Track Listing

1. Save Tonight
2. Indecision
3. Comatose (In The Arms Of Slumber)
4. Worried Eyes
5. Rainbow Wings
6. Falling In Love Again
7. Conversation
8. When Mermaids Cry
9. Shooting Up In Vain
10. Permanent Tears
11. Death Defied By Will
12. Desireless

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16793 in Music
• Released on: 2001-12-21
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .21 pounds
• Running time: 56 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The offspring of jazz-trumpet great Don Cherry and half-brother of both Neneh Cherry and Swedish pop diva Titiyo (who duets with her brother on "Worried Eyes"), Eagle-Eye proves that we are not who we're related to. He was born in Stockholm to Cherry and Swedish mixed-media artist Moki, and one might suppose a member of this clan to be as innovative as the rest of his brood, especially given such an idiosyncratic moniker. But it turns out that that's the only eccentric thing about this musician. Cherry offers up a low-key, melodic diary of tales of his misspent youth in New York. And despite the music's soft-focus part-Cat Stevens, part-Ben Harper leanings, occasionally you realize that Eagle-Eye must have pasted posters of Ozzy Osbourne and Jimi Hendrix on his bedroom wall. "Indecision" (supposedly a rejoinder to Stockholm neo-Nazi "White Noise" bands like Swastika) rides on a searing Richie Blackmore lick. "Save Tonight" is a bittersweet reworking of Peter, Paul and Mary's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" theme. The title song updates his late father's "Desireless", which is revitalized via sparse piano, a haunting trumpet, and Cherry's hypnotic, repetitive vocals. Here it's clear that, even though he is dabbling in the shoals of alt-folk-rock, Eagle-Eye can claim a limb on the family tree anytime he wants. --Jaan Uhelszki

CD Description
The late, great jazz trumpeter Don Cherry lives on not onlythrough his amazing legacy of recordings, but through his talented progeny. Several years after Cherry's daughter Nenehwas propelled into the public eye, her brother Eagle-Eye makes his recorded debut with DESIRELESS. Eagle-Eye's music ismiles away from both his sister's neo-R&B and his father's jazz. Rather, DESIRELESS is full of stripped down alterna-pop (whatever that means). Slightly R&B-inflected, occasionally reminiscent of Ben Harper, the tunes on DESIRELESS are gentle, acoustic-based, modern folk-pop, rootsy but thoroughly modern. Eagle-Eye's relaxed, confident delivery and inward-looking (but never navel-gazing) lyrics make his first release go down easy.

Customer Reviews

Stunning Alternative Folk/Pop-Rock
Just listening to Eagle-Eye Cherry's debut album, 'Desireless', it's hard to believe that he's actually from Sweden. While a fair few of the songs on here, and ever since with his more recent albums, particularily 'Sub Rosa', do carry a certain serenity that you could believe do come from cold, cold parts, but it also has warmer aspects and shinier aspects that sound like they're right out of California.

Since he broke into the spotlight with hit single, 'Save Tonight', Eagle-Eye has been on the road, and has not really had the chance to think or take in what the world is all about anymore. But as 'Save Tonight' hit, it portrayed a new talent to be reckoned with. Full of observations and thoughtful lyrics and tender musicianship, the supporting album, 'Desireless' contained more than enough satisfactory tunes and melodies to last at least the 5 years it took for Eagle-Eye to release another proper album. So in the likes of the drowsey, 'Comatose (In The Arms Of Slumber)', the beautiful acoustic style of, 'Falling In Love Again', and the soaring 'When Mermaids Cry', Eagle-Eye showed his imagination and powerful songwriting at its fullest, and up to now, best. 'Conversation' has almost saddening lyrics to a somber tone, as does 'Death Defied By Will', it shows that not only, musically, does Cherry have sunshine (Save Tonight), beauty (When Mermaids Cry, Permanent Tears), somberity (Indecision), but also sadness. And through all these different moods and styles, Cherry sustains one main focus vocally: Life. Though it often shows much sadness, and the way he writes is often sugercoated (rather well if I do say so), there is always a certain reality to the way he writes and even the title-track which was written by his jazz-playing late father, who this album is also dedicated to, is a stunning piece of instrumentalism, that's nicely updated from his fathers original, has a certain reality to it.

All that said, 'Desireless' is a thoroughly entertaining and highly enjoyable album. It is played quite beautifully throughout, and never sounds repetitive and is full of imagination and beauty, that anyone could enjoy, with both alternative-folk and pop-rock fans being particularly pleased.

Eagle-Eye never truly made it fully, after he never was really seen that much after 'Save Tonight', at least on such a grand scale, but, two very entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable albums as well as 'Desireless' later, that never lowered the quality of his music, and perhaps even made it better. Popularity is never everything, especially when there's music as good as this amazingly undiscovered both unfortunatly, for Eagle-Eye himself, and fortunatly for the deserving fans who can have him all to themselves. Wherever he's from and whatever he plays, it seems that Eagle-Eye Cherry knows exactly what he's doing and does it successfully and very nearly perfectly. It's certainly an irony that his only true breakthrough hit, 'Save Tonight', was about taking everything you can while you still have it, so why not just take it?

4.5 Stars.

One great song after another
It was his single releases of Save Tonight and Falling In Love Again that persuaded me to buy the album. However it was the less conventional Comatose (In The Arms Of Slumber) and particularly the excellent When Mermaids Cry that have kept me listening again and again.

Eagle-Eye has composed and performed here a truly delightful mix of unique songs inspired by more than just the usual themes.

Also worthy of mention are Conversation and Worried Eyes which features a beautiful duet.

Buy it. And then again when you've worn the CD out.

Eagle eye cherry, certainly desired.
This was the first cd I ever bought and what a great introduction it was. Truly inspiring. This album was really new to me and his sound was fresh and really had feeling. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys soulful, if not slightly depressing tracks and a four out of five isn't a bad score. It's great to listen to on a grey day, but if you're feeling down, best not. Overall really good and worth the money.