guitar, mellow but hopeful
11- lofi, acoustic guitar, nice melody
12- lofi, wow, sounded like a mercury rev song before i knew they covered
it. piano, slow, very pretty
13- full band, rock, cool spacey noises, awesome pop
14- lofi, piano, very heartbreaking, but there's a humor under the pain
15- lofi, a cappella, (1:12)
*16- lofi, piano, very beautiful, mellow. so simple but so elegant.
17- lofi, piano, hauntingly pretty, great lyrics
*18- lofi, a cappella. I love his singing style on this and it's about as
great a narrative as any song I've ever heard
19- his newest song, full band, great guitar, his voice sounds really
weathered. ?FCC?(marijuana).
-nate jone