Copyright 1999 Star Tribune
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
December 28, 1999, Tuesday, Metro Edition
SECTION: VARIETY; Pg. 3E
LENGTH: 370 words
HEADLINE: CD reviews
BYLINE: J.D. Considine; Richard Paton
BODY:
Disc of the week
AIMEE MANN, "Magnolia Soundtrack" (Reprise)
Writing a soundtrack album usually requires that
a songwriter defer to the structure and narrative of the movie in question.
"Magnolia," however, is that rare exception, a collection of songs
that works as an album in its own right. Consisting mostly of songs written
or sung by Mann, "Magnolia" offers an intoxicating cocktail of
singer/songwriter introspection and Beatlesque ear candy.
It helps that Mann has honed her deadpan soprano
to perfection, rendering "One" with such melancholy grace that
she outdoes Harry Nilsson's original, but her greatest strength is as a
writer. "Deathly," for instance, evokes the need to break up with
devastating wit and clarity, while the snazzy "Momentum" is a
perfect pop bauble, deftly gilded by producer Jon Brion's vividly colored
arrangement. A true star turn.
_ J.D. Considine, Baltimore Sun
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