Tragic Magic

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Tragic Magic
Tragic Magic.jpg
Studio album by
Madder Rose
Released1997
Label Atlantic [1]
Producer Billy Coté
Madder Rose chronology
Panic On
(1994)		Tragic Magic
(1997)		 Hello June Fool
(1999)

Tragic Magic, also stylized as tragicmagic, is an album by the American band Madder Rose, released in 1997. [2] [3] The band promoted the album by touring with Junior Cottonmouth. [4]

Contents

Production

The album was produced by bandmember Billy Coté, who also wrote most of the lyrics. [5] [6] It was Madder Rose's first album with bass player Chris Giammalvo. [7] The band added elements of funk and hip hop to its sound. [8] Later editions of the album contain different opening tracks, "Narco" and "Jailbird". [9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [10]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Entertainment Weekly B− [11]
The Evening Post Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Los Angeles Daily News Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [13]
The Republican Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]

Entertainment Weekly wrote that the album "is frustratingly half-baked and suffers from near-funereal pacing... Fortunately, Mary Lorson's lighter-than-air vocals counter even the most sedative of tracks." [11] The Washington Post thought that "the melodies are sturdy... It's tunes like 'Hung Up in You', more than the revisited folk-hop sound, that provides most of the album's appeal." [15] The Los Angeles Daily News praised the "innovative, bass-heavy sound and standout songs." [12] The Republican opined that "the seductive grooves of 'My Star', and the mildly appealing '(She's a) Satellite', are two of the only salvageable moments here." [14]

The Dayton Daily News stated: "Sometimes laid-back jazzy, sometimes spacey coffeehouse pop, always lyrically introspective, there really isn't a bad cut here." [16] Guitar Player called Coté a "vibey and tasteful popster," writing that he "dials in a music store's worth of tones-pristine arpeggios, scritchy wah washes, fuzzy flashbacks, surf solos, hypnotic noir motifs." [5]

AllMusic wrote that, "as if to signal that they were still hip, Madder Rose incorporated heavy elements of trip-hop on Tragic Magic, and while that gambit failed for some of their peers, the band manages to blend the dance and guitar-pop well." [10]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."My Star" 
2."Real Feel" 
3."Float to the Top" 
4."Hung Up in You" 
5."Delight's Pool" 
6."(She's a) Satellite" 
7."Peter and Victor" 
8."Best Friend" 
9."Scenes from 'Starbright'" 
10."Midnight on the Dot" 
11."Don Greene" 
12."Not Perfect" 
UK Version with alterative tracks and mixes
No.TitleLength
1."Narco" 
2."Jailbird" 
3."My Star" 
4."Real Feel" 
5."Float to the Top" 
6."Hung Up in You" 
7."Delight's Pool" 
8."Peter & Victor" 
9."Best Friend" 
10."Scenes from "Starbright"" 
11."Don Greene" 
12."Not Perfect" 

Uk versions of Tragic Magic were labeled with alternative tracks and mixes [17]

References

  1. ↑ Frampton, Scott (August 1997). "Madder Rose by Any Other Sound". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 48. p. 18.
  2. ↑ Blush, Steven (October 4, 2016). New York Rock: From the Rise of The Velvet Underground to the Fall of CBGB. St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN   9781250083623.
  3. ↑ "Madder Rose Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  4. ↑ "Junior Achievers". Ticket. The Sacramento Bee. August 1, 1997. p. 3.
  5. 1 2 Obrecht, Jas (October 1997). "Tragic Magic". Guitar Player. Vol. 31, no. 10. p. 111.
  6. 1 2 Houlahan, Mike (August 14, 1997). "Madder Rose: Tragic Magic". Features. The Evening Post. p. 24.
  7. 1 2 Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. p. 423.
  8. ↑ Wirt, Jon (September 12, 1997). "Madder Rose Tragic Magic". Fun. The Advocate. p. 7.
  9. ↑ Thrills, Adrian (January 29, 1999). "Madder Rose: Tragic Magic". Daily Mirror. p. 48.
  10. 1 2 "Tragic Magic". AllMusic.
  11. 1 2 "Tragic Magic". Entertainment Weekly.
  12. 1 2 Shuster, Fred (July 4, 1997). "Sound Check". Los Angeles Daily News. p. L22.
  13. ↑ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 704.
  14. 1 2 O'Hare, Kevin (July 13, 1997). "Madder Rose, 'Tragic Magic'". The Republican. p. E6.
  15. ↑ "Madder Rose 'Tragic Magic'". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  16. ↑ Rollins, Ron (June 27, 1997). "Recordings in Brief". Go!. Dayton Daily News. p. 19.
  17. ↑ "UK CD version of Tragic Magic".
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