Dopamine

Artist: Mitchell Froom
Label: Atlantic / Wea
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 075678310225
EAN: 0075678310225
ASIN: B0000062SA

Release Date: 1998-05-19

Dopamine

Related Categories:

General

| Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Experimental Rock

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

Adult Alternative

| Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Tastes Good
The Bunny
Kitsum
Dopamine
Watery Eyes
Monkey Mind
Noodletown
Wave
I'd Better Not
Permanent Midnight
Overcast
Fruta Prohibida

Amazon.com

Suppose you threw a party and everybody came. That's pretty much what's happened to Mitchell Froom, record producer (Richard Thompson, Elvis Costello) turned performer, who put together this weird pastiche of Tom Waits-esque instrumental music, bizarre pop songs, and atmospheric singer/songwriter tunes (courtesy of former clients Mark Eitzel and Ron Sexsmith) with a cast of too many to count. Individually, certain tracks are quite effective and the instrumentation is nicely varied (Indian banjo, oscillator, button cinema organ, and optigon are among the listed). For "Overcast," Sexsmith matches the title with his wispy voice. Froom's wife Suzanne Vega sounds skittishly enthusiastic for the title track. But overall, the affair is choppy. Ironic, since Froom's calling card is his singular, cohesive production style. <I>--Rob O'Connor</I>

Customer Reviews:

It's only rock `n roll, sort of, and I like it.......2005-07-29

Imbalanced dopamine activity can cause brain dysfunction and disease, and is linked, at least theoretically, to a host of conditions---in this case art imitates life on "Dopamine." Mitchell Froom, although better know as a prolific producer and sometimes session player, crafted quite a collection of tunes on his first CD release.

An array of guests (no point running them down here because, for the most part, what you hear here is not what you would expect from most folks in this crew) take the spotlight on each track---some sing, some play guitar, some play other instruments.

The results cry out for adjectives: loopy, eccentric, tribal, bizarre, funny, and disturbing . Songs zigzag from one extreme to the other, threaten to melt speaker coils, or lull one into a false sense of security. It's as though Mr. Froom has chosen to unleash some suppressed forces that he keeps in check during his typically well-mannered and orderly productions for others.

Clearly this CD is not for everyone and depending on one's mood and setting, possibly for no one. But it's only rock `n roll, sort of, and I like it.

Each track stands on it's own........2005-01-09

This album should be looked at as collection of tracks that would be best listened to by their lonesome than as a pack, which is a problem because the majority of the record buying public likes to hear an artist's album that flows in some sort of manner. I found that by throwing these songs in a mixtape that they wonderfully contrasted the other material, and at times turned out to be among the favorite songs for my friends.

I can agree that others may find this music messy and/or uninspired if taken in as a whole (even though the thing is only like a half hour), but try to peep them as singles and hopefully you'll dig it more.

Aweful.......2004-02-10