what can I say that hasn’t already been said about the Weepies on the blogosphere? the darlings of music bloggers worldwide, The Weepies, released their latest album, Hideaway about a month ago. the CD has been playing practically non-stop in the car ever since the official release date. you know, I consider the album “easy-listening” ..and not in a derogatory way as in “Barry Manilow” or “Engelbert Humperdinck” but for it’s immediacy and melodic tunefulness. Deb Talan and Steve Tannen make it all seem easy the way they come up with catchy hooks and sweet sounding harmonies. and even though they seem effortless, the songs are actually well thought out with marvelously intricate arrangements that blend perfectly with one another. and I absolutely love the way some of the darker lyrics balance out the pleasant sounding melodies and harmonies in songs like “How You Survived the War” and “Wish I Could Forget”. the only thing negative I can say about the album is the production/mixing. all the instrumentation and vocals seem to be highly compressed and mixed to the foreground so that everything that’s going on the mix is right in your face. I suppose that’s the “modern” way of mixing these days but I would have liked a more “subtle” approach to the mix to compliment the gentleness of the songs. with everything being compressed this way, we’ve lost any sort of “dynamics” in the songs. but fortunately, the writing and the performances captured here transcends the claustrophobic mix.
1 Orbiting (Talan, Tannen) 2:55
2 Hideaway (Talan, Tannen) 2:46
3 Wish I Could Forget (Talan, Tannen) 2:56
4 All Good Things (Moore, Talan, Tannen) 2:55
5 Little Bird (Talan, Tannen) 3:33
6 Antarctica (Talan, Tannen) 3:14
7 How You Survived the War (Talan, Tannen) 3:35
8 Not Dead Yet (Talan, Tannen) 3:19
9 Old Coyote (Talan, Tannen) 3:38
10 Just Blue (Talan, Tannen) 4:04
11 Lighting Candles (Talan, Tannen) 3:07
12 Takes So Long (Talan, Tannen) 3:06
13 All This Beauty (Talan, Tannen) 3:19
extraordinary? ..not so much. more toward the ordinary if you ask me. i do have to give her props for not giving in to pressure from record executives and staying true to her own vision. and what is her own vision, you ask? well, from listening to Wild Hope I would have to say something in the realm of 70’s era Joni Mitchell and Fleetwood Mac. essentially bland retro-folk-singer-songwriter type music. it’s very surprising to hear if you remember her days as a teen-pop idol. the changeover happened around 2003 with her covers album called Coverage. She recorded music by artists like Joni Mitchell, Todd Rundgren, Joe Jackson and John Hiatt. when you start from there, you can see that Wild Hope is an extention from that album. where the album falters basically boils down to material. half of the 12 tracks are simply not that memorable. songs like Can’t You Just Adore Her?, Gardenia and Ladies Choice may be suited for background music at your local coffee shop but they just don’t stand on their own with repeated listening. that being said, the album’s not all bad. there are a few standouts, including Looking Foward to Looking Back, Extraordinary, Wild Hope and Nothing That You Are. Nothing That You Are is most notable for being a homage to Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and the rest of Fleetwood Mac. the tom-tom work on the drums, the backing harmonies, the bass guitar work during the verses and the guitar solos all scream FLEETWOOD MAC and fortunately it all works for the tune. there’s a great hook in the chorus and as an extra bonus we all get to hear sweet lil’ Mandy Moore sing the line “I hope you burn in hell”. priceless. probably worth getting the disc just for that one song.
Track List:
1. Extraordinary
2. All Good Things
3. Slummin’ In Paradise
4. Most Of Me
5. Looking Forward To Looking Back
6. Few Days Down
7. Nothing That You Are
8. Wild Hope
9. Latest Mistake
10. Can’t You Just Adore Her?
11. Ladies Choice
12. Gardenia
I would have to say something in the realm of 70’s era Joni Mitchell and Fleetwood Mac. essentially bland retro-folk-singer-songwriter type music. it’s very surprising to hear if you remember her days as a teen-pop idol. the changeover happened around 2003 with her covers album called 
. She recorded music by artists like Joni Mitchell, Todd Rundgren, Joe Jackson and John Hiatt. when you start from there, you can see that 
