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UK Mall 1 - Felt Mountain
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List Price: £8.99
Our Price: £4.48
Your Save: £ 0.00 ( % )
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Manufacturer: Mute
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 5016025611881
Label: Mute
Manufacturer: Mute
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Mute
Release Date: 2000-09-11
Studio: Mute
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Enter a Total Relaxing Utopia!!!!
Comment: 1. Lovely Head. 10/10
2. Paper Bag. 8/10
3. Human. 10/10
4. Pilots. 10/10
5. Deer Stop. 5/10*
6. Felt Mountain. 9/10
7. Oompa Radar. 9/10
8. Utopia. 10/10
9. Horse Tears 9/10
* OUCH!!! Totally PAINFUL!!!!
If you like "Supernature", "Black Cherry", and "Seventh Tree", have "Felt Montain". Obviously it's the weakest out of the 4, though really relaxing and entres you into a total state of calm.
OVERALL GRADE: 10/10
Customer Rating:
Summary: A great debut....
Comment: Rating: 8/10
Best tracks: "Paper Bag", "Pilots", "Utopia", "Deer Stop".
A beautiful, beguiling debut, Felt Mountain is weird, atmospheric and sexy, full of cinematic, offbeat instrumentation, unusual lyrics and one hell of a winning hand in Alison Goldfrapp's gorgeous, sensual voice. Alison and multi-instrumentalist Will Gregory add lashings of delightful touches and quirks to proceedings, be they whale calls, whistling, Theremins, whip cracks, Hammond organs and much more. Despite being one of many albums connected a super cool, chill-out wave of artists such as Royksopp, Air, Zero 7 and others, Felt Mountain has far too much character, personality and emotion for it to be dismissed as mere coffee table/dinner party fodder. It's imperfect, but let's go easy on it; it's only a first album, after all! Those turned on by Black Cherry and Supernature may be surprised at how different this debut is; there's no glitter ball disco beats to be found here!
The opening "Lovely Head" was used for a commercial (I can't remember which one) and got a little bit overplayed, but listening to it again after some time away from it has proved to be a delight; a surreal, erotic, playful wonder. A special mention has to go to the massively atmospheric "Paper Bag", which is the main reason why this album stands out from the crowd; a thoroughly beguiling mix of folk, spy-movie soundtrack (very much in the John Barry style), chilly ambience, not to mention a fantastic opening line that'll stop you dead in your tracks, this song takes from all manners of influences and melds them into something entirely new and fresh; the effect is spellbinding. A more blatant John Barry/007 influence is present on "Human", which isn`t the best thing here. Granted, it does quicken the pace of the album, which for the most part is quite sedate, but this is one of the few songs here that feels like mere pastiche, whereas most of the other songs here use their variety of influences to mould something inventive from them. Much better is the late-night beauty of "Pilots", which is genuinely, vividly romantic, evocative of starry skies and stolen kisses; managing to pull of the feat of being dreamily love-struck, yet (for me) heartbreakingly melancholic, it was released as a single in an inferior version....believe me, the mix on Felt Mountain is all you'll ever need.
"Deer Stop" is a near-funereal piece, made extra weird and wonderful by Goldfrapp's vocals, which are distorted, melded and turned into something else entirely. The title track features yodelling (!) and is gloriously strange, evoking a winter's sleigh ride through snowy forests. The kooky "Oompa Radar" is probably one instrumental too many and drags the pace of the album a bit, but proceedings really picks up with the splendid, panoramic "Utopia", which thrillingly soars during that incredible chorus and finale. "Horse Tears" makes for an effectively downbeat closer, wrapping up a playful, very strong first album which despite the odd weak or so-so track, is a striking first shot from a duo who would, remarkably, shift gears in quite substantial fashion for their next, even better album.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Magical
Comment: I bought this album because i liked the Oh La La record so I bought supernature. I thought supernature was fantastic so I bought Black Cherry well imagin my suprise when I find out the Black Cherry is even beter than Supernature (if that was possible) so I had to have Felt mountain and well I Could not believe it completly different but utterly fantastic, you want to listen and listen.
If I had any complaint it would be that the album is TOO SHORT, She sings opera and I could listen to a whole album of her singing opera, she whistles and dah dahs its just great.
I bought the DVD also and the live versions of Dear stop are fantastic!
However one word of warning all the songs are about sex!
This album stands on its own unique it is so different to the second and third albums (which incidentely are both great albums).
Customer Rating:
Summary: When they were great.
Comment: There are good albums, there are great albums and there are those very special albums that stop you in your tracks because you realise that you're hearing something unlike anything else. Such is Felt Mountain, the best debut album ever. So much style, so much class, so much imagination - dazzling. This is an album packed with promise - promise which, sadly, Goldfrapp have failed to live up to. It would seem that Felt Mountain is to be a magnificent one-off - but there's so much to love.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Sultry, Demanding Exoticism
Comment: "Wilfully weird" and "intoxicating" are words you probably would not generally associate from two musicians from Wiltshire, but in Goldfrapp's case, it is a description of borderline proportions. Joining forces after showcasing their wares on other ventures most notably within the arenas of trip hop and chill out dance, Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ingratiated themselves onto the pop world with "Felt Mountain" in 2000 with little fanfare that soon turned into a critically-acclaimed storm. Cinematically epic in its sound with echoes of European lounge pop and Goldfrapp's sexually insatiable vocal slithering all over it, pop music had found its new auteurs and the "after-club" experience had found a new soundtrack upon "Mountain's" release.
Cinematic is a term almost always associated with Goldfrapp's music, particularly their first album, which clearly sets itself within the realms of Sergio Leone's sinister epic landscapes, with equal dashes of David Lynch's surreal dreams and François Ozon's camp sexiness thrown in for good measure. All of these elements coalesce into an album that doesn't sound like anything before or since its inception, at once melodious in its sexual malaise but also fraught with tension and desire, incorporating various out-of-leftfield instruments with string ensembles and subtle programming. The string and brass arrangements in particular, the forte of Gregory (who co-writes, mixes and produces with Goldfrapp, but never tours or performs with her), help to transport the music into the realms of the otherworldly.
However, the real revelation of the album is Goldfrapp herself and the solid sultriness with which she commands the material. Arch without ever resorting to pantomime and seductive whilst just staying on the right side of camp spectacle, her vocal is the catalyst that sends the listener's mind and pulse racing on key tracks. Cementing her dolefully sexy reputation best are the title track, in which she merely hums and improvises over the gorgeous arrangements in the background, "Human", the closest the album gets to mid-tempo with a Latino-influenced brass arrangement, and "Lovely Head", opening with a plaintive whistle that immediately sounds like it has glided straight out of the Alps and frozen your heart. It's a stellar performance; however, it still cannot save the album from its lapses into indulgence.
Goldfrapp and Gregory do let their arty nature get the better of them sometimes, and the results may sound refreshingly off-kilter to some, but the likes of "Oompa Radar" and "Horse Tears" will fall on deaf ears thanks to the album's seeming lack of emotional depth. As gorgeous and textured as the music frequently is, there is a distinct lack of emotional investment to help turn the music into something truly stirring and memorable. In many respects, Goldfrapp and Gregory may have got it right as the album does effortlessly glide by and is at times incendiary to listen to thanks to the classy craftsmanship of the music inside. What one can forget though is that this album concerns itself with the darker, subtler side of human sexuality, of how enveloping it can be on the body and mind in all of its sensuality and danger. At times, "Mountain" is as irresistible as the subject matter it sings about ... dark, sinful and sinister, and yet so sweetly melodic you cannot rip your ears away from it. And for someone who can sing an opening line as baiting as "Brown Paper Bag's" without sounding self-conscious or coy, Alison Goldfrapp is a voice to be reckoned with.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Enter a Total Relaxing Utopia!!!!
Comment: 1. Lovely Head. 10/10
2. Paper Bag. 8/10
3. Human. 10/10
4. Pilots. 10/10
5. Deer Stop. 5/10*
6. Felt Mountain. 9/10
7. Oompa Radar. 9/10
8. Utopia. 10/10
9. Horse Tears 9/10
* OUCH!!! Totally PAINFUL!!!!
If you like "Supernature", "Black Cherry", and "Seventh Tree", have "Felt Montain". Obviously it's the weakest out of the 4, though really relaxing and entres you into a total state of calm.
OVERALL GRADE: 10/10
Customer Rating:
Summary: A great debut....
Comment: Rating: 8/10
Best tracks: "Paper Bag", "Pilots", "Utopia", "Deer Stop".
A beautiful, beguiling debut, Felt Mountain is weird, atmospheric and sexy, full of cinematic, offbeat instrumentation, unusual lyrics and one hell of a winning hand in Alison Goldfrapp's gorgeous, sensual voice. Alison and multi-instrumentalist Will Gregory add lashings of delightful touches and quirks to proceedings, be they whale calls, whistling, Theremins, whip cracks, Hammond organs and much more. Despite being one of many albums connected a super cool, chill-out wave of artists such as Royksopp, Air, Zero 7 and others, Felt Mountain has far too much character, personality and emotion for it to be dismissed as mere coffee table/dinner party fodder. It's imperfect, but let's go easy on it; it's only a first album, after all! Those turned on by Black Cherry and Supernature may be surprised at how different this debut is; there's no glitter ball disco beats to be found here!
The opening "Lovely Head" was used for a commercial (I can't remember which one) and got a little bit overplayed, but listening to it again after some time away from it has proved to be a delight; a surreal, erotic, playful wonder. A special mention has to go to the massively atmospheric "Paper Bag", which is the main reason why this album stands out from the crowd; a thoroughly beguiling mix of folk, spy-movie soundtrack (very much in the John Barry style), chilly ambience, not to mention a fantastic opening line that'll stop you dead in your tracks, this song takes from all manners of influences and melds them into something entirely new and fresh; the effect is spellbinding. A more blatant John Barry/007 influence is present on "Human", which isn`t the best thing here. Granted, it does quicken the pace of the album, which for the most part is quite sedate, but this is one of the few songs here that feels like mere pastiche, whereas most of the other songs here use their variety of influences to mould something inventive from them. Much better is the late-night beauty of "Pilots", which is genuinely, vividly romantic, evocative of starry skies and stolen kisses; managing to pull of the feat of being dreamily love-struck, yet (for me) heartbreakingly melancholic, it was released as a single in an inferior version....believe me, the mix on Felt Mountain is all you'll ever need.
"Deer Stop" is a near-funereal piece, made extra weird and wonderful by Goldfrapp's vocals, which are distorted, melded and turned into something else entirely. The title track features yodelling (!) and is gloriously strange, evoking a winter's sleigh ride through snowy forests. The kooky "Oompa Radar" is probably one instrumental too many and drags the pace of the album a bit, but proceedings really picks up with the splendid, panoramic "Utopia", which thrillingly soars during that incredible chorus and finale. "Horse Tears" makes for an effectively downbeat closer, wrapping up a playful, very strong first album which despite the odd weak or so-so track, is a striking first shot from a duo who would, remarkably, shift gears in quite substantial fashion for their next, even better album.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Magical
Comment: I bought this album because i liked the Oh La La record so I bought supernature. I thought supernature was fantastic so I bought Black Cherry well imagin my suprise when I find out the Black Cherry is even beter than Supernature (if that was possible) so I had to have Felt mountain and well I Could not believe it completly different but utterly fantastic, you want to listen and listen.
If I had any complaint it would be that the album is TOO SHORT, She sings opera and I could listen to a whole album of her singing opera, she whistles and dah dahs its just great.
I bought the DVD also and the live versions of Dear stop are fantastic!
However one word of warning all the songs are about sex!
This album stands on its own unique it is so different to the second and third albums (which incidentely are both great albums).
Customer Rating:
Summary: When they were great.
Comment: There are good albums, there are great albums and there are those very special albums that stop you in your tracks because you realise that you're hearing something unlike anything else. Such is Felt Mountain, the best debut album ever. So much style, so much class, so much imagination - dazzling. This is an album packed with promise - promise which, sadly, Goldfrapp have failed to live up to. It would seem that Felt Mountain is to be a magnificent one-off - but there's so much to love.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Sultry, Demanding Exoticism
Comment: "Wilfully weird" and "intoxicating" are words you probably would not generally associate from two musicians from Wiltshire, but in Goldfrapp's case, it is a description of borderline proportions. Joining forces after showcasing their wares on other ventures most notably within the arenas of trip hop and chill out dance, Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ingratiated themselves onto the pop world with "Felt Mountain" in 2000 with little fanfare that soon turned into a critically-acclaimed storm. Cinematically epic in its sound with echoes of European lounge pop and Goldfrapp's sexually insatiable vocal slithering all over it, pop music had found its new auteurs and the "after-club" experience had found a new soundtrack upon "Mountain's" release.
Cinematic is a term almost always associated with Goldfrapp's music, particularly their first album, which clearly sets itself within the realms of Sergio Leone's sinister epic landscapes, with equal dashes of David Lynch's surreal dreams and François Ozon's camp sexiness thrown in for good measure. All of these elements coalesce into an album that doesn't sound like anything before or since its inception, at once melodious in its sexual malaise but also fraught with tension and desire, incorporating various out-of-leftfield instruments with string ensembles and subtle programming. The string and brass arrangements in particular, the forte of Gregory (who co-writes, mixes and produces with Goldfrapp, but never tours or performs with her), help to transport the music into the realms of the otherworldly.
However, the real revelation of the album is Goldfrapp herself and the solid sultriness with which she commands the material. Arch without ever resorting to pantomime and seductive whilst just staying on the right side of camp spectacle, her vocal is the catalyst that sends the listener's mind and pulse racing on key tracks. Cementing her dolefully sexy reputation best are the title track, in which she merely hums and improvises over the gorgeous arrangements in the background, "Human", the closest the album gets to mid-tempo with a Latino-influenced brass arrangement, and "Lovely Head", opening with a plaintive whistle that immediately sounds like it has glided straight out of the Alps and frozen your heart. It's a stellar performance; however, it still cannot save the album from its lapses into indulgence.
Goldfrapp and Gregory do let their arty nature get the better of them sometimes, and the results may sound refreshingly off-kilter to some, but the likes of "Oompa Radar" and "Horse Tears" will fall on deaf ears thanks to the album's seeming lack of emotional depth. As gorgeous and textured as the music frequently is, there is a distinct lack of emotional investment to help turn the music into something truly stirring and memorable. In many respects, Goldfrapp and Gregory may have got it right as the album does effortlessly glide by and is at times incendiary to listen to thanks to the classy craftsmanship of the music inside. What one can forget though is that this album concerns itself with the darker, subtler side of human sexuality, of how enveloping it can be on the body and mind in all of its sensuality and danger. At times, "Mountain" is as irresistible as the subject matter it sings about ... dark, sinful and sinister, and yet so sweetly melodic you cannot rip your ears away from it. And for someone who can sing an opening line as baiting as "Brown Paper Bag's" without sounding self-conscious or coy, Alison Goldfrapp is a voice to be reckoned with.
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