Collated ratings for Voices Carry (belated) Love in a Vaccuum 3.6833 Looking Over My Shoulder 3.85 I Could Get Used to This 3.29 No More Crying 3.575 Voices Carry 4.76 Winning the War 3.22 You Know the Rest 3.84 Maybe Monday 2.45 Don't Watch Me Bleed 3.62 Sleep 3.22 Voices Carry: 3.65 Average by song: 3.6846 Are You Serious 3.8333
Welcome Home LP.. Wow what a leap forward from the first. It still has the spunk but Aimee’s control of her voice as an instrument has really improved, and I assume so has the recording/production aspect of recording her. A few songs seem forced to be what the label or rest of the band wanted or both, but they are still solid album tracks and I’d argue against calling anything here ‘filler’. There’s an awkward lyric here and there- whether due to rushing it or ‘making it fit’ the sound, but overall- again.. what a leap forward! Not to be forgotten: the cover art also suits the record very well. 5/5
Welcome Home is a development from the first albumu; not only is the production much less sterile and cold, soundwise both Robert Holmes and Joey really started varying the colors they paint with; but most importantly, Aimee's songwriting is obviously the work of a more mature artist. I feel like there are songs on this album that really would have fit fine on the first, that aren't really that different other than the superior production; but there are others that definitely surpass anything on the first album, and indeed threaten to transcend the entire band. In fact, there are times when there seems to be this tension between the band's sound and the song, with the band's sound not really ideally expressing the songs here and there. I feel there's an old-fashioned acoustic singer-songwriter coming out and the New Wave synths and heavily reverb'ed guitar desn't always sound right to me. Beyond that there are hints of Brian Wilson-eque baroque pop to some of the songs which again might be served better with more organic instrumentation: a string ensemble or woodwinds, rather than synths. I'm not surprised that there was tension in this band over this very thing as it sounds like there would be. I liked all the songs on the first album and think it made a pretty cohesive statement; but this one is clearly better, although not all songs are equal, and has me hungering to hear much more particularly of Aimee's music. The cover art is OK...certainly better than the next album's cover, which is terrible. (the cover, not the album). 4.2/5
Welcome Home is a much better album than Voices Carry and continues the upward trajectory of Aimee's songwriting. As with their debut, the album gets somewhat weaker near the end, but there are no bad songs here and even my most lowly rated tracks have something good to offer. The overall sound and production is much better on this album too. 3.7/5
I agree with the prior posts that Welcome Home is a much improved album over Voices Carry. Whereas I couldn't see any foreshadowing of what Aimee's career and songwriting prowess would look like from their first album, you see some clear signs of it here, in particular Coming Up Close which to me stands out from the other material on the album and stands with her best solo work. I agree with @robcar that the album gets weaker as it goes on. If I average the rating of songs on the first side, I get a 4.2. For the second side, I get a 3.35, so it's a significant difference. Yet even with the weaker songs, they're still very listenable and not a bear to get through. I feel like Voices Carry is one thing - dated, of its time, and not very special at all except for the title track. Side 2 of Welcome Home is a meaningful evolution from that and makes the transition from fairly meaningless/empty fluff to enjoyable enough 80's music. Then Side 1 takes it another step up by increasing lyrical depth and provides us with examples of more timeless, sophisticated song writing. I think it's a fine album overall with some great songs. If Side 2 kept up the standards of Side 1, it would be a really excellent album, but we'll have to wait for the next album to get there. Overall album grade: 3.8/5
Today's song is "Yesterday", written by Aimee Mann. This was released on a vinyl Japanese-only single of Coming Up Close in 1986. Too tired to try to write down the words....sorry.
Yesterday.. After 4 listens I really like it. I think it would have been the weakest song on the album, therefore a good choice for a b-side. 3.5/5
A decent song, but I agree, weaker than the other songs on the album, weaker than most of the songs on the first album, too. The fuzzy sound on the YouTube clip (which is the only source I know of for this) doesn't help. 2.6/5
I think it’s a fine song and stylistically it actually foreshadows the 3rd album musically and production wise (I didn’t spend a lot of time listening to the lyrics, so no comments on those). To me, it wouldn’t be a weaker song on Welcome Home, nor one of the better songs. 3.5/5
While Welcome Home takes steps forward from Voices Carry, I don't listen that much to either one. In both cases Side 1 is way better than Side 2. While the songs on Welcome Home's Side 2 are better than those on Voices Carry's Side 2, it's not enough to make a practical difference. This problem goes away with the next album! This album does start to set the singer/songwriter style in motion which comes to full fruition soon. I enjoy the greater presence of Robert Holmes' guitar on this album compared to the debut as well.
"Yesterday" is a surprisingly good song for a rare b-side issued only in Japan. I actually like this more than about 3 of the songs on the album. Aimee would have a few stellar b-sides later on in her solo career (including one that I rank with her best songs period) and this is an early example of this. I would have placed this on Welcome Home and shifted one of the last three cuts to the b-side. Outstanding. 4.1/5
Today's song is "Sign Of Love" written by Mark Goldenberg and Jennifer Condos. Produced by John Boylan. I've seen this credited to both Aimee Mann (i.e., solo) and "Til Tuesday & Aimee Mann." From the soundtrack album from the film Back To The Beach. "A song I recorded for a movie as a favor to a producer friend that I didn't even write."
Actually, it's a pretty good pop song...there were certainly much worse from 1987 that were huge mega-hits. Still, a bit weird to see the usual downcast Aimee Mann doing this sort of rote (lyric-wise, anyway) pop song. Good vocal performance. 3.5/5
Sign Of Love.. oh dear.. 80s soundtrack dreck.. could it be more benign? I THINk I hear a familiar background vocal in the chorus so maybe that’s the reason for the Til Tuesday credit at some point? Maybe they only credited Aimee in the same way they only credited Ann Wilson for Best Man In The World on the Golden Child soundtrack- which sounds to me like a Heart song that would have competed with Never. They did release Ann’s song as single though (and it is an excellent track). Aimee’s vocal is decent.. but the mix.. it’s so lost and bland. 1.5/5. I only listened once, sorry. Glad I got to hear it tho.. sooo many Aimee ratites I’ve never heard.
I’ve listened to this a few more times and it’s been stuck in my head. It got me through a much dreaded dentist appt today getting a couple extractions with that ‘everyone’s afra-a-a-a-a-a-aid’ line. I really wish this would show up on a rarities comp. Quite the ear-worm.
I only have a passing interest in 'Til Tuesday so haven't contributed so far but a couple of things i can now add. 1. Yesterday was covered by Sarah Brightman on her As I Came Of Age album (1992 - I think) for a while i thought Aimee had provided backing vocals on the cover but i don't think that's the case. She's only credited as the writer. 2. Sign Of Love is on the controversial Ultimate Collection compilation, credited as 'Til Tuesday.
13 pages in and still the point at which I caught the Amiee Mann but hasn't been reached! To me Aimee is a wildly underappreciated artist, who made some of my favourite albums of the 90s. I'll definitely be joining in once this thread progresses to Whatever.
Sign of Love Yes, it’s lightweight and it sounds to me like it would have fit on Voices Carry or side two of Welcome Home. I don’t mind it at all. It’s catchy and fun enough. 3.1/5