Lloyd Cole and the Commotions - Easy Pieces

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Free Music Notes for Easy Pieces

Free Music Review: Almost as good as Rattlesnakes...
Hit: 4 Stars

This second album from Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, following 1984's stunning debut "Rattlesnakes", does not fall prey to the sophomore album jinx. While Cole's subject matter is always brooding and focused on the dark side of human relationships, "Easy Pieces" has a darker tone than "Rattlesnakes", but still provides perfect memorize the lyrics and sing along pop songs.

The songs represented from this album on the greatest hits collection "1984-1989" are not the best songs from this album. With lyrics like "did you miss her much/well hey/you never gave her too much thought" from "Rich" and "Jane is fine/always fine/we're unhappy most of the time" which starts off "Why I Love Country Music", you are missing out if the only tunes you know from this CD are from the collection.

The only negative is that the album does taper off somewhat toward the end and does not conclude with anything nearly as impactful as "Are You Ready to be Heartbroken?" which closes the debut album. The three bonus tracks at the end of the import CD are decent but it is clear that they were not completely polished and weren't necessary additions to the original album (even though one is included on the "1984-1989" collection).

The first several songs on this CD are equal to, if not better, than anything on "Rattlesnakes", it just isn't as consistently strong start to finish. While Cole had moments of abject brilliance on future releases like "Jennifer She Said" from 1987's "Mainstream" and "Weeping Wine" from 1991's "Don't Get Weird on Me Babe", none of his subsequent records had the cohesiveness or sustained quality of the first two records.

If you don't own this, and are a Lloyd Cole fan, pay the premium to add the import CD to your collection. Your life will be richer for it.

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