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| Title: Modern Dating Tips |
MP3, WMA, MPC, OGG, M4A, FLAC |
| Artist: Jensen Bell |
| (c): (C) 2005 Jensen Bell |
| (p): (P) 2005 Jensen Bell |
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10.44 $ |
2005-01-18 |
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Brit-power-pop-plus.An instant classic.This stunning debut combines the best elements of classic 60's-70's (to present) American&British guitar-pop w/ elements of Badfinger,Brendan Benson,Big Star,Marshall Crenshaw(2name but a few)cool-harmonies-thruout.
"MODERN DATING TIPS" by Jensen Bell will delight!
Here is the growing list of reviews to explain why:
1).
Jensen Bell's long-delayed debut 'Modern Dating Tips' finally reveals him to be a major pop talent that anyone who has previously given house room to the likes of Jason Falkner, Matthew Sweet or Brendan Benson should immediately make space in their collection for.
A sideman of repute and former member of several bands whose recorded output never saw the light of day is at last setting out his own stall with 'Modern Dating Tips', with a number of other projects, both current and retrospective also in the pipeline, he's definitely going to be a name to watch.
As with the very best of their craft, the most interesting pop musicians are capable of assimilating their influences rather than slavishly imitating them, discernibly imprinting their own stamp on their material. Too few are genuinely capable of that, Jensen Bell though assuredly makes the grade with 'Modern Dating Tips', an album that I suspect will be in strong contention in many end of year lists. Powerful, melodic, lyrically astute, cleverly arranged and well produced; the album pushes all the right buttons for pop aficionados.
Bell incorporates his influences with guile, invention and occasionally even a little mischievousness, from The Left Banke on "Askin' You Out" which references their "Pretty Ballerina" - once covered incidentally by the aforementioned Jason Falkner, who's also never quite got the breaks his talent deserved - to Badfinger, Bell's "Up & Out" uncannily reminiscent of Pete Ham's ill-fated pop classicists at their best.
Bell also has a little fun with his listeners, almost lifting Rainbow's "Since You've Been Gone" riff wholesale for the introduction to "Beauty Secrets". Elsewhere, further demonstrating his diversity and melodic talents, Bell reels off the life-affirmingly buoyant "Her City's Got A Train", so joyous even the most misanthropic couldn't fail to be moved to smile and leap around uncontrollably, duets with The Muffs' Kim Shattuck on the delicious bubblegum punk of "Happy Chocolate" before closing the album with the more complex orchestrated chamber pop of "Love Stained Eyes".
'Modern Dating Tips' is a splendid album that's been well worth the wait and I suspect that there's plenty more where this came from too. Here's a modern purchasing tip for you - buy this record!
(reviewer: Geraint Jones / Comes With A Smile Magazine)
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2).
"Jensen Bell takes the dissonant pop of Elvis Costello, the addictive sound of the Beatles, and his numerous other musical influences to make a sound truly unique. Fun, deep, ironic, sharp and intelligent, Jensen Bell is the quintessential truth in music. So honest it's awkward, JB makes you remember your first boyfriend and think his kisses were better than the brace-entangled farce it really was, yet at the same time recalling the sweet, innocent power of a love song and the emotions embroiled within it.
Please, listen. And enjoy Jensen Bell like you would a new wine. Let it slip onto your tongue, then seep to the corners of your taste buds, dropping hints of something previously un-experienced and yet somewhat familiar.
It doesn't hurt that Jensen is easy on the eyes, making the entire listening experience three dimensional, sexual, and pure." - Mandilou, retail music sales - Dearborn, Michigan
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3).
"WOW! An instant classic! A stunning debut that combines all of the best elements of classic 70's to present American and British guitar pop with elements of Badfinger, Brendan Benson, Big Star and Marshall Crenshaw (to name but a few) interspersed throughout this guitar-dominated jangle-fest! The hookiest songs are punctuated with some cool harmonies!"- Ray G. -KoolKatMusik.com
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4).
What great pop! "Beauty Secrets" is a hit single waiting to happen! Catchy as hell, with a great, hooky verse and an equally incredible chorus and a terrific vocal. "Love Stained Eyes" is a beautiful song, meticulous construction with an inventive chord progression, and those double-tracked vocals and expressive strings; this one sent chills up my spine. I love the background vocals at the beginning of "Up & Out"; this song shows Jensen's wide vocal range to great effect, and again, the song is catchy to the max. I'm most enamored with "Askin' You Out," a warm and wonderful tune that recreates that weird feeling of wanting to go out with someone and being afraid to pop the question; some really nice background vocals here, too. A thoroughly charming song. - - ("Pure Pop Radio" )
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(aside)
5).
"The debut album by musician/songwriter Jensen Bell -- called "Modern Dating Tips", incidentally - will be, in all likelihood, an instant classic in the oft-uninspired power-pop genre. Fans of the Three B's - Beatles, Beach Boys and Big Star - will certainly find the music comprising "Modern Dating Tips" to be thoroughly entertaining - if not downright comforting -- for all of the hallmarks of classic power-pop are present and accounted for: jangling 12-string guitars, effervescent vocal melodies, and lots of lovely, layered background vocal harmonies, all driven by a pulsing backbeat. To call it "catchy" would be an understatement; to call it "inspired" would be much closer to the truth.
Jensen Bell has had a long history of hands-on involvement in the Los Angeles power-pop scene, having formed the buzz-band The Bell Starlings
(featuring the everywhere-at-once Robbie Rist on bass and former Muff Jim Laspesa on drums) during the heyday of the Bubblegum Crisis/Poptopia madness of the mid-1990's, and before that writing, recording, touring, and performing with several notable bands (including previous buzz band The Rails, Chris Cacavas, Chuck E. Weiss, and Maria McKee, among others), with varying degrees of success and recognition. Tours in Europe, miscellaneous recording projects -- even a stint as a music instructor -- kept Jensen Bell busy in the ensuing years, yet he remained artistically unfulfilled, nurturing an unrelenting desire to write The Great Power Pop Album he knew was lurking somewhere deep inside.
That album, waiters and gentlemen, is finally here.
Over much of the past two years, Bell conceived and recorded "Modern Dating Tips" at the now-legendary Lincoln Lounge in Venice, California, engineered and co-produced with behind-the-scenes maestro Steve Refling (Cockeyed Ghost, Davie Allen, Receiver, Stew, The Andersons!). The album is a triumph of melodicimagination, confidently staying well within the established guidelines of post-Beatles power-pop, yet embellishing these admittedly simplistic art-form limitations with interesting, unexpected chord progressions and great leaps of melody, performed with passion, inspiration, and total finesse.
The album is a song-cycle of sorts (some might call it a "concept" album) detailing the finer aspects of the trials and tribulations of dating. Lyrically, Bell really reaches out and takes chances, as some of the scenarios detailed on "Modern Dating Tips" are quite personal and revealingly intimate. Most people will easily relate to the feelings - which can range from crippling confusion to sky-spiraling exhilaration - that often go hand-in-hand when attempting a connection with the object of one's desire. It makes for quite an interesting listening experience, with Bell never taking a heavy-handed approach, instead letting his well-crafted lyrics speak for themselves.
Some of the musical highlights in this collection of stand-out tracks include the Tom Petty-esque opener "Asking You Out", the humorously upbeat duet with main Muff Kim Shattuck ("Happy Chocolate"), and the pistol-whipping "Possible Jane Situation", with its' clever lyrics and relentlessly jangling guitar hooks. Mention must be made of the gorgeous album closer, the magnificent McCartney-esque "Love Stained Eyes". Sounding like a long-lost George Martin "Revolver"-era production, "Love Stained Eyes" details the sad reality of a relationship doomed to failure. A gorgeous string arrangement paints a musical picture of regret and melancholy, mirroring the sadness and regret of the lyrics; underneath, a plaintive piano melody provides a foundation for Bell's evocative, yearning vocals. Truly a spine-chilling moment, one of many to be found within this album.
All in all, "Modern Dating Tips" is an amazingly cohesive musical and lyrical debut, one that proves this emerging artist not only has a comprehensive grasp of the modern melodic rock idiom, but also one able to imprint his own original, unique spin on the genre. Four out of five
dentists surveyed agree.
(reviewer - Kerry Chicoine | Fufkin.com)
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6).
"Let's say this up front: Jensen Bell's album "Modern Dating Tips" is about as classic a 'power pop' record as we come across and, therefore, is cause for celebration in these quarters. Fans of Matthew Sweet, Big Star, the first Myracle Brah album, some Raspberries, Owsley's first album, Fountains Of Wayne, Teenage Fanclub, will find that it's all here in spades - and aces." - Bruce Brodeen (Pres. NOT LAME Record Label, Colorado)
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7).
Very few CD's warrent a listen from start to finish. "Modern Dating Tips" does time and time again! This is more a total work than a collection of songs. I hear the left-slanted pop beatings of Elvis Costello with that same quirky sensibility. If you have been muddling through your romantic life forgetting to take notes... Jensen Bell has been sitting at a table in the back of the room jotting everything down... and this is an audio journal just for you. One of THE best CD's I have purchased in the last 5 years! No kidding! ~~ Jen Shade
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