Track Listing

1. Transfiguration #1
2. Sad sad song
3. Vincent O'Brien
4. Voice at the end of the line
5. Duet for guitars #3
6. Outta my head
7. Involuntary
8. Helicopter
9. Poor boy minor key
10. Fool says
11. Get to the table on time
12. Undertaker
13. Dead man
14. Let's dance
15. Transfiguration #2

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3787 in Music
• Released on: 2003-04-28
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

This man should sell more copy than the bible
First time reviewer, and I realise that in general people are more likely to review albums which they like - hence all the 5 stars on this site- often giving an overly distorted representation. But hey ho I feel utterly compelled to enthuse about this album in print anyway.

Needless to say it is fantastic. It immediately breached my top 10 albums ever (come on you have a hypothetical top 10 right). Straight in amongst Dylans Blood on the tracks and Blonde on Blonde, Van Morrisons Veedon Fleece, Tom Waits Nighthawks at the Diner, Marlena Shaw's Spice of Life, Blackalicous Nia etc etc (NB:I am not trying to compare any of the above to "Transfiguration")

The album is almost perfect in everyway. The change's in tempo are subtle and compelling. His voice is fantastic and has great range, the guitar playing is delectable throughout and the production effortless.

In terms of the actual songs "Vincent O Brien" rocks, with a great chorus and delicate piano lick, "Sad, sad song" is Tom Waitsesque but more accessible then for instance Bone Machine, "Undertaker" is a delicate folk song with a beautiful falsetto, "Outta my Head" is simply beautiful melody backed with some inventive effects, "Involuntary" is in the vein of "Undertaker" but even more beautiful, "Helicopter" would go down brilliantly with anyone who likes Bright Eyes, because my freinds you will have found a new hero. My personal favourite at the moment is "Poor Boy, Minor Key" which starts with a Billie Holiday esque Piano line before building in to a fantastic blues number. And theres more the rest of the album is fantastic as well. If you doubt any of what I am saying I suggest you sample a couple of tracks on line before buying.

THE most criminally underrated album of 2003
It would be very difficult to overstate how superb this record is. Ward has managed to do what so many of his peers have tried and failed to do; it's an album which is endlessly catchy without being tiresome, spookily atmospheric without being impenetrable. The most obvious reference point is "Bone Machine" era Tom Waits, but Ward's music is less reliant on experimental percussion. I have read some music critics dismiss M. Ward as a Waits copyist, while the same critics have gone into raptures as The Thrills/Kings of Leon/Franz Ferdinand/whoever rip off all and sundry from recent musical history. Yes, Tom Waits seems to be an influence on the album, but Ward has brought his own mighty talent to the record, and the album will stand up to any in Waits back catalogue, and I speak as a Tom Waits fan.

Jason Lytle of Grandaddy contributes to the record, and although it sounds very little like that great band, Grandaddy's DIY aesthetic is clearly on display. One song might sound like it has been hastily sung into a scratchy tape recorder in a bedroom, the next like it was recorded in an abandoned church on an ice cold winter's night.

Every song is a charm. Up there with "Feast of Wire" by Calexico and "Cast of Thousands" by Elbow as albums of the year. Please do not hesitate to buy this record.

A little gem, but keep it to youselves
Thanks to my love of Clem Snide, Ron Sexsmith, Terry Allen, Loudon Wainwright, The Sadies, Neko Case and many others I received a suggestion from good old Amazon that I might like to consider M. Ward. Occasionally these suggestions are way off the mark. (For example: dull Nickel Creek and overindulgent Sigur Ros - check out my much reviled review of SR's pretentious untitiled 'brackets' album to see what I feel about them). But this time, as on so many happy occasions, the recommendation was inspired.
Imagine a kind of Americana Nick Cave-by-way-of Donovan, Cale and Reed and you will get the feel. An intriguing lyrical mixture of world-weary optimism, offbeat relationships and well-disguised love songs. Soft-edged vocals, sometimes delivered with an almost langurous confidence brought to mind the understated brilliance of, say, Belle & Sebastian, and shades of Nick Drake too. But take away those comparisons and you are left with a joyously original talent.
The musicianship is exceptional too, as piano and guitar combine with delirious effect throughout - punctuated by some melancholic mandolin and underpinned by sympathetic ‘unplugged’ bass and percussion.
After just five listens, with each one unfolding a new delight, I know this will be a fixture on my playlist for a long while to come.

end