Vanessa Carlton - Harmonium [Enhanced CD] - Amazon.com Music

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• 5.0 out of 5 stars Papa

  Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2005

  This is a great album and even better than Be Not Nobody. Although all the tracks are great, I'm just going to comment on a single song. The piano in Papa is just awesome. It gives me goosebumps. To be fully appreciated this song must be played loudly. A grand piano is a loud instrument and your car stereo just isn't going to do it justice. It needs to be played so that it is as loud as Vanessa hears it when she is sitting at the keyboard. The piano is powerful and complex in this work. The performance and writing for the piano reminds me of the phenomenal works of Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson back in the glory days of art rock. This is what Vanessa Carlton is all about and she is so underappreciated for it.
  

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• 4.0 out of 5 stars Vanessa enchants with her second album of diary-like entries. 4.4 stars.

  Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2005

  This album and her debut are fantastic. I used to think this album was better than Be Not Nobody but they are about tied. I enjoy the lyrics here more because they are cryptic and deeper but I enjoy the production much more on the first album. 2007's Heroes & Thieves was just fine, but that's about all it was. There were no deep and dark stories about loving a boy or feeling like dying on that CD. I did enjoy titles such as HANDS ON ME, COME UNDONE, MORE THAN THIS and especially the ballad HOME but that album overall just felt kinda incomplete and almost not like our dear V. I honestly hope she has at least 2 or 3 darker songs for us on her new album RABBITS ON THE RUN whenever it comes out....

  Anyhoo.

  My favorite songs on this album are:

  Track 1 WHITE HOUSES - a song about being with friends for a while, having good times but then losing it all by the end. Vanessa also speaks on losing her virginity in said song.

  Track 5 AFTERGLOW - a super-somber song. not totally sure what it's about though. i just love the tune and violins. probably my favorite on the album.

  Track 6 PRIVATE RADIO - the bounciest track on the album. very catchy and about a girl with insomnia.

  Track 7 HALF A WEEK BEFORE THE WINTER - i honestly think this song interprets to when Vanessa lost her virginity with the boy in WHITE HOUSES and it didn't turn out how she wanted. that's why there's this battle with unicorns (the innocence she lost and ideas that floated through her mind beforehand) and the vampires (the bloody-thirsty boy).

  There is no track that I don't enjoy here. The lyrics improved a lot from the debut and have more depth. I highly enjoy both her first 2 albums though. They are great. Heroes & Thieves was just good. I hope V returns to form with RABBITS ON THE RUN.

  4.4 stars.

  DOWNLOAD:
  "White Houses"
  "Afterglow"
  "Private Radio" &
  "Half A Week Before The Winter"

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• 5.0 out of 5 stars vc

  Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2013

  i love this cd! my favorite track on it is the first track ''white houses''. the whole cd is great. vanessa carlton in my eyes is the next stevie nicks without the blonde hair and taller. she sang a duet with stevie called ''the one'' with stevie duet on stevie's crystal visions tour which is on her third album, this is her second album. she's actually friends with stevie nicks. in a way stevie nicks is her mentor.
  

• 5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome as Expected

  Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2015

  Truly a talented singer and songwriter. I just love White Houses. Quite the piano player as well. The excellent accompaniment gives a good full bodied sound. A very solid album. Talent as opposed to bimbo attention seeker. Will definitely be getting Heroes and Thieves as well.
  

• 4.0 out of 5 stars Great sophomore album.

  Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2019

  Great sophomore effort by Vanessa. There are some really good songs on the album. Her songwriting is very personal and I like that she has her own distinctive style.
  

• 2.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as I had hoped

  Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2004

  It sounds somewhat incomplete and boring to me to listen similar kind of tunes through out the whole thing. Still better than figure head type musician but not as good as I hoped. Felt this is the limit of her or the producer so I don't plan to buy next album if same producer.