Crystal Mass

Artist: The Tear Garden
Label: Nettwerk Records
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 067003015820
EAN: 0067003015820
ASIN: B00004ZDMI

Release Date: 2000-10-24

Related Categories:

General

| Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General

| New Age | Styles | Music

General

| Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Electronica

| Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Listmania:

Skinny Puppy + Related Projects Vol. 4
Falling down stairs at 20 mph.....a list for music geeks
So yOu wannA Melt YOur Face OfF?
My Ka-spel albums in order of preference (up to oct-2002)
music
Music For The Enlightened
A few things I enjoy

Tracks:

LAMENT
Double Spades Effect, The
Desert Island Disc
Hopeful
Castaway
Her Majesty's Trusted Food Taster
Feathered Friends
To Mourn The Death Of Color
Six Of One

Similar Items:

Sheila Liked the Rodeo
Tired Eyes Slowly Burning
Music for Cats
The Ghost of Each Room
The Dragon Experience

Customer Reviews:

absolutley incredible..........2005-03-09

This is without a doubt my favorite tear garden release. i am getting tired of everyone always having to explain why other projects of cevins dont sound like skinny puppy. skinny puppy is one demension of cevin, he is the most talented musician of all time as far as i am converned, i have been listening to skinny puppy since i was 15 years old, and i had never given tear garden a chance becsaue i was looking for more skinny puppy, now that i am older, i am so glad i went back and lsitned to tear garden again, they are incredible, when i first got this CD i listened to it 3 times in the same day, and i still cannot stop listneing to it, this is one of my favorite cds. i want to recommend also i, parasite, android lust, monstrum sepsis, cyrusrex, veneitan snares, and prick "the wreckyard" [...]

melody is the king: and good melody, btw.......2002-03-12

I think Cevin Key and Edward Ka-spel are very talented musicians. Together or separately, they have made very good songs and albums, experimenting with everyting imaginable: experimental electronics, fussion of wind instruments with cold electronics, danceable melody, undanceable melody, etc etc. Now this 'Crystal mass' is maybe their most accessible piece of work Key has ever been invloved in. Once said this, and once said that Skinny Puppy is my fav band and Legendary Pink Dots are starting to be one of my top favourites, I must say: Crystal mass is a good album.
But mind this: don't expect a Puppy influenced album, 'cos you won't get it. You better expect a somewhat melodic industrial (is this industrial? does industrial mean sth? those questions are opened to you, and I won't answer them) with a very good voice, very open-minded. In fact, Tear Garden is a very opened-minded project, don't u think so? they add lots and lots of influences, tastes, styles, such as, for instance, industrial, pop, rock, reggae (it's undeniable, to me, the reggae beat in some songs of this project as well as in some later Download's songs.
The lyrics are good, very good, since Ka-spel is a poet, just as Ogre is, so unlke other composers such as Bill Leeb who, even though I love his music, I must admit he's a very poor writer, and anyway he down't seem to want to be a good one.
Now, the songs, since many people say the order of the titles doesn't correspond with the order of the actual songs, I'll comment them as track 1, track 2, etc.

Track 1: after an electronic intro which makes us clear that this album isn't going to be innovative regarding sound, we get a very melodic song, which reminds me of... New Order, without a shadow of doubt, a sort of darker New Order, but the influence is there for me to see it, at least. Good lyrics, sad atmosphere, melancholy everywhere.

Track 2: it begins alright, again with that blend of retro electronics and 80's beats, but here I seem to find some echoes of indie music from the 90's. With no chorus, the same sentence is repeated at last once and again. It's not one of my fav.

Track 3: in the same vein of track 1, this song has a very good chorus "this is your life...", a very catchy melody, nothing groundbreaking of course, but good.

Track 4: This is the least electronic song in all the album, reminds me once more of New Order, good melody but my leats fav.

Track 5: here we have some reggae influence. A good song, anyway, curious lyrics, reggae chorus.

Track 6: A very melancholy song, Ka-spel sings superbly, he makes me wanna die.

Track 7: maybe the most original song, again reggae influence, as well as trip-hop intonation. Maybe my fav together with the first one. The most experimental song, it seems as if Key wants to remind us at times that he is the man behind the Download experimental project.

Track 8: over a more electronic background, Ka-spel recites couples of verses in which melancholy presides all over.

Track 9: another melodic piece, sad, with slight touches of Download electronics, but all with the accostumed sad melodic touch.

To sum up, i want to say that this is not my favourite type of music, 'cos I prefer more electronic , darker and experimental projects such as Download, Skinny puppy, or Tear Garden's 'Tired eyes slowly burning', but sometimes...

...sometimes I want some good, sad, melancholy, melody: then this is the album.

I just don't get it........2002-02-07

After reading so many glowing words about Tear Garden in general and Crystal Mass in particular, I had high hopes for this album. Those hopes were dashed as soon as I began listening. While Crystal Mass has a few good musical moments here and there, most of the time the album alternates between bland and annoying. The musicianship is competent but unremarkable. The songwriting is lackluster, and the vocals are downright dreary. Let me be clear about the vocals. I am not saying that they vocals are depressing; there is plenty of great music with depressing vocals. I am saying the vocals are bland, uninteresting, and emotionless. There are a couple of good ideas about, but the music never goes anywhere. The really shocking thing is that this album came out in 2000. It sounds straight out of the mid eighties, and I can barely believe otherwise. Crystal Mass has all of the trappings of a recording made in 1984 except for the magic that made much of that music so special. All in all I am left with the image of a slightly tired British fellow staring at his navel and wondering what's on TV.

..........2001-03-17

...What's the problem if this album sounds mellow, or this orthat. With the number of records they made (T.G. and the PinkDots)you'll surely find someting to make your mind. Is it bad if"lament" (or the pseudo electro dub in the middle) top somegreek or south Patagonian chart, so that Ed can make a lot of otherrecords. Crystal Mass is great listening : on a car in the rain,on asunny sunday morning, when having a new date or buying a new car. It'sgreat..Don't get me wrong, I like Download, Numb, Skinny Puppy, cEvinKey and some other thing you won't even think of listen to, but thisrecord made me really happy. The real luxury : "EasyListening" 24/24 and 7/7 Tear Garden..

Whats wrong with the reviews that have gone before.........2000-12-04

This is very much a high point in Tear Gardens work. Despite former claims of starting out happy, the opening song Lament even in title let alone its lyrics, hides a dark meloncholy within it about hope dashed to pieces. As well all know though, lyrics are not the music only a part or it would be poetry alone. Tear Garden implements more of its unique sound clips, and wonderful blues guitar influences. I have to wonder what an albumn would sound like if they worked with David Gilmore from Pink Floyd. I have found that certain track of Crystal Mass have a tendancy to STICK in your head, playing over and over, such catchy melodies they carry with just the right tint of sadness and regret behind them. If only modern radio would recognize that music such as this should be played and not the Generation Loss clones of the current trends.

For those who were wondering why there are 8 titles and 7 track listings.. Hopeful-Castaway is one 10 minute track not two seperates.

Every track on this albumn should cater to prior fans of Tear Gardens work, and on my shelf its moved past Last Man to Fly as my Favorite work by them to this date.

Rumor had it at the time of impending release that there was over 2 hours of music recorded in LA in one sitting, we can only hope that there will be a release of much more of this session.

Music CD:

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

Revolcon Bailable ~ Various Artists

Gigante Hits ~ Charlie Palmieri

Crystal Mass ~ The Tear Garden

Meditation ~ Various Artists

Denise Levasseur

The Hi Masters ~ Syl Johnson

Que te pasa? Estas Borracho: Tributo a Hombres G ~ Various Artists

Rancheras de Oro ~ Various Artists

Les Canta la Neta ~ Apomeno

15 de Ellos ~ Los Freddy's