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From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Oedipus Schmoedipus

Barry Adamson

1996

Buy At Rough Trade
Oedipus Schmoedipus
Album Summary

Oedipus Schmoedipus is an album by the English musician Barry Adamson, released in 1996. Like Adamson's previous albums, Oedipus Schmoedipus was conceived as a soundtrack to an imaginary film. The album peaked at No. 51 on the UK Albums Chart."Something Wicked This Way Comes" appears in the David Lynch film Lost Highway.

Wikipedia

Rating

2.81

Votes

9887
Genres
Rock

Reviews

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Mon Aug 15 2022
2

Naming the first track on your record “Set Controls for the Heart of the Pelvis” is statement. Of what, I’m not entirely sure, but it’s cool that he got Austin Powers to do a guest vocal. If you like the electronic lounge-pop of bands like Air and Stereolab, but wish they did it with a less deft touch, Oedipus Schmoedipus’ first few tracks might be for you. Perhaps you prefer Lynchian horror soundscapes, might I direct you to “It’s Business as Usual” or “Dirty Barry”? Coincidentally, “Something Wicked This Way Comes” appears in “Lost Highway” - it took me a minute to figure where I had heard it before. Speaking of David Lynch, the overtly digital jazz on “Miles” could’ve earned a spot in Mulholland Drive, perhaps as the soundtrack for the dance sequence on the soundstage of “The Sylvia North Story”. I’m doing my best with this one, but fuck me, it’s taxing. I mean, I could talk about David Lynch all day, but he’s not the focus here. A few days ago, in a review of Red Snapper’s “Our Aim is to Satisfy”, I bemoaned the list maker’s inclusion of albums for the late 90’s and early aughts that haven’t aged particularly well. Add this record to that pile. Not that this record doesn’t have its moments, but I suspect having a high tolerance for film noir-cheese is a requirement for full enjoyment. If you spend your evenings skulking around dimly lit alleys in a trench coat…boy, have I got an album for you. If you’re still reading this after all my shit-talk, let me recommend 3 records that occupy a similar musical space to Oedipus Schmoedipus, that have held up well and are actually worth hearing before you die. Two of the three, shockingly, are not included on the 1001 albums list: Air - The Virgin Suicides Stereolab - Dots & Loops (possibly the most egregious exclusion from the list) Tortoise - TNT (another glaring omission, imo) Or, you could just watch a David Lynch film or two.

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Sun May 09 2021
3

What a fun, weird ride. Some great sax work here. Business as Usual was miserable to listen to. The whole project was strange, but at least he was trying something. At least it's not another "Debut album by British pop band" like 500+ of the albums on here.

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Sun May 09 2021
3

Cool! Then weird.. Then cool! Then scary

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Fri Dec 03 2021
5

wowwwww!!! I had never heard of this artist, album, or any of these tracks before. This is most definitely an Elaine album. Weird, sometimes MJQ, sometimes frightening. Eclectic. Spotify played Badalamenti’s Dance of the Dream Man (from Twin Peaks) right after. All you really need to know.

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Thu Aug 25 2022
1

Nice enough background music. In a list of 1001 albums I must listen to before I die, though? Let's let "background music" be a disqualifier, shall we?

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Thu Oct 15 2020
5

Soundtrack for a movie that doesn't exist

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Mon Jun 14 2021
4

A brilliant surreal genre defying album. Part sleazy lounge music, part funk, part jazz - will be back for more

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Mon Aug 15 2022
5

I was not expecting this on the list. I thought this was an underrated oddity that no one actually listened to aside from anal music geeks. I had assumed that no one really cared about an album from that fella from Magazine that isn't the main fella from Magazine, clearly not. It's the soundtrack to a movie that doesn't exist, featuring Nick Cave, Billy Mackenzie and Jarvis Cocker, and it's every bit as quirky, sleazy and kitsch as the soundtrack to a movie that doesn't exist, featuring Nick Cave, Billy Mackenzie and Jarvis Cocker, should be. If the movie was real, it would for sure be directed by David Lynch. I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting this gem.

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Fri Apr 30 2021
4

Haven't you heard, my name rhymes with Elvis

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Wed May 12 2021
4

Very atmospheric album, some great compositions, and also lots of crazy weird stuff. I enjoy the variety while still maintaining a sort of mysterious vibe throughout.

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Fri May 07 2021
4

Simultaneously groovy, clever, funny, surreal, and odd. Super interesting!

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Wed Dec 15 2021
4

So glad this popped up. Never heard of the guy before, now this album is in my playlists. Brilliant stuff

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Fri Sep 23 2022
2

Struggling to get through this one. Every time one of these songs starts to develop into something good, he introduces something cheesy and it all comes crashing down. If the idea is to be the soundtrack to an imaginary film, I keep thinking it's a disappointing sequel to The Saint (which to be clear is already a pale imitation). The strongest feeling I get from this is that I'd much rather listen its influences (blaxploitation soundtracks, Madchester/electronica). Calling it a 2, but that's generous.

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Mon Sep 26 2022
2

It's like if Tom Waits was mediocre.

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Wed Jun 08 2022
5

very good album - enjoyed it - a hidden gem and want to listen to more.

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Wed Mar 17 2021
4

Interesting album; some nice Primal Scream esque grooves and abstract storytelling. Favourite song is 'The Sweetest Embrace' sung by Nick Cave.

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Fri Nov 19 2021
4

A brilliant surreal genre defying album. Part sleazy lounge music, part funk, part jazz - will be back for more

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Fri Feb 04 2022
4

Dit doet me aan Air denken. Beetje film-achtige muziek. Heel interessant project. Ik vind de melodietjes soms een beetje lift-muziek maar in combinatie met film-geluiden of een relaxte beat heeft het toch iets speciaals.

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Thu Oct 12 2023
4

So ... what is this ?! The album seems to be all over the place in terms of tone and genre. I think it starts on "psychadelic 70's summer of love" then goes to "light goth" with some "trance 80's" and I just can't work out if I like it or not.

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Thu Feb 15 2024
4

had to listen to it like 4 times to make up my mind and it got better each time

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Wed Mar 17 2021
3

Some great jams counterbalanced by some absolutely bat shit ones. Best track: Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Pelvis

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Wed Nov 15 2023
3

Like a lot of others, I’m intrigued at this albums inclusion on the list. Another reviewer made the point that most of these odd picks are late 90’s, early naughties, usually British albums that have not been vindicated by history. I am left wondering whether or not this was nixed from later editions. As music, this is mostly enjoyable. The weirder tracks worked well at telling what little story is discernible and the more regular tracks were mostly fun little cod-Jazz, although I could have done without the version of Miles, the only actual Jazz standard on here, which Adamson has misnamed, intentionally or not, I can’t tell. My biggest problem is with the concept rather than the music. Making a soundtrack to a fake movie is unique, or would be if Adamson hadn’t done it four or five times by this point. But it doesn’t actually sound like any film scores I’ve ever sat down to. It’s supposed to be a Noir I guess, but so much of the songs sound so un-Noir-ish that it took me a couple of tracks to get that concept. Although, I praised the use of weirder tracks to tell the story, thinking specifically about the tracks with narration, I’m not sure they actually work as either music to be listened to independently of the album’s context, or as incidental music for a film. It’d be a little weird to have scenes from a film just pasted over the soundtrack with little rhyme or reason. The only album I can think to compare Oedipus Schmoedipus to is the other late 90’s British mostly instrumental music I’ve had the chance to listen to recently, Fatboy Slim’s Better Living Through Chemistry. And I think the difference is ultimately down to personality. I get more of Norman Cook in his music than I do Barry Adamson. The only thing that we have to base Adamson’s personality on is the concept, which is just a bit weird, and the titles, which are just a bit weird. And I’m not even sure he wrote all of the titles himself, because Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Pelvis is 100% a Jarvis Cocker line. It just doesn’t feel as if Barry Adamson puts much of himself into his music, and for that I’m not sure how I feel about the album as a whole. I’m gonna go 3 stars out of five, because I enjoyed it more than I didn’t, but this is the instance so far that I most wish we could give half rankings, cos this is definitely a 2.5 if ever there was one

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Sun Feb 18 2024
3

Entirely too much moaning. Adamson’s album, styled as a soundtrack to an imaginary movie, works well when it leans into the instrumental aspects of a score. The spy/noir jazz is smooth, deadly, and bombastic, and definitely worth listening to again. However, some of the more experimental tracks are too avant garde for the casual listen, and are deeply creepy and/or sexual. Overall, a tongue-in-cheek, darkly comedic noir soundtrack that lands in some places and misses in disturbing ways. Stand out tracks include “The Vibes Ain’t Nothing But The Vibes”, “In A Moment of Clarity”, “Vermillion Kisses”, “The Big Bamboozle”, and “The Sweetest Embrace”.

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Mon Sep 26 2022
2

Some cool stuff in this album. But mainly instrumental and weird. He is trying to make something different and that he achieved.

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Thu Dec 09 2021
5

1996 - Genre: Alternative/Indie (jazz, beat, hip-hop)

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Mon Dec 27 2021
5

10/10 album full of so many different moods, it can be dark and tense or fun and upbeat just such a great work of art overall

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Mon Dec 27 2021
5

Emotional rollercoaster. 4 Holy shit this is one unique album. I love it. Though some songs give me that bad 90s film feeling that I also get when seeing that DVD-ad: "You wouldn't download a car", I think it more than makes up for it with eeriness and diversity. "Vermillion Kisses" hit me like a train. 5

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Sun Jan 23 2022
5

i want this to play in the background of my life 24/7

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Sat Apr 30 2022
5

Experimental music. Brit oscuro.

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Thu May 12 2022
5

Way way way better than Moss Side Story, despite this one having now Dave Graney input. Can see a lot of these being perfect soundtrack tunes

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Thu Jun 09 2022
5

Oh this is awesome - one of my fave discoveries from this project so far! Starts off sounding like it's going to be a "Screamadelica"-era Primal Scream knock off, and then gets properly weird, I love it. Proto doom jazz! 💀 Fave track - "The Vibes Ain't Nothin' But The Vibes" and "It's Business As Usual" for being that one two punch that lets you know this album is not what you thought it was. "Dirty Barry" is awesome too. And I love a bit of Nick Cave, so "The Sweetest Embrace" is another highlight....

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Thu Jul 14 2022
5

Damn, Adamson is a beast. What a strange, yet cohesive album.

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Fri Aug 19 2022
5

That was strange and surreal. From dark to jaunty and upbeat at the drop of a hat. I’ve never heard anything like this. Great album.

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Wed Feb 15 2023
5

with an name like Oedipus Shmoedipus this album had high standards to live up to and it did it so well. absolutely crazy from start to finish. from truly uncomfortable techno/spoken word to melancholic piano led orchestral arrangements. crazy. so good

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Thu Mar 02 2023
5

What's that cover? Am I listening to black metal today? Oedipus Schmoedipus? This must be weird AF. Maybe weird for the sake of being weird. Oh. Experimental music. I'm excited. I expect to hear some bells and electric drills and shit. A soundtrack to an imaginary movie? I heard something like that before... Was that a Barrett-era Pink Floyd cover? Wow. Wait a minute. It says... pelvis. So it's trip hop but it's actually trippy. A Miles Davis impression? Daring. A bit scary sometimes, ngl. Lol. I've never had an album that constantly surprises me for a while. What an experience. What a treat.

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Thu Mar 23 2023
5

This album is terrifying. It's been a long while since we had an album so shocking, disturbing and well... surprising. This album was a mystery, I'd never heard of it before, and after it was finished, I wasn't sure what I had listened to. Some of it I really liked, no questions asked. But, other tracks sounded as if they were hanging on the precipice of madness and horror... and were inviting me in. Taken as a whole, it gave me goosebumps, it was a moving and a wholly unsettling experience. Highly recommend.

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Fri Sep 08 2023
5

Kinda all over the place but . . . very much not bad!

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Fri Sep 15 2023
5

Hey, this is surprisingly good. I even knew a couple of the tracks. Also fun to hear Jarvis Cocker.

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Fri Oct 13 2023
5

Experimental music. Brit oscuro.

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Fri Nov 24 2023
5

Fabulous album of potential movie soundtracks, a complete surprise to me as no idea who Barry Adamson was. Now I can't get tracks like Miles out of my head. It's not just the memorability of the tunes, it is their diversity and the imaginative arrangements. Instantly likeable

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Wed Dec 20 2023
5

кино ебаное. буквально. Барри Адамсон рил гений, сделать альбом как фильм это надо уметь. я в целом люблю такую кинематографичную музыку, арт рок или вроде того, под которую закрываешь глаза и музыка визуализируется у тебя в голове. а концепция этих альбомов вообще заключается в том, что это саундтрек к несуществуещему фильму. тут блин в альбоме скримеры есть, саспенс какой то. я реально пару раз шуганулся. очень сильная атмсофера, погружает шо пиздец. ещё и музыка на некоторых треках разрыв ебала. но только как же сложно послушать этот альбом. я не нашёл его ни на одном стриминге, на ютубе он забанен, даже блин в перезаливе в вк, где у него 2 прослушивания (реально 2), и то заблокирован второй трек альбома. но в целом остался прям под впечатлением. короче пизда оценка - 9/10

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Thu Jan 04 2024
5

Great discovery. He also listened to Massive Attack

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Wed Jan 10 2024
5

Can't believe I'd never heard of this guy before now. Had to look him up and see more of his works. Saw this came out early 90s. Sorry I missed it then, it would have been a staple of my more drug-addled days.

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Sun Feb 04 2024
5

A lot of fun listening to this one.

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Sun Feb 11 2024
5

This was not my first taste of Adamson, but wow is this one incredible. He mixes so many different styles on this one. There is a DJ Shadow like quality to this, only more in the "art rock" vein. Not his best, but an excellent part of his catalog 9.1/10

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Mon Feb 26 2024
5

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Barry Adamson before. I’m not entirely sure what to expect of this album. The name Oedipus Schmoedipus makes me a little wary. Oedipus was a bit of an odd fellow, wasn’t he. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Sweetest Embrace This was a really pleasant album. It felt alt-rock at times, and instrumental jazz at others but somehow it works really well. It even has tracks that sound closer to an orchestral soundtrack. The lack of vocals in a lot of the songs really helps the music shine, and the tracks that do include singing can be appreciated all the more for it. This album is so versatile, spanning many genres yet tying together fantastically. This surprised me, and I like it a lot.

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Thu Mar 14 2024
5

So groovy. Loved learning the history behind this record and the strange context it came from

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Mon Sep 14 2020
4

Not at all what I was expecting from the cover! Really enjoyed it.

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Thu Apr 29 2021
4

interesting album, some songs are compositions over random recordings, some are upbeat piano pieces others are just stories like it alot

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Mon Mar 15 2021
4

Odd. But quite enjoyable. Glad I’ve heard this now.

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Mon Jun 14 2021
4

A strange album that fitted my Sunday mood. Definitely revisit.

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Thu May 27 2021
4

really interesting to listen to, and a nice mixed bag

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Thu Jul 22 2021
4

- sexy, silly, - low key, mellow - interesting and mildly out there

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Thu Jul 08 2021
4

Really enjoyed listening to this excellent album. I am familiar with Adamson's work only through his band Magazine, which did not prepare me at all for the music on this album. Full of funky rhythms, jazzy flourishes and a huge sound. Check out the Big Bamboozle for Ellington style big band jazz. 4 🌟

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Fri Aug 27 2021
4

Calming, unintrusive, chill out good background for socials.. cafe del mar meets miles Davis

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Wed Sep 01 2021
4

Possibly the best part of the trilogy of soundtracks for movies which don't exist albums. Set the Controls... is a particular highlight.

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Mon Sep 20 2021
4

Previous to today, I cannot say that I have heard of Barry Adamson. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pretty hooked from track 1. The middle section of the album got a bit dark for my tastes (especially 'It's Business As Usual', the stalker-y answering machine piece), but I'll give it a pass being that it's spooky season. Speaking of spooky... I enjoyed the sample of Spooky on Something Wicked This Way Comes. Overall, I probably won't listen to this again as a full album, though I do intend on adding some of the tracks to my 'Music To Work To' playlist. This was a fun find for me. Smug side note. 'In A Moment Of Clarity' was reminiscent of Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks score, so I was right chuffed to find that not only is Badalamenti listed as a similar artist to Barry Adamson, but Adamson also contributed to the score of David Lynch's Lost Highway.

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Sun Sep 26 2021
4

Bien aime, ca commence fort, pour tomber dans le bizarre et finir fort. Jazzy et experimental on dirait parfois. 4

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Mon Oct 04 2021
4

Really enjoyed listening to this excellent album. I am familiar with Adamson's work only through his band Magazine, which did not prepare me at all for the music on this album. Full of funky rhythms, jazzy flourishes and a huge sound. Check out the Big Bamboozle for Ellington style big band jazz. 4 🌟

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Fri Jan 28 2022
4

You would have thought that making one album that is a soundtrack to a movie that doesnt exist is enough for most artists. But here's the second one from this man. And this one was great fun. First track is some Madchester/Acid House fusion with Jarvis Cocker singing and then its just a wild ride into weird jazzy and funky tracks until suddenly Nick Cave is appearing on The Sweetest Embrace with his lovely vocals. Nice!

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Wed Feb 02 2022
4

Funky sound. Jazzy, instrumental. 2nd half of album is kinda strange.

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Fri Feb 04 2022
4

This does sound like a soundtrack album. Really atmospheric & interesting.

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Thu Feb 17 2022
4

Mahtava yllätys. Piti useamman kerran ihan kuunnella.

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Wed Mar 23 2022
4

uma das melhores descobertas dos primeiros 50 álbuns

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Wed Mar 23 2022
4

bela descoberta. qnd aparece o nick cave é a mais

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Sun Mar 27 2022
4

The greatest soundtrack to a movie that does not exist. Barry Adamson is a maestro. Side note, if you are a fan of the classic, first Bad Seeds album, this should appeal

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Thu Jun 09 2022
4

This is such great fun. The whole album is a fun trip. No real standout tracks but keen to give this another spin.

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Wed Jul 27 2022
4

Experimental. Curioso. Volver a escuchar

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Wed Jul 27 2022
4

I didn’t know what to expect with this album. No idea who Barry Adamson is but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Thu Aug 11 2022
4

Interesting and weird enough for a low 4, has some weird scary parts

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Mon Aug 15 2022
4

Started strong, but lost me in the middle. Good nonsense overall.

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Mon Aug 15 2022
4

As a sparrow hums a nursery rhyme and a terrier shouts at a stick in the river, this record thumps me square between the eyes. I hadn't prepared for such a klaxon of obtuse clanking and tonking tones. My heart skips a beat like a plastic bag dancing around a set of temporary traffic lights, like a burnt out stripper trying to arouse a lonely businessman, who hasn't had an erection since 1998, like an unwashed chimney sweep eating doughnuts with his filthy hands, like a dying owl choking on a mouse, like an under pressure table tennis player serving for the match, like a hotel receptionist trying to check in an unruly group of teenagers, like a dropped baton in a relay final, like an unopened can of beans thrown into a lake, like a bridge over troubled water, like a worrying itch on a gonad, like a virgin, like a freshly shaven muff, like a piece of shit on the roof of your mouth. I like it.

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Mon Aug 15 2022
4

weird but good. big band jazz meets avant garde. fun fact, oedipus was a mother shagger. married his own mum, albeit without knowing it was his own mum but still.

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Thu Aug 18 2022
4

Pretend soundtracks of varying styles (often jazz) held together by a consistent standard of quality

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Thu Aug 18 2022
4

Yeah…. Detta ägde hårt…

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Wed Aug 24 2022
4

A very accomplished album from an extremely talented guy. I get the impression from other reviews that most people were probably unaware of Barry Adamson before listening to this. As a long time admirer of his work with Magazine, I have to confess to being less familiar with his solo work, though I knew it always slanted more towards soundtrack work (for films, it should be added, which were never made). The album erects a sort of moving backdrop across its run time, almost like snapshots into a variety of film scenes which never quite form a coherent whole. One minute it’s a sensual neo-noir crime scene, the next a sinister foreboding befitting a psychological thriller. If, in this regard, Adamson is equal parts musician and illustrator here, then it might be argued that this album does the musical equivalent of labouring this point on certain tracks. But this album’s diversity is ultimately never too disparate as to feel incoherent. Plus, it has Billy Mackenzie doing vocals on “Achieved in The Valley in the Dolls” so it’s a winner for me.

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Fri Sep 02 2022
4

One of the most unexpected listens from this list so far. Real haunting and unsettling music wrapped in an engaging narrative. I really need to check the rest of the music if it's like this.

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Sun Sep 04 2022
4

A little sentimental,love the vibes ones and sax tone ones

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Sat Sep 24 2022
4

An engaging mix of genres and moods; suffers due to its lack of cohesiveness (and is perhaps best understood as an compilation of sorts rather than a narrative), but this is also what keeps it extra interesting. This album is an odd journey, taking you through snippets of different fleeting movie scenes. The first track is a wild ride and it even seems that there will be consistency in the first few tracks... but the mood is harshily broken in "It's Business as Usual". After that, there are some dull moments here and there (as well as some really interesting ones) until we reach the gem "The Sweet Embrace". For its originality, experimentalist nature and some nice "lounge" tracks that I will revisit, this album is a four for me.

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Fri Oct 07 2022
4

I looked this album up, and it definitely hits the tone of a fake movie soundtrack. I really liked some of the songs, but Dirty Barry was unbearable. I think some of the ideas on this album were done better by other artists, but it still sounds relevant to this day. Best Songs: Vermillion Kisses, The Sweetest Embrace, Worst Songs: Dirty Barry

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Mon Oct 10 2022
4

Interesting weird but Interesting

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Wed Nov 02 2022
4

Never heard it before. Enjoyed it. Probably listen thru his catalog.

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Wed Nov 16 2022
4

This was a rather good unconventional trip hop album! If you like Angelo Badalamenti and Massive Attack, I'd recommend this.

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Wed Nov 30 2022
4

This is the perfect album for inspiration. I put it on while writing up a product proposal and it was great background music, but didn't get annoying or monotonous. I felt a littler braver while listening.

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Mon Dec 12 2022
4

It was a very unusual album. Whole record in the form of a soundtrack for a non-existent movie. Songs include plenty of unconventional pieces, like a spoken word, noir tracks with dialog from some kind of movie, funky style car chase songs or even something that would fall into a category of Bond-song. It is certainly and interesting concept, where by listening to the tracks, you can imagine a type of movie it represents or describe. Also, the songs themselves are of very high quality, a lot of very atmospheric pieces, transporting you to a dark, winter alley, with couple strange looking thugs, in full coats and a hat, of course. I know I can't change the rating later, but I think I will give it a 4 stars now, but it would probably change to 5 after few more listening sessions.

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Thu Dec 15 2022
4

I really shouldn't judge an album by its cover. This was phenomenal, the biggest surprise of this 1001 albums project so far. The more conventional tracks see Adamson harness the sounds of the 90s and somehow fuse them seamlessly with bits of jazz and big-band and trip hop? The weirder ones feel like I'm listening to a surreal Lynchian horror film, which present an unfortunate road block for this album's replayability but also are very impressive interludes that succeeded in spooking the shit out of me while still successfully twisting the jazz I loved so much in a fucked up way. standout tracks: anything with that sax goDDAMN 4 stars; the jazzier tracks are going to get SO MUCH replay from me, but I can't see myself enjoying the album casually without the removal of tracks like Business as Usual, bc how do I explain that when it comes up on shuffle

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Wed Dec 21 2022
4

Cinematic, reminiscent of John Barry, Death in Vegas , David Holmes,(maybe t'other way round for the latter 2) in parts. Was always a big fan of Magazine, and his collabs have always been great. Top notch

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Fri Jan 27 2023
4

I felt like we already reviewed one of his albums but apparently not! I hadn't heard of him but I see he was one of the bad seeds and has some big dog connections from the collaborators on this album. I really like the idea of writing a soundtrack for a non-existent film. But also good for Barry because Something Wicked This way Comes did end up on Lost Highway, David Lynch of all people!! Excellent work. It's delightfully strange and takes all kinds of spooky experimental twists and turns. It's actually really fun to listen to for me :-) in parts it's like literally sexy jazz haha. The Sweetest Embrace is an absolute tune, love the old school bluesy vocals and saloon vibes lol.

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Sun Jan 29 2023
4

This is just plain weird. But good. It could be from the 70s, 80s or 90s or even the noughties......it borrows from everywhere. Lounge musak, Gospel, a John Holmes soundtrack (not that i've ever seen one of his of course), 60's psychadelia........ Ashamed to say he's from a few miles away from me and I've never heard of him. I also like Lynch and Cave. Oh the shame. One of life's real originals.

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Thu Feb 02 2023
4

This really won me over as the album wore on. These tracks are so commanding, they're so different from each other. Yet another album that was conceived as a soundtrack to an imaginary film, interesting.

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Wed Feb 08 2023
4

An interesting listen, but not sure it makes my list. The acid jazz, trip hop and industrial influences raises this above many other releases from the early 90s. What distinguishes this is the downright creepy mood. He incorporates dark instrumentals in a manner that makes this sound like a soundtrack. The guests - Jarvis Cocker and Nick Cave don't hurt.

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Thu Mar 02 2023
4

At first feels a bit off - but it’s a grower - eclectic, tongue in cheek and creative, it’s unique, a bit oddball yet highly listenable and overall a good record. Nice surprise.

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Thu Mar 23 2023
4

The concept of writing an album as a soundtrack to an imaginary film is kind of wild. I can totally hear it. Maybe the film plot goes something like this: A woman dies and the whole movie takes place in the time between when her body is no longer living and when she crosses over into the after life. The whole thing feels like one nights worth of an intense dream sequence, interacting with her past lovers. She starts out remembering how hot Jarvis was in Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Pelvis. How she, and many other women, lusted after him. How she get lucky to be one of the ones that experienced Jarvis. But now in retrospect, she sees that he is a conceited asshole. She recalls the torrid one night stand instigated in Dunkin Donuts. It was a love/hate connection, one of the most intense and transient of her life. They enjoyed and maneuvered against each other. It gets weird in Business As Usual, but so was Dirk. He thought he possessed her. He couldn’t handle being rejected. He obsessed. Dirk was intense too, but in the creepiest way possible. Is he why our protagonist has died? Strong possibility. Miles kicks in as the transition leaves her awfulness behind and the afterlife reminds her that she doesn’t have to deal with that shit anymore. (Great song.) Dirty Barry is her being made aware of the hallway to hell. It’s dark, confusing, and sprinkled with improve jazz bits. She witnesses treachery. In Vermillion Kisses it is revealed to the audience that our protagonist is not innocent herself as she takes the role of manipulative maiden. She has used and destroyed. The Sweetest Embrace is all these men from her past letting her go. Acknowledging her sudden and complete vanishing from the world. (Bonus: Nick Cave didn’t tank this track!) “It’s over babe. And it really is a shame.” This is a shit plot, but one thing I do know is that David Lynch should make this movie. Or a creative film student should give it a go. I’m not going to listen to this album very much in the future, but kudos for the creativity.

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Wed Apr 12 2023
4

what WAS this album?! i didn't hate oedipus schmoedipus, but i think i received whiplash. actually, i can say with confidence i enjoyed this. that being said, i'm not entirely sure what i listened to or how to write my review. this definitely is experimental, considering it sounds like nothing i've heard, but more evolved than a lot of other experimental music on this list. a fair amount of these songs were instrumentals! and there was a heavy amount of jazz throughout the album. there's "miles," an extremely jazz-y song (with such horns!), followed up by "dirty barry," which sounds like it's straight out of a horror film. "vermillion kisses" has a fairytale-like narrator. "the sweetest embrace" sounds like a tom waits song in lyrics, tone, and voice. "the vibes ain't nothin' but the vibes" contains a beautiful piano, a fake audience, and a narration deeply spoken so close to your ears--again, a little waits-like. "the big bamboozle" is a jazz song that could have been used in an ocean's eleven movie. with all of this, i don't know what adamson's end goal was, but at the end of the day, i had a good time listening to the different songs here.

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