JOE ONGIE: Critical Darling

Joe Ongie

Critical Darling

© 2004 Joe Ongie (634479575501)

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Astounding feats of pop craftiness, a delicious disc,a delectible confection of scrumptious sounds. YUM.

notes

"Four albums in, Joe Ongie has established himself as one of pop's great undiscovered wonders, a master songsmith with an unerring ability to spin irresistible hooks from magnetic melodies and stinging lyrical barbs." Lee Zimmerman. Goldmine Magazine 07/04

"Joe Ongie: Benevolent songbird or despotic audio god? You know all that fine music by Elvis Costello, Matthew Sweet, Jon Brion, etc. that you never hear on the radio? Ongie's work is at least as deserving of media neglect. Like those more famed songsmiths, his work has a similar serious-pop bent, and his best songs aren't just good for a local, but could hold their own anywhere, if there was anywhere to hold them in this era of dumbed-down radio." OCWeekly 2/04

"Beck meets Fiona Apple in a martini lounge." OCMetro 2/04

"...every year or two, Joe emerges from his fortress of solitude/recording studio with a little masterpiece of a solo album, where his songs are never so full of rich wordplay as to obscure the soaring pop melodies at their heart, the son of a bitch..." O.C. Weekly 12/03

16 big tracks! Lots of notes. Lots of words, too! Melodies included. An hour of pop poetry. It's happy, it's sad, it's you....

A Note From Joe: "Critical Darling" comes in a simple four-color cardboard sleeve (with beautiful photos by Shelly Frasier) - no more of those messy plastic jewel boxes. I believe that websites are the album covers of tomorrow (and today), so it's at www.joeongie.com that you can find all of the song details, lyrics, pretty pictures of me, etc. In the near future, I will also be including outtakes and bonus tracks from the CD on the site. Keep checking back!

reviews

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  • Solid Musicianship, eh?
    author: Eric

    I pass over the title track every time... it seems trite and rather amateurish, if I have the right of being so bold. From there, everything is solid. Unless you shop at Amoeba Records, $10 for this album is quite the deal. It's bursting with color and assorted sound, a gamut (yes, I said "gamut") of instruments and styles that do blend well together. "Levitation" is so very much a George Harrison song, but there's nothing wrong with that, and the inclusion of the type of Bourbon Street Jazzyness of "Waking The Dead" won me over. Again, save the opening title track, the entire disc is oozing with ability, if nothing else, and if you're like me and enjoy bragging to your friends about a good musician that they've never heard of, then you'd be doing yourself a solid by supporting this fella. He's not Jon Brion, but what I like about Jon's solo album is here, if to a lesser degree.

  • Joe is better that Ronnie James Dio
    author: jason eric foster

    Joe is my friend, but that's about the artist in general. "another day tomorrow" and "vodka chaser" are currently my favorites off the record. None are bad, "levitation" is starting to get up there, and "beautiful clown". Oh, they are all great. He's so good, he should be allowed to just coast through life without annoyances. He deserves this, he is the great and powerful Ong.

  • Joe's best work yet!
    author: Tim Nienhuis

    With 16 songs.....this CD has something for everyone.....each week I have a new favorite song off it. Great production and some of my favorite songs that Joe's written yet. Take a listen....you'll dig it.

  • wOrTh tHe wAiT!
    author: Gina A.

    Joe kept his fans waiting a long time for this one, and our patience is rewarded with each listen. A cast of stellar musicians, singers and hand-clappers join this brilliant singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer-guru for the best pop album since, well, Ongie's own Lovefest. And it's got a really cool cover, too!

  • "Critical Darling" Is A Musical Treasure Chest
    author: Alan Z

    Musical treasure chest number four from Joe Ongie begins with what has become a tradition; an appearance (or maybe an apparition) from Granny Vegas herself to start off the quite possibly autobiographical title track, "Critical Darling." Jangly guitars, glockenspiel and piano ring out and then off we go into another musical Ongie mind-meld. This CD is similar to "Lovefest" in that it explores a plethora of musical styles, with straight ahead medium rockers like "Critical Darling," "Danny Flowers," and "Sad Ever After," moody set pieces like "Death by 1000 Cuts," "Vodka Chaser," and "Unspoken" as well a song format he does extremely well but all too rarely, the guitar chord anthem ("Sleepwalking World, a standout track on this collection). "Waking the Dead" is the "silly" song on this disk; banjos, gypsy violins and honky tonk piano along with a shuffling snare drum turn this up-tempo tune into something quite clever and amusing. Once again his backing musicians are stellar and the vocals are miles deep in places. Beautiful harmonies and crunchy "massive" lead guitars at the right places combine to make a wide musical expanse. The recording is also impeccable; dozens of tracks per song at times, crystalline highs on the acoustic guitars and clear lows on the organ, piano and that vintage Fender Jazz. Ain't technology great? A great record, truly. Get this one just for "Unspoken" and "Sleepwalking World."

  • Listen, love it, repeat...
    author: Jim Rohrer

    Joe Ongie is a godsend! This disc is full of wonderful songs, arrangements, and performances. Rather than trying to explain what's so special about it, I highly recommend checking out the generous samples here and seeing for yourself. If your taste runs into melodic rock and eclectic modern pop you will not be able to get out your credit card fast enough. When you've got your copy at home, have listened to it every day for a week, and start playing it for all your friends (who will think you're a genius for turning them on to it), you'll be back to pick up all his other recordings. And who could blame you??

  • Mmmmmmm....... Yummy
    author: John Hoskinson

    Joe Ongie has done it again. This CD has been on heavy rotation in my CD player for the past few weeks and I have yet to tire of it. Fans of Aimee Mann, Michael Penn, Jon Brion, et al will love 'Death of Thousand Cuts' and 'Play it Smart'. There also hints of Simon & Garfunkel folk, progressive rock (I know, I know -- but it's the good prog like Peter Gabriel era Genesis) and even some hints of Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach. In short -- this CD is DELICIOUS!!

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