Forty Words For Fear

Artist: Madison Smartt Bell and Wyn Cooper
Label: Gaff Music
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 821767603620
EAN: 0821767603620
ASIN: B00009MGOW

Release Date: 2003-06-17

Forty Words For Fear

Related Categories:

General

| Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

On 8 Mile
Horses Run Fast
Room Full of Tears
The Here Below
Under Her Spell
Blue Nun
Gaposis
What God Had Up His Sleeve
Girl In The Black Raincoat
Too Late
3 Wrongs
Anything Goes
Wave Goodbye

Customer Reviews:

For whom Bell tolls.......2003-08-08

Author Madison Smartt Bell has more than proven himself in the literary world. But music? Can he pull it off, or should he be politely - but firmly - reminded to stick to his first profession? Answer -- He does pull it off, and in spades. "Forty Words for Fear" is full of brooding, quirky late night music that comes over as a sort of cross between Leonard Cohen and James McMurtry with a slight Southern Gothic vibe. Produced with contemporary legend Don Dixon and featuring a host of nifty instrumental touches, Forty Words is the perfect soundtrack for your next clandestine meeting at your favorite dive down the street.

Oh, and to the two previous reviewers -- Why post a 1-star review if you haven't even heard the CD? And doesn't your computer run Real Player? I had no trouble listening to samples (although I already own the CD).

Awesome album.......2003-08-07

I read about this album in Esquire and immediately ordered it.
Since then, I have played it on the average of once per day (for about 4 weeks now) and many days are above that average.
First, the sound of the album -- haunting, bluesy, original -- really struck me. Then I started listening to the lyrics.
"On Eight Mile" is about a man dealing with his woman who happens to be a stripper. He says, "Nothing will sway her the way she sways on stage".
This is just an example of the smartt (all puns intended) lyrics.

Don't be afraid. Take a risk. Enjoy!

The Moment and the Music.......2003-06-24

Wyn Cooper's poem "Fun" became Sheryl Crow's hit song "All I Wanna Do", and while that collaboration between a poet and a pop star might have aged into a mere footnote in the history of popular music, Wyn Cooper and his collaborator on "Forty Words For Fear", the novelist Madison Smartt Bell, demonstrate that the marriage of poetry and pop isn't a fluke -- it's a bold new direction that could rescue popular music from a dull and tawdry irrelevance while bringing the voice of a robust American poetry to an audience that's ready to listen. There's nothing new to setting poetry to music, but what Bell and Cooper achieve in this work with the help of Mitch Easter, Don Dixon and Jim Brock is a true marriage, in which the poetry and music reinforce each other, but remain distinct and better for having gotten to know one another. The album is full of invigorating tension between Bell's roughly sprawled and groaning vocals and Cooper's precisely articulated spoken tracks, between the staccato percussion and the thoughtful instrumentation, and in its best moments, the album reminds us of the poignant gap between our highest aspirations and our darkest failures.
In "Horses Run Fast" Cooper and Bell trade off lead vocals, echoing one another in a sharp contrast of phrasing and tone that shows both performers to their best advantage. Bell's voice is like a rich course in a meal served across hours of stimulating conversation, while Cooper's vocals serve as the sherbet that cleanses the musical palate and allows the coming flavors their full expression.
Cooper's lyric for the album's opening track, "On 8 Mile" -- from a poem predating the eminem film by a considerable margin -- perfectly captures the awkward artificiality of the strip club, and unmasks the club's atmospheric pretensions to reveal the simple desire for a human connection that draws many men to the experience. Bell's weary baritone lets you hear every minute of every hour spent in each club, where you can measure the time in cigarettes, and Cooper's lyrics tell you why you might keep going back for more.
The influences on this album are numerous, as the tracks swing through pop, jazz, rock, blues and folk, blending the work into a stew that delights as it surprises, wielding a broad musical palette even as Cooper's lyrics take us on a tour of more than a dozen characters, people we all recognize because we've seen each of them in a mirror at one time or another. Cooper and Bell are giving a voice to America, and you'd better pay attention.

Madison Bell's marvellously moody blues.......2003-06-21

Madison Bell, a fabulous & favorite short storyist, novelist and critic has communicated his lushly literate sensibilities into the musical medium seamlessly, and this sultry album is simultaneously provocative of thought and feeling. Leonard Cohen qualities abound. Beautifully done, MSB and Gaff Music!

Some early reviews for Forty Words For Fear.......2003-06-21

I had a hand in making this CD, so I won't post any of my thoughts. But here are some of the early reviews:

Esquire - July 2003:

7 Ways To Be Entertained in July
Obscure Southern Record Of The Month.

"We tend to be skeptical of actors who try to write or singers who try to act or, frankly, anyone who parlays success at one art form into a stab at another. So when novelist Madison Smartt Bell e-mailed us about his debut album, Forty Words For Fear, with Wyn Cooper, we didn't expect much. We were wrong. This is sonic moonshine - weird, bluesy, and not a little bit ragged. But it will get you where you're going."

Philadelphia Weekly - June 18, 2003:

"...a bluesy, dusky rock record called Forty Words for Fear. Think Tom Waits with adenoids.

Creative Loafing, Charlotte - June 18, 2003:

"...a unique triumph. A brooding collection of late night music for fans of Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen or James McMurtry, the CD impresses with its devilishly playful vibe and engaging musicianship."

Music Album:

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Live at Yoshi's: Blue Monday Party ~ Denise Perrier

Live ~ Michel Petrucciani

News from Home ~ Field

Live at Brigham Young University ~ Stan Kenton & His Orchestra

Straight, No Chaser ~ Various Artists

Pleasure Club: Cargo 2 ~ Various Artists

The Juturna Codex ~ Saturnalia Trio

A Lot of Love ~ Heart and Soul

Bagad De Ty Vougeret ~ 41st Regiment D'infanteri

Serie Identidade ~ Jorge Ben Jor