Gigi / Maintenant
| Album: | Maintenant | Collection: | General | |
| Artist: | Gigi | Added: | Aug 2010 | |
| Label: | Tomlab | |||
A-File Activity
| Add Date: | 2010-10-10 | Pull Date: | 2010-12-12 |
|---|
| Week Ending: | Dec 12 | Nov 28 | Nov 21 | Nov 14 | Oct 31 | Oct 24 | Oct 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airplays: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
Recent Airplay
| 1. | Apr 29, 2016: | Music Casserole
The Marquee (With Katie Eastburn), The Old Graveyard (With Karl Blau) |
4. | Feb 11, 2011: | meow
No, My Heart Will Go On |
|
| 2. | Jul 22, 2011: | Music Casserole
Alone At The Pier (With Rose Melberg) |
5. | Dec 08, 2010: | the seductardation- a taste of esquire
Alone At The Pier (With Rose Melberg) |
|
| 3. | Jul 10, 2011: | lost and found
No, My Heart Will Go On |
6. | Nov 24, 2010: | the seductardation of the indie minded-a taste of esquire (mouthwash?)
No, My Heart Will Go On |
Album Review
Wallace Brontoon
Reviewed 2010-10-10
Reviewed 2010-10-10
The ‘60s girl group sound is circulating wildly now, a lot of it quite good—but I’d give Gigi the most credit for authenticity—if Phil Spector wasn’t in jail (and quite insane), I would have bet he had a hand in it.
(Note: this is not the African Gigi. These guys are from Vancouver.) (And really, these guys earn the “Gigi” more, with its insinuations of Vicente Minelli and Ye-Ye and all things 1960s.)
Fantastic hooks, swinging trumpets, STEREOPHONIC SOUND. (Seriously, a desire to capture the girl group sound isn’t enough, and making it facilely post-modern is an insult—these guys KNOW the sound, and NAIL it.)
Play it if you want to resurrect: The Ronettes,
The Supremes, The Essex, The Sensations, Martha and the Vandellas, with hints of Henry Mancini, Love, ? and the Mysterians, Joao Gilberto…
GUEST PERFORMERS: Mirah, Karl Blau, Rose Melberg.
PRODUCED BY: Colin Stewart, who’s worked with
Black Mountain, Destroyer…
No FCCs.
Tracks to play: ALL.
1. Spare singing (female group), then some Phil Spector drums. Innocent sounding, really lovely. *
2. Male singing this time—doesn’t quite nail it as much as the girls, but they take the backup.
3. Swank lounge beat, then an unsettling androgynous vocal. Well done, but takes you out of the element.
4. This could have been a minor hit for Martha and the Vandellas or somebody—beautiful vocals, and a perfect arrangement, touches of Alpert trumpets and xylophones and organs… ***
5. The vocal has a more modern angst than the overarching ‘60s feel, but makes it up with a catchy chorus.
6. On the girl group sound spectrum, this qualifies as “dirge,” though it’s still very sweet.
7. How do voices sound this happy? Trotting-horse rhythm. A real winner, except possibly a disconcerting bridge, where the male singers butt in. **
8. Alternating man/woman vocals, an Italian restaurant guitar, and later a lounge tuba. *
9. Change of pace, more of a driving garage band sound, with a subtly deranged male singer, and hints of surf guitar in the background.
(A SMOOTH TRANSITION TO… (FEEL FREE TO PLAY TOGETHER)))
10. Bossa nova beat and a Joao Gilberto croak—beautifully fragile. Some Righteous-Brother-esque piano playing… **
11. Three singers, really nail that girl group sound where pleading almost bleeds into crankiness.
12. The catchiest song on the record. Loungy male front guy, with chirpy backup parroting his lines. This one WOULD have charted in 1962. ****
13. Hurried piano is joined by handclapping, angelic vocals, then some strings. *
14. Male singer in high register, gasping girl group backup. Could use a kick-start.
15. Same male singer, but the lush background interfaces better, and we get some muted trumpets and finger-snapping. What more would you want? **
-- HERVEY OKKLES
(Note: this is not the African Gigi. These guys are from Vancouver.) (And really, these guys earn the “Gigi” more, with its insinuations of Vicente Minelli and Ye-Ye and all things 1960s.)
Fantastic hooks, swinging trumpets, STEREOPHONIC SOUND. (Seriously, a desire to capture the girl group sound isn’t enough, and making it facilely post-modern is an insult—these guys KNOW the sound, and NAIL it.)
Play it if you want to resurrect: The Ronettes,
The Supremes, The Essex, The Sensations, Martha and the Vandellas, with hints of Henry Mancini, Love, ? and the Mysterians, Joao Gilberto…
GUEST PERFORMERS: Mirah, Karl Blau, Rose Melberg.
PRODUCED BY: Colin Stewart, who’s worked with
Black Mountain, Destroyer…
No FCCs.
Tracks to play: ALL.
1. Spare singing (female group), then some Phil Spector drums. Innocent sounding, really lovely. *
2. Male singing this time—doesn’t quite nail it as much as the girls, but they take the backup.
3. Swank lounge beat, then an unsettling androgynous vocal. Well done, but takes you out of the element.
4. This could have been a minor hit for Martha and the Vandellas or somebody—beautiful vocals, and a perfect arrangement, touches of Alpert trumpets and xylophones and organs… ***
5. The vocal has a more modern angst than the overarching ‘60s feel, but makes it up with a catchy chorus.
6. On the girl group sound spectrum, this qualifies as “dirge,” though it’s still very sweet.
7. How do voices sound this happy? Trotting-horse rhythm. A real winner, except possibly a disconcerting bridge, where the male singers butt in. **
8. Alternating man/woman vocals, an Italian restaurant guitar, and later a lounge tuba. *
9. Change of pace, more of a driving garage band sound, with a subtly deranged male singer, and hints of surf guitar in the background.
(A SMOOTH TRANSITION TO… (FEEL FREE TO PLAY TOGETHER)))
10. Bossa nova beat and a Joao Gilberto croak—beautifully fragile. Some Righteous-Brother-esque piano playing… **
11. Three singers, really nail that girl group sound where pleading almost bleeds into crankiness.
12. The catchiest song on the record. Loungy male front guy, with chirpy backup parroting his lines. This one WOULD have charted in 1962. ****
13. Hurried piano is joined by handclapping, angelic vocals, then some strings. *
14. Male singer in high register, gasping girl group backup. Could use a kick-start.
15. Same male singer, but the lush background interfaces better, and we get some muted trumpets and finger-snapping. What more would you want? **
-- HERVEY OKKLES
Track Listing