Aimee Mann - @#%&*! Smilers (Special Edition)

Bring the band back

I couldn't wait to get this new CD by Aimme Mann. I listened to it over and over but it just isn't soaking in. I preferred the full band albums complete with drums and faster tempos. I'm hoping this is just a phase and she will return to a full band soon. And I hope she returns to Florida, the state she seems to put off on her tours. There are fans south of Atlanta Aimee. The acoustic thing is ok for a short time but not a whole album and 2 tours. I remember when I saw her in Atlanta for the Lost In Space tour and she opened with "The Moth", the drums kicked in and it was electrifying! I miss that feeling. Hope it returns.
Disappointing. September 28, 2008

@#%&*! Aimee!

@#%&*! Smilers
She's a great songwriter and while her and her husband went off and did their own concept albums last time (didn't care for her boxing album...Did I hear she did a dark Christmas album? No, she didn't...Man, it must cost a lot to live in LA) this is as compelling and addictive as Lost in Space for me.

I like the horns and the electronics, they seem to add more to her minimalistic song structures than studio cleansed guitars of albums past.

I would have seen her in concert when she comes to town but opening for Squeeze? Don't think I could sit through that. I'm sure while that band would look back at their perfectly coiffed 80s hits, Mann, will, no doubt musically, existentially, keep looking forward...That's what separates her from the rest, I believe.

Aimee is consistently fresh with her stories and even if she's comes across as a bit California-condescending in her observations at times and still clunks a bit with her references (Anne Sexton) and precious with Mr. Eggers whistling (Please...), she still carries a pop tune as well as she always has.

Jim Harris
A Bottle of Rain
Nowhere Near the Sea of Cortez September 21, 2008

Solid workmanship, but a tad pale

Smilers sounds like comfortable songwriting, comfortable arrangements. Where is the bite, the passion, the variety?

Aimee can produce great work. But where on Smilers is there anything so pretty and cleverly snotty as Amateur (from I'm With Stupid), or infectiously jangly as 50 Years After The Fair? Where is anything so biting and punk as Long Shot, or sweet and heartfelt as Mr. Harris?

Inevitably one must compare the present record with her past artistic successes. Stylistic differences aside, differences in instrumentation aside, I am not hearing the brilliance here that I am used to from her previous work up to Lost In Space. It sounds like an album that got cranked out because it was time to crank out another album.

I can't criticize those who enjoy this. I disagree that this is anywhere near her best work. The songs aren't bad. But to me they sound more like what would pass for bonus tracks or b-sides on previous albums and singles. Aimee sounds like she's reached a point in her career where she needs to be shaken up artistically, challenged to explore new heights and depths. Smilers just glides rock solid right down the middle of the freeway. What this music needs is some hairpin turns and steep grades and potholes and getting the wheels over close to the edge of the cliff so we can look down and have a thrill or two. That's what Aimee has led me to expect from her music, and I'm not getting it this time. September 14, 2008

Great CD by Aimee

I have this CD and it is Awsome! Every song I like. Aimee did a great job writing and performing. If you like Aimee Mann's music I really believe you'll like this one. August 20, 2008

I can't stop smiling

It's difficult for me to put into words how fantastic this CD is...I love it. Let me say that again...I @#%&*! love it. I've enjoyed it so much that I went and purchased Aimee's live CD/DVD performance recorded at St. Ann's and several of her older CD's. It's not like I haven't always enjoyed her music, its just that this CD really struck a chord with me and I find myself getting choked up listening to it. After 25 years of buying music I find that I always return to listen to just a handful of the hundreds upon hundreds of Cd's I have purchased in my lifetime and I know this one will always remain close by, ready for another spin. Now I'm hoping a live set similar to the St. Ann effort will follow. August 20, 2008

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