Aimee Mann - @#%&*! Smilers
List Price:
Our Price: $3.25
You Save: $13.73 (81%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
CD Details
Artist: Aimee MannEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2008-06-03
Music Label: Superego Records
Soundtracks:
- Freeway
- Stranger Into Starman
- Looking For Nothing
- Phoenix
- Borrowing Time
- It's Over
- 31 Today
- The Great Beyond
- Medicine Wheel
- Columbus Avenue
- Little Tornado
- True Believer
- Ballantines
Music reviews of @#%&*! Smilers
Music Review: A Lot To @#%&*! Smile About......BUT...!!!!!!
Rating: 4 Stars
You can always count on Aimee Mann to do something new and exciting on each new release, be it the alternating narrative on 2005's brilliant concept album THE FORGOTTEN ARM, or the "no electric guitar" policy on the new @#%&*! SMILERS. Lush and full, even without the aforementioned electric axes, @#%&*! SMILERS is, in many ways, classic Mann. However, that may not be enough....but more on that later! The album opens on an upbeat note with the effervescent "Freeway." Quirky percussion, reptiian keyboard runs that weave in and out and a lead vocal that both seduces and soars all combine to make a slice of pop perfection. Add some wonderful lyrics ("The road to Orange County/Leaves an awful lot of leeway/Where everyone's a doctor/Or a specialist in retail") and you have a real winner. Initially, I was less than thrilled with "Stranger Into Starman"...it just didn't feel...finished. However, after repeated plays, I've come to appreciate the song. With it's ominous, low-key piano arrangement and smoky lead vocal, there's an after-hours, torchy vibe to the track that's mesmerizing, growing on you with each listen. One of the disc's high points, "Looking For Nothing" is absolutely stunning. Singing in around three different registers throughout the song, Mann's lead vocal is a thing of natural beauty, while the instrumentation is killer (Special mention need be made of Jamie Edwards' glorious piano riffs). Equal parts melancholy and soothing, this ranks among Mann's all-time Top Ten best songs. Things continue strongly with the country-flavored "Phoenix." This could've been just another break-up song, but Mann elevates it to a whole other level. Opening with the clever lines "Got out of Phoenix/Just in time/A box of Kleenex/For the ride", things just keep getting better and better. Lovely acoustic guitars are juxtaposed with muted (but powerful) orchestration, creating a wonderfully relaxed aural cushion of sound. Toss in more thoughtful, universal lyrics that everyone can identify with ("It's hard to know/When to cut and run/You balance heartaches with your fun/But when the scales tip/You know you're done"), and you have the type of smart pop song that's becoming a rarity in music today. Up next is my favorite cut off the album, the rollicking "Borrowing Time." From it's hypnotic lead vocal to the swinging horns, this cut is unlike anything else on the album. Combine a dose of breath-taking imagery ("Get up - the needle has pricked her little finger/She wants the beautiful child/The blood will bring her") and you have an instant winner! LOVE this song!! There's a shimmering delicacy to "It's Over" that's captivating. Opening with just some gorgeous piano playing and understated orhestration, Mann's vocal dances over the somber, wistful lyrics. Building in tempo and instrumentation as it moves along, the song climaxes in a swirling whirlpool of perfectly mixed and matched sounds. Mann also has an innate talent for looking at every day experiences and putting her own spin on them, as she does with "31 Today." This tale of looking at where life has taken you, it's achievements and disappointments, on, of all days, your birthday, is actually quite enchanting, what with it's hushed verses and lilting chorus. In this case, the road not travelled can be just as enjoyable as the one taken. Things slow down a bit at this point. "The Great Beyond" has a real nice bass line anchoring it, but the rest of the song is a bit schizo, like two or three songs spliced into one. Thing is, we've heard all of them on past Mann albums. I never thought I'd be saying this about an Aimee Mann song, but this is filler. Ditto "Medicine Wheel." Everything here is....nice...from the down beat arrangement to the dour lead vocal, but this cut could very easily have been an outtake from THE FORGOTTEN ARM. I've come to expect every Aimee Mann song to "WOW!" me, and a lot of the songs in the middle of @#%&*! SMILERS fall short of that mark. The same can be said about "Columbus Avenue"....it's nice enough, with a pretty lead vocal and muted arrangement, moving along at a steady pace, but I expect more from an artist of Mann's caliber than "nice" or "steady." As I said earlier, I've come to expect that "WOW!" factor, and it's just not here. It does, however, return with "Little Tornado." Mix together a lead vocal that is equal parts sinister and forlorn, edgy, minimalist instrumentation and a hushed chorus of backing vocals that envoke a swirling cyclone, and you end up with a masterpiece (Dave Eggers' spaghetti Western-like whistling tops it off like some eerie cherry). Brilliant! "True Believer" has a melodic edge to it that just kind of works it's way under your skin, while there's a goofiness to "Ballantines" that's both sweet and silly (Another one of Mann's many talents is her ability to blend opposites, i.e. sunny instrumentation with dark lyrics, a perfect example being showcased here: "It must be hard/Ringing the bells/Of doors that don't swing wide anymore"). very nice, indeed. And kudos to Sean Hayes! Soo...what are my overall feelings about @#%&*! SMILERS? Well, like every Aimee Mann album, I love it.....BUT! As enjoyable as everything's been since 2000's BACHELOR #2, I'd like to see her shake things up a bit more on her next release, maybe revisiting some of the sounds and stylings from her Til Tuesday days, or the excellent one/two punch of '93's WHATEVER and '96's I'M WITH STUPID. Now THAT would make me really smile! (As with all my reviews, I'm giving the disc an extra half a star for including the lyrics, as well as an additional half a star for the gorgeous packaging).
Description of @#%&*! Smilers
Limited edition book packaging of her 2008 album, Aimee's seventh solo release to date. The album is a return to form after the artistic detours of 2005's concept album The Forgotten Arm and 2006's Christmas CD One More Drifter in the Snow. Featuring thirteen new original songs, producer Paul Bryan describes the record as "deceptively powerful...very rich and grand-sounding." The songs range from the stripped-down-to-basics of "Columbus Avenue," to the almost Cars-esque synth-pop of "Freeway," alongside the classic Jimmy Webb/Glen Campbell-era "Phoenix," and the hushed creepiness of "Little Tornado." The final song "Ballantines" is a duet with Sean Hayes complete with barroom piano and trombone section. All songs were penned by Mann with the exception of "True Believer" which was co-written with fellow singer-songwriter Grant Lee Phillips.Despite that unwieldy, rather craven title, @#%&! Smilers has already been acclaimed by some critics as the best record in Aimee Mann?s long career. Few fans will be disappointed. The opening "Freeway" may be built around a fairly slight play on words ("you got a lot of money but you can?t afford the freeway" goes the chorus) but the nagging melody and expansive synth-laden arrangement, reminiscent of her East Coast counterparts and fellow suburban critics Fountains of Wayne, is nigh on irresistible. "Stranger Into Starman" is a mere snippet, and all the better for its brevity, while "Looking For Nothing" is a perfect example of the southern Californian blankness Mann has captured for years now. The lush, orchestrated country-rock of "Phoenix" rhymes the title with "Kleenex" and truly captures the mood of someone leaving for good. Sean Hayes sounds uncannily like a boozy Antony Hegarty on the deceptively jolly closer "Ballantines," named for a whisky, while author Dave Eggers picks up a credit for his rather good "whistling" on the gloomy, undeniably pretty "Little Tornado." The painfully detailed "Thirty One Today," a distant memory for Mann, is another successful attempt to voice dissatisfaction. Only the chirpy horns on the admonishing "Borrowing Time" actually lighten the mood. Smilers is an excellent record, cleverly thought out throughout. But the smiles here are rueful at best -- Steve Jelbert
Alternative Rock CDs
Music Genres
Bestsellers in Alternative Rock CDs
Bouncing Souls - Maniacal LaughterRelease date: 1996-01-26; Music CD
Best price: $30.00
Blondie - Parallel LinesRelease date: 1994-07-29; Music CD
Best price: $397.77
Doors - L.A. WomanRelease date: 1993-04-09; Music CD
Best price: $99.99
Amon Duul - Phallus DeiRelease date: 1997-04-08; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Tangerine Dream - MelroseRelease date: 1990-10-02; Music CD
Best price: $74.98
Tangerine Dream - Private Music of Tangerine DreamRelease date: 1992-11-10; Music CD
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
![Ska Explosion [VHS] Image](/images/Ska-Explosion-VHS-6303381014-X.jpg){kind=small}
Ska Explosion [VHS]Cleopatra; Release date: 1995-02-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
![Little Earthquakes [VHS] Image](/images/Little-Earthquakes-VHS-6302488664-X.jpg){kind=small}
Little Earthquakes [VHS]Atlantic / Wea; Release date: 1992-11-10; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $12.50
Price in other shops:
Exileby Geoffrey Oryema
Music CD
Best price: $4.95
![Louder Than Live [VHS] Image](/images/Louder-Than-Live-VHS-6301627865-X.jpg){kind=small}
Soundgarden - Louder Than Live [VHS]A&M Video; Release date: 1991-07-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Similar CDs
Aimee Mann - Ultimate CollectionRelease date: 2000-09-12; Music CD
Best price: $13.33
Price in other shops:
Til Tuesday - Voices CarryRelease date: 2008-02-01; Music CD
Best price: $2.59
Price in other shops:
Aimee Mann - Live at St. Ann's Warehouse (Bonus CD)RED Distribution; Release date: 2004-11-02; DVD
Best price: $11.75
Price in other shops:
Aimee Mann - One More Drifter in the SnowRelease date: 2006-10-24; Music CD
Best price: $7.94
Price in other shops:
Aimee Mann - WhateverRelease date: 1995-12-19; Music CD
Best price: $3.86
Price in other shops:
Aimee Mann - I'm With StupidRelease date: 1996-01-30; Music CD
Best price: $5.56
Price in other shops:
Aimee Mann - Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the DodoRelease date: 2000-03-28; Published: 2001; Music CD
Best price: $6.94
Price in other shops:
Magnolia: Music from the Motion PictureRelease date: 1999-12-07; Music CD
Best price: $7.15
Price in other shops:
Aimee Mann - Lost in SpaceRelease date: 2002-08-27; Music CD
Best price: $5.08
Price in other shops:
Aimee Mann - The Forgotten ArmRelease date: 2005-05-03; Music CD
Best price: $5.39
Price in other shops: