| | Air Pocket Symphony CD Air Discography of CDs
 (3 Customer Reviews)
Released in early 2007, POCKET SYMPHONY finds Air once again working with outside singers, as the French electronica duo did on '01's 10,000 HZ LEGEND. This time around, the guests are British vocalists Neil Hannon (aka the Divine Comedy) and Jarvis Cocker (formerly of Pulp), with the latter lending his signature droll charm to the woozy "One Hell of a Party."
The Hannon and Cocker tracks aside, SYMPHONY largely serves as a fine companion piece to the supremely laid-back TALKIE WALKIE, with Nicolas Godin and J.B. Dunckel once again tweaking their own half-whispered vocals under the guidance of producer Nigel Godrich (Beck, Radiohead), most notably on the dreamy, drifting "Once Upon a Time" and "Redhead Girl," which comes across as an ambient cousin to WALKIE's "Cherry Blossom Girl." While Air fans hoping for upbeat tunes like "Sexy Boy" and "Radio Number 1" will be left empty-handed, POCKET SYMPHONY reinforces the notion that Godin and Dunckel are most fascinating when thoroughly at ease.
Air (France): Nicolas Godin (vocals, guitar, koto, shamisen, bass shamisen, piano, bass synthesizer, glockenspiel, bass guitar, drum machine, tambourine); JB Dunckel (vocals, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, synthesizer, vibraphone, glockenspiel, xylophone, percussion, sampler); Tony Allen (vocals, drum); Magic Malik (flute); Joey Waronker (drum, percussion).Spin (p.86) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he tunes occupy a hushed netherworld between classical minimalists like Erik Satie and Timbaland."
Q (p.117) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T[he ethereal vocals and lush synths on 'Photography' and 'Napalm Love' are beautifully crafted..."
CMJ (p.42) - "[F]amiliar Air, but with a decidedly more pop/rock feel. The synths still sparkle..."
No Depression (p.86) - "POCKET SYMPHONY is an exercise in mournful minimalism....The great, torpid 'One Hell Of A Party' serves up the world's saddest piano..." Air Pocket Symphony Songs Pocket Symphony Music Review Average Rating: (4.3 out of 5 stars)   Very moody.
This album delves far into the deepest, darkest corners of our psyches and dresses those elements up in the glossy melodic electronica pop that Air is most famous for. When you listen to this album, all of those demons surface in your emotions and face you as you listen. This is not a happy album, unlike Air's debut, "Moon Safari", which was jovial as well as experimental. It's also slower, rarely if ever coming out of a slow tempo. An interesting observation somebody, I forget who, made was that Air is the perfect band to make movie soundtracks out of. After listening to this album, I feel inclined to believe that person. What an interesting evolution for a band that makes such interesting music. Worthy for fans, but don't expect constant "WOW"-ing. You'll feel more like "Omigawrsh, WHAT HAPPENED in that song?"
Submitted by Galen (Anchorage, AK, USA)
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 How do you say genius in french?
All of their albums have wowed me and this one is no different. Another reviewer was right in saying it is subtler than their other albums and the first listen I wasn't very impressed but now I listen to it constantly. Mer du Japon while having simple and repetitive lyrics is an infectious and beautiful song and has been stuck in my head for ages. I love it.
Submitted by ufckhtis (Portland, OR, USA)
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Not something that will blow you away
This record requires multiple listens to discover its high points. On first listen no track really stands out. It is quite unlike their previous records. It is subtler and more of a complete record. Not their best but not bad.
Submitted by Go Flames Go! (Calgary, AB, Canada)
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Purchase Pocket Symphony CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Air Moon Safari CD (1998)
Pocket Symphony
 $12.55  
Principally recorded at Around The Golf studio and Gang Studio, Paris, France.
Their trans-Atlantic notoriety may have come amidst compilations of French house and electronic scenes, but Nicolas Godin and JB Dunckel are not just another pair of Gallic beat-miners. Like DJs and studio wizards, the duo known as Air does construct their records pastiche-style; but instead of unleashing dancefloor-friendly "tracks", they come up with mellow abstractions for retro-minded chill-out rooms, flaunting their analog instrumentation and love for make-out melodies every step of the way.
MOON SAFARI, Air's full-length debut, is like a fuzzy, blissful daydream in which a glowing ambiance pervades over a crossroads of '60s French pop, '70s Philly soul and '80s Eurodisco. Rarely does the tempo reach mid, and when it does ("Kelly Watch The Stars" and "Le Voyage de Penelope"), it's on the strength of funky synth-pop grooves. Overall, their sounds are rarely less than kaleidoscopic, enveloping the listener in happy, high-IQ muzak. If it sounds somewhat disposable, it's because all good pop should. It is the fact that one can't leave Air's aural confections behind that makes MOON SAFARI great.
Additional personnel includes: ...
| | Chills Kaleidoscope World CD (1990) (Import) Import; New Zealand
Pocket Symphony
$19.69
KALEIDOSCOPE WORLD contains 10 bonus tracks and represents everything the band recorded through early 1986, including all of the LOST EP, and the I LOVE MY LEATHER JACKET/THE GREAT ESCAPE 12"
KALEIDOSCOPE WORLD, The Chills' 18-track compilation culled from The Chills early and mid-'80s EPs and singles, is highlighted by the song "Pink Frost."
The Chills' Martin Phillipps mixes up melodic pop with elements of garage rock and punk, creating songs with a sweet melancholy all their own. Phillipps has always been the focus of the Chills, writing and singing the band's songs. His group has also rivaled Menudo in its sheer number of personnel changes. In a just world, the Chills would have sold just as many records.
KALEIDOSCOPE WORLD showcases the shifting line-ups and many moods of the early to mid-'80s Chills. "Rolling Moon" captures a mood of shambling joy, its simple, repeated keyboard riff sounding like a distant caravan crossing New Zealand's big-sky country. "Pink Frost" is undoubtedly one of the Chills' two or three finest songs, an eerie tale of finding one's lover dead and being stricken with waves of icy panic. Phillipps's ghostly voice floats over glacial, plucked chords, its elegance and restraint only adding to the menace. "I Love My Leather Jacket" could have been written for the wake of "Pink Frost'"s dead lover. The Chills' pumped-up fuzz guitars and a celebratory chorus of "I love my leather jacket/I love ...
| | Arcade Fire Neon Bible CD (2007)
Pocket Symphony
$12.05 
Almost three years after the Arcade Fire's 2004 full-length debut, FUNERAL, stunned indie-rock fans with its majestic scope and romantic ferocity, the Montreal-based ensemble returned with NEON BIBLE. Although the album lacks the from-out-of-nowhere ...
| | Killing Floor CD (2007) (Import) With Book; Limited Edition; Digipak; Germany
Pocket Symphony
$25.39
| | Danny Kirwan Second Chapter CD (2008) (Import) With Book; Limited Edition; Digipak; Germany
Pocket Symphony
$18.75
| | Legend CD (2007) (Import) With Book; Limited Edition; Digipak; Germany
Pocket Symphony
$26.49
| | Ultimate Christmas Album 5: Wogl Philadelphia CD (2000)
Pocket Symphony
$13.29
| | British Oi! Working Class Anthems CD (2000) (Import) Import; United Kingdom
Pocket Symphony
$15.95
Step-1. 2005.
| | Jerry Jerome Live May 19, 1998 CD (1999)
Pocket Symphony
$15.25
| | Joe Jackson Beat Crazy CD (1980) (Import) Import; United Kingdom
Pocket Symphony
$13.15
| | Liz Janes Done Gone Fire, 12 Songs By CD (2002)
$12.19 | | Sammy Davis, Jr Ultimate Rat Pack Collection: Live And Swingin' CD (2003)
Pocket Symphony
$20.95
Recorded live at The Villa Venice Night Club, Chicago, Illinois between November 26 & December 2, 1962. Includes liner notes by Bill Zehme.
In 2001, THE RAT PACK LIVE AT THE SANDS was released, a live album from the early 1960s capturing the onstage antics of notorious cohorts Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin. Two years later, THE ULTIMATE RAT PACK COLLECTION picks up where its predecessor left off. Disc One features a different live recording from the same era, capturing the trio in all their martini-swilling glory. The second disc is a DVD of another performance from a few years later. Even though the video finds the Rat Pack nearing the end of its tether in 1965, the chemistry and onstage dynamism is just as remarkable.
Both discs feature the three singers performing both alone and together, and engaging in plenty of clowning around with each other. The DVD is heavier on classic Sinatra tunes, but the first disc has even more Dean-and-Frank schtick. That said, the footage of Sammy running through "One for My Baby" in the styles of about a dozen different singers is an uproarious ...
| | Exile Live At Billy Bob's Texas CD (2005)
Pocket Symphony
$13.05
| | Minmae I'D Be Scared, Were You Still Burning CD (2005)
Pocket Symphony
$10.09
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