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Whistle Stopper - The Flying Club Cup
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List Price: $13.98
Our Price: $9.16
Your Save: $ 4.82 ( 34% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: BA DA BING
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0600197005521
Label: BA DA BING
Manufacturer: BA DA BING
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: BA DA BING
Release Date: 2007-10-09
Studio: BA DA BING
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: interesting, different
Comment: I stumbled upon this on recommendations and found it alright and I listen to it fairly often.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Comment: So I was on YouTube one day and this band was featured as one of the "playing" videos on the homepage. I checked them out and fell in love! I had never shopped with Amazon before now - but I am going to do it again in the future. I was very pleased with the shipping time and the c.d. is great!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Homesick, fully grown children
Comment: This is their second LP release, and by far their best release to date.
Critics are quick to say Beirut's sound is Euro-stylized by influences like Jacques Brel and François Hardy. They're eager to compare the band's frontman, Zach Condron, to Scott Walker. It won't be long before they liken Beirut to the Tindersticks had Stuart Staples turned queer.
But "The Flying Club Cup" proved Zach Condon has developed a musical style beyond compare.
Whereas "Gulag Orkestar" showed that the self-ordained small time American band could meld Macedonian folk sounds with romantic classical European music stylings and bourgeoise bohemian sophistication, "The Flying Club Cup" uses this melded sound as the departure point toward a far more striking occurrence: style defined without subculture.
Timeless, ageless, genderless, cultureless, songs like "Cliquot" and "The Penalty" make "The Flying Club Cup" an album that could have come out of almost any place in the world at any point in history.
But it's not just universal in those senses. Perhaps because of frontman Zach Condon's sophisticated, mature air and voice, it was refreshing and unexpected to hear him sing such honest lyrics about love. It was, well, sweet. Better yet, it is why I think "The Flying Club Cup" is nothing short of genius.
In sum, "The Flying Club Cup": Beirut's balkan-gypsy-folk-french-euro-pop music style renowned in their first LP release, made even better with more mature lyrics for the young at heart.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Frech Flair
Comment: The Flying Club Cup contains the most compelling melodies and arrangements of songs inspired by French folk and popular music. Coban's addictive voice and the backing vocals are backed by an appealing instrumental mix that including horns, fiddles, piano, violin, viola, mandolin, brass, accordion, strings and layers of percussion. The sound is cohesive and authentic, for a full impressive sound on these beautiful tunes. My favorites include In The Mausoleum, Cliquot, Nantes and the title track. The mood is introspective, even sad at times, but engaging throughout on this unique and remarkable album. Repeated plays are advised, as the album slowly releases its layers of sonic beauty.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Atmospheric
Comment: The Flying Club Cup contains the most compelling melodies and arrangements of songs inspired by French folk and popular music. Coban's addictive voice and the backing vocals are backed by an appealing instrumental mix that including horns, fiddles, piano, violin, viola, mandolin, brass, accordion, strings and layers of percussion. The sound is cohesive and authentic, for a full impressive sound on these beautiful tunes. My favorites include In The Mausoleum, Cliquot, Nantes and the title track. The mood is introspective, even sad at times, but engaging throughout on this unique and remarkable album. Repeated plays are advised, as the album slowly releases its layers of sonic beauty.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Beirut's second LP purportedly takes inspiration from French chanson of yesteryear (as opposed to the Balkan folk of yesteryear). Bandleader Zach Condon has found a new home in Paris, and a new muse as well, quickly absorbing fodder from the likes of Francois Hardy or Jacques Brel. The music remains quite recognizably Beirut--in all its oom-pa glory--but the production value is stepped up a notch. It's through the dense arrangements that it reaches new heights, this without question being the fullest offering yet. The band appeared on Owen Pallet's (Final Fantasy/Arcade Fire) new album in exchange for the use of Arcade Fire's Masonic church studio, along with the exotic pile of instruments within. Pallet ended up contributing several string arrangements and the band made full use of the studio. The result is a truly orchestral take on the simpler gypsy stomp of Gulag Orkestar or the straight-up eight-piece live band of the Lon Gisland EP. Opener "Nantes" features a perfectly broken organ and introduces the wealth of percussion that continues throughout the album, as well as some samples of French TV or radio (the most explicit Franco-features are these sampled tidbits). Waltzing glockenspiels give way to a celebratory, raucous chorus on "La Banlieu." "Un Dernier Verre" features a skittering, jazzy piano bit (in 3/4 time, natch). The Flying Club Cup lacks the immediate hits that made Gulag Orkestar explode (like "Postcards from Italy" or "Mount Wroclai"). It works as an album rather than just a collection of songs. It's a more pensive presentation--dare I say it: more mature. Beirut remains mind-boggling work for a 21-year-old, and it's exciting to watch Condon's musical palette expand as he gathers the life experience to match his voice. --Jason Pace
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