Aimee Mann - The Forgotten Arm
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Aimee MannBrand: Baker & Taylor
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2005-05-03
Music Label: Superego Records
Soundtracks:
- Dear John
- King of the Jailhouse
- Goodbye Caroline
- Going Through the Motions
- I Can't Get My Head Around It
- She Really Wants You
- Video
- Little Bombs
- That's How I Knew This Story Would Break My Heart
- I Can't Help You Anymore
- I Was Thinking I Could Clean Up for Christmas
- Beautiful
Free Music Notes for The Forgotten Arm
Free Music Review: A great CD with a knockout punch!
Hit: 5 Stars
Aimee Mann blesses us with this fantastic new CD release! The title The Forgotten Arm is actually a reference to Aimee's ability to box and to use a particular move in boxing; but I suppose given the situations the CD involves it could also refer to an arm that hasn't been used to inject drugs into one's self! This is a collection of songs that, when put together in order, tell the story of how a young woman's boyfriend returns home from war addicted to drugs. Then both her and her boyfriend undergo excruciating therapy and a rather abnormal though loving domesticity. Aimee sings so soulfully of the pain and the suffering that even though the subject matter is so serious and painful the songs and musical arrangements are totally beautiful. At the end of listening to the CD tracks I just wanted more! (And so I played it over-twice!) One critic thought so highly of this CD he wrote that "It is the musical equivalent of a novella." He couldn't be more right.
While on one level Aimee sings about their painful relationship with its extra heavy share of problems they both face; the songs are ordered so that they can be seen as a way to tell a story about the two lovers taking a long journey together. The fact that Aimee Mann can work on both levels here is made all the more remarkable when you consider the fact that this album was recorded over a mere five days (yes, five days) last summer! There are her ballads not only about love but also about the tough times she and her man face when addicted to heroin. People have also added that this album has a 70s feel to it-and you can believe them. For 70s lovers these ballads and heartbreaking lyrics bring an added bonus.
A critic for another online music vendor (similar to Amazon) writes that Mann sings her songs "in a devastatingly affectless deadpan" way. I disagree! I think she sings so soulfully you can literally watch and even feel her bleeding from the angst and the emotional turmoil the man and woman have to go through. These are people struggling just to stay in some sort of control over their lives. Yes, her words are direct and she doesn't mince words in her lyrics. But isn't the honesty refreshing instead of "affectless?" I would say yes.
The album starts off strong with a great-but brief-musical introduction that begins the first track, "Dear John." Great guitar and Aimee sings this so soulfully! Then comes the song "King of the Jailhouse." This is a noticeably slower song, thoughtful, singing about her relationship with a man, singing of her pain, confusion, "and they don't give the answers at the end of the test." Great lyrics! "Goodbye Caroline" is an excellent song about ending relationships and not knowing who is in her future. If you follow the theory that this collection of songs is about a road trip then this song could be about saying goodbye just as she and her man depart. Although the problems get worse in "Going Through The Motions," it is in the song "I Can't Get My Head Around It" where we really see how bad things can become. She and her man are in a world where "kicking is hard, but the bottom is harder." You can feel her excruciating angst! The music has a beat to it that highlights their journey and the passage of time in their relationship. The songs "She Really Wants You," "Video," and "Little Bombs" are all insightful and thoughtful. Notice how Aimee uses the video as a reference to her own memories of their past times together-both good and bad. "That's How I Knew This Story Would Break My Heart" offers up a beautiful musical arrangement! Aimee's lyrics are again reflective as she sings to show her extreme sadness. "I Can't Help You Anymore" involves just what the title says she's singing about-she can no longer help her boyfriend addicted to drugs; she herself needs to get out now or "it will drag (her) under." She knows she can't do anything to help her man. What an incredibly sad song--but beautifully written and sung. "I Was Thinking I Could Clean Up for Christmas" is about trying to get off drugs but failing because of the lack of strength to kick the habit-this song gives us a fantastic beat, too. The CD ends with the stunning track entitled "Beautiful." Aimee Mann sings of how they both just want to make their problems go away, to make each other happy with a single wave of a magic wand. The questions of whether or not they need others to help them through their messy problematic lives is not clearly answered; this gives us one final push of the agony that ensues when drugs and relationships get tangled-and people lose control of their lives-which is what Mann tries to display throughout the album.
Mann not only sings on this album; she also plays electric guitar and even acoustic guitar! She works well with her peers: look for Jeff Trott playing electric guitar, baritone guitar, and the mandolin! Victor Indrizzo plays drums, cowbells, and percussion; Jay Bellerose helps out also on drums and percussion. Background vocals are performed by Julian Coryell and Paul Bryan.
All in all, Aimee gets a great score for releasing this awesome CD with hauntingly beautiful lyrics and musical arrangements that will leave you wanting to play it over again several times! It's a concept album, a musical type of novella that is truly memorable, touching, and flawless. The songs themselves are fresh, new, exciting because of their total honesty, and very captivating.
The Forgotten Arm Poster
The Forgotten Arm is the new studio album from the Grammy and Oscar nominated singer/songwriter Aimee Mann. Aimee's songs have a literary quality to them ? sharp, spare short stories set to music ? so it was probably inevitable that she would one day make a concept album, the musical equivalent of a novella. The Forgotten Arm , her fifth solo release, is exactly that: a dozen songs that tell, rather loosely, the story of John and Caroline as they meet, fall in love and road trip across America.Marked by a distinctly more middle-aged melancholy than her previous releases, Aimee Mann's The Forgotten Arm is a successfully conceived story album, following a couple through the life of their relationship. There is much for old and new fans here, as Mann lifts vignettes from the love-and-hate affair of a boxer and his girlfriend like sepia-toned snapshots from a county fair. In fact, it is in just one of those sticky, hot fairground parking lots where the romance blossoms and progresses "in the back of a Cadillac, that's her asleep in the mirror in back." The syncopated, bluesy melodies and strong ensemble of musicians make for a polished effort, and Mann?s gimlet eye doesn?t miss much--from the seductive pain of addiction, bout-induced memory loss, and finally to the inevitable discussion about having (or not) a baby. If indigo is the mood for most of Mann's work, then The Forgotten Arm may be closer to lavender, given the seasoned humor and perspective evident in standout tracks such as "That's How I Knew This Story Would Break My Heart" and "She Really Wants You." This one's a keeper. --Megan Halverson
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