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Tarfumes.com - Hey Ma
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List Price: $13.98
Our Price: $11.99
Your Save: $ 1.99 ( 14% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Decca U.S.
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 6025177270388
Label: Decca U.S.
Manufacturer: Decca U.S.
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Decca U.S.
Release Date: 2008-09-16
Studio: Decca U.S.
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Editorial Reviews:
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It s the 2008 reunion album from Tim Booth and the rest of the James gang. Though they began their career as jangly guitar heroes in the '80s, it wasn't until the early '90s that James broke through commercially at the height of the Baggy scene. Their UK success crossed over into the U.S. a few years later and the band were finally able to reap their just rewards. Now with Andy Diagram back in the band in addition to the Laid six of Tim, Jim, Larry, Saul, Mark and Dave, James are, once again, Seven. James recorded the album, their first in seven years, over a few months in a self built studio at a chateau in France. Hey Ma is 11 tracks including Bubbles, Waterfall and Oh My Heart.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Hey, Ma! James is back! Turn it up!
Comment: This is my favourite album of 2008! It's brilliant to see the band reunited, fresh and energetic. They're in top form here. I saw them live in September before I heard the album, and the show's enormous success was largely due to the strength of the album. Powerful, thrilling music. "Waterfall" is the best song of the year; check out these lyrics:
" Watching too much TV I'm an actor in a puppet show
There's so much stuff in my life no room for me to grow
One day I'm going to break from my life due south down to Mexico
I'm going to burn down my house it's the only way to let it go"
Go get it! You won't be sorry.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not a dud on it...one of the best of 2008
Comment: About the only thing I knew about James was that they had a huge hit in the 1990s with "Laid". Kudos to them for putting some great full-length samples up on their MySpace site which allowed me to sample the music on this album. I am not sure why it came out so much earlier in the UK, although they have quite a following there and perhaps timed the release in the U.S. to coincide with their great tour of the states.
The album starts off with "Bubbles", with some great lyrics such as "take an axe to your family tree" and ends with a soaring round of "I'm alive... I'm alive..." The title track is really great, albeit a rather politically-charged song. It was one of the songs they put on their MySpace site, along with another standout, "Whiteboy". "Whiteboy" is perhaps my favorite song of 2008, and it's just a fun, bouncy song. The album is a nice balance of mid-tempo songs and ends with "I Wanna Go Home", one of those great mid-tempo ways to end the album.
I liked their music so much from this one album that I checked out their other stuff and really enjoyed at least half of their album, Laid, and their greatest hits album is a real treat.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Easily one of the best records I have ever heard
Comment: Although I liked the popularly successful songs from James during the 80's and 90's, I never got heavy into the band. I heard one of their older songs on a local indie station recently, and checked it out on YouTube because I wanted to send the video link to someone (because of the lyrics). That led to more link-clicking, checking out their website, and finding out they had a local concert last week. Decided to go.
Turns out my girlfried was a real fan of "Sometimes" when it was hot. We went to the concert, loved everything we heard, and as a result I bought two of the new CD's, one for each of us. Several weeks later, we are still talking about and texting each other snippets from the lyrics, and talking about the band and the CD. I wish I could afford to buy a million and spread them around. Easily one of the top 10 I have ever heard. You must read the lyrics and hear the song previews. The "intro" clips don't do the songs full justice, as each is a musical odyssey, with some widely varying sounds in the same song. Lyrically relevant to everything going on today, and particularly some issues I can relate to in my own life. Musically captivating. Rides the range from thought provoking to exhilerating. Will make you a believer. [...]
At first listen, I "liked" about 5 or 6 of the 11 songs. A few I skipped when playing the entire CD in my car. The more I've listened, the less I've skipped, gaining a new appreciation for the lesser songs on the CD to the point that I now listen to it in its entirety. The entire song list will grow on you, and it is arranged perfectly. While not hugely "deep", the lyrical and musical combination is just right (not too heavy or light) for ease of listening. For comparison, I list Green Day's "American Fool" among my top ten also, although they are admittedly a "harder" sound.
Thank you, James. I have to apologize for the admittedly mediocre commercial success in the U.S., after discovering that in the UK and Europe they have always been hugely popular, still selling out venues many times the size of the ones here that they have been touring this year. I don't know if its because of their label, or whatever.
Research on my part led to discovery that at one time Radiohead ('80's), Coldplay ('90's) and Nirvana ('90's) all opened for them during the beginning of those band's careers, right before each became successful. Wish some major band would have them open now, so they can gain back more commercial success here. I also hope some major stations start playing more of this record.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Coming Home In Pieces
Comment: This is a band that I always liked but never really got into. Then I bought this and all that changed. This is one of the best albums I have ever heard. I gave a copy to a woman at work and she now listens to it every morning on her way to the office. Brilliant! Not a dud song on here.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Worth the wait!
Comment: Lyrically sophisticated, sonically rich. The sound and songwriting is like an amalgamation of all their albums since "Seven." This album is clearly the product of a band that loves making music together again. "Bubbles" is simply one of their most uplifting songs ever. I only found one song ("Semaphore")to be pedestrian. What a wonderful treat to have them back.
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