Puzzles

Editorial Reviews
About the Artist
Headmess is a project to add to the music experience with a challenge. Over half of the songs written are not only rap songs but also word puzzles of some sort. Can you solve them by listening? Doubtful, but maybe. Can you solve them by reading the lyrics? Your chances dramatically improve. A couple of clues from the CD jacket should do the trick though--but warning, it may take some work!

And if the brainteasing is all more than you really want to deal with, then just sit back and listen to some great music.

Album Description
This is the second album for Headmess, formerly known as Underbelly (first album "shade").

This CD shows Headmess with a rawer sound--the music is, on the whole, more street than his first effort. It also shows a heightened lyrical sophistication. As hard as the lyrical ideas were in the first album to solve, here in "Puzzles", the Headmess lyrics exhibit underlyingly even more complex structures.

You can try to solve the puzzles, 3 of them, on your own, or, if you'd like a little help, additional clues are provided on the CD jacket. Further clues and even solutions to some songs are provided at the funkytickle website.

Tracks:

Truck Driving Man
Puzzles Like You
Breaking The Ice
Running With Your Eyes Closed
Most Days
Big Star Baby
Ghost Ship Waiting
Kill The Lights
You Said It Before
To Hold Your Tiny Toes
Just A Boy
The Mutineer

Album Description

Their fifth album for 4AD in a relationship that has now spanned a dozen years. "Puzzles" sees the band moving forward in an unexpected direction; these songs are more immediate and poppy than anything they recorded before. The album is filled with the life-affirming light of Mojave 3's Cornish home - splashed with sunlight and the heady sparkle of summertime waves. "Puzzles" is infectious and downright fun, a fact reflected in the exuberant artwork supplied by artist/film director Thomas Campbell (whose film "Sprout" used generous amounts of Mojave and Halstead music), and the marvelously quirky video for "Breaking The Ice" directed by Bradley Beesley (Flaming Lips). Subtle and gorgeous music.

Customer Reviews:

Big Star Baby.......2006-12-30

Not your typical Mojave 3 album. Those hoping for more explorations of their Slowdive-ish shoegazer roots will likely be put off this melding of lively 70's sun-drenched folk-pop with the more upbeat world of power pop. All the stops have been released, and what's presented is a sharply produced record that engagingly exceeds the a-bit-too-earnest shine of similar efforts by bands like Phoenix (circa '06). Instead an organic warmth bleeds through the rapid-fire drumbreaks of the title track and "Breaking The Ice," both have an unforced energy that rivals the best of the current crop of Swedish 70's copycats. There are still a few songs that take their time like "Most Days," forging a link between the old and the new. But the rest gives the impression that you've unexpectedly discovered a mid-period Teenage Fanclub album that you never knew existed.

Overall, Thumbs Up.......2006-12-22

I was a Slowdive fan before Mojave 3. It took some time for me to enjoy every Mojave 3 record after the release of "Ask Me Tomorrow." It took me quite a few listenings until I really connected with the music.

This record is no exception.

Let it play for a while and you will hear this really is a good record. Thats why I always buy a new Mojave 3 album when it comes out. I know that eventually I will really like it.

*sidenote* Track 12 is of utmost quality. It think track 12 should appeal to many of the Slowdive and "Ask Me Tomorrow" fans. Drop the 15 bucks and buy this record.

3.5 stars actually.......2006-10-06

They traded in their acuostic guitars for electric ones. That's not to say, howerver, that this is an electric album. On their past albms they would fill their songs with acoustic rhythm and punctuate them with well timed electric leads or wonderfully jaunty piano riffs. On this album they have (for the most part) replaced the acoustic rhythm with electric rhythm and somewhere along the way the songs got a little lost in the translation. Clean toned electric guitars against a backdrop of, you guessed, clean toned electric guitars, there's no room for the songs to breath, there's nowhere for them to go, there's no fight in them.

I am a die hard Mojave 3 fan, so for me to write such a critical review is a hard thing for me to do, but take this into account... it still got a 3.5 from me, now that's saying something.

Mojave 3 Delivers Again!.......2006-07-30

I rarely write reviews, but I just have to say something about this fantastic album. I've been a Mojave 3 fan for about eight months now, having discovered Slowdive a few months before. I've become enamored with this band -- their music is so beautiful and soulful. I was a bit worried about this album, since I had read that it would be more fast-paced, less mellow than their past albums. But wow, after my first listen-through, it completely put me at ease, and I've been listening to it non-stop ever since.

Of course, it is a more up-tempo album than "Out of Tune", or "Excuses for Travellers". The first song, "Truck Driving Man" really gets things going, and you know you'll be in for an interesting ride. The album maintains a fairly even pace, with several more traditional Mojave 3 songs strewn throughout. It all flows very well. Neil's songwriting is as good as ever, and while Rachel doesn't headline any tracks, her backing vocals add that extra element that really makes Mojave 3 special.

IMO, the material on this album can easily stand toe-to-toe with anything the band has ever done. I haven't decided yet, but I think this just may be my favorite Mojave 3 album so far. It really feels like a natural progression of their music, and you're left with this desire to hear them play on and on. I really just can't believe how good it is -- so often, when bands try something new, they end up irritating their fans with the new direction, and putting out music that isn't really up to par with their previous material. Little wonder that the folks who transitioned from the psychadelic Slowdive to Mojave 3's rolling melodies could pull off this new endeavor so well, and deliver some of their best music ever.

An album of what music is all about.......2006-07-22

At first I thought Neil H. was trying too hard and coming off insincere. Now after 2 week I am playing it constantly. Holy Moly. This is what music is meant to be. It makes you feel. You feel The Big Picture bathing your cells and then them nodding rhythmically knowingly, like only music can do.

Edit: I saw them in concert and it was a beautiful experience - Waves of beauty filling the space around me with bliss.

Average customer rating:

Puzzles
Ed Bruce
Manufacturer: Bear Family
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Country | Styles | Music

Outlaw & Progressive Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Rockabilly | Oldies & Retro | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

This Old Hat
12 Classics
Changed
Jones Sings Haggard, Haggard Sings Jones: Kickin' Out the Footlights... Again
This Old Road

ASIN: B000001B38
Release Date: 1995-05-02

Tracks:

Puzzles
Blue Denim Eyes
By Route Of New Orleans
Shadows Of Her Mind
Lonesome Is Me
Tiny Golden Locket
If I Could Just Go Home
Walker's Woods
Give Me More Than You Take
I'm Getting Better
Painted Girls And Wine
The Price I Pay To Stay
Something Else To Mess Your Mind
I Know Better
Memphis Morning
Blue Bayou
Why Can't I Come Home
Last Train To Clarksville
Her Sweet Love And The Baby
I'll Take You Away
Ninety Seven More To Go
I'd Best Be Leaving You
Puzzles
The Ballad Of The Drummer Boy
Painted Girls And Wine
Blue Bayou (Overdub)
Give Me More Than You Take
I'd Best Be Leaving You
Puzzles

Average customer rating:

Puzzles
Ed Bruce
Manufacturer: Bear Family
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Country | Styles | Music

Outlaw & Progressive Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Rockabilly | Oldies & Retro | Rock | Styles | Music

Traditional Country | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Country | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

This Old Hat
12 Classics
Changed
Jones Sings Haggard, Haggard Sings Jones: Kickin' Out the Footlights... Again
This Old Road

ASIN: B0000282S1
Release Date: 1995-03-31

Tracks:

Puzzles
Blue Denim Eyes
By Route Of New Orleans
Shadows Of Her Mind
Lonesome Is Me
Tiny Golden Locket
If I Could Just Go Home
Walker's Woods
Give Me More Than You Take
I'm Getting Better
Painted Girls And Wine
The Price I Pay To Stay
Something Else To Mess Your Mind
I Know Better
Memphis Morning
Blue Bayou
Why Can't I Come Home
Last Train To Clarksville
Her Sweet Love And The Baby
I'll Take You Away
Ninety Seven More To Go
I'd Best Be Leaving You
Puzzles
The Ballad Of The Drummer Boy
Painted Girls And Wine
Blue Bayou (Overdub)
Give Me More Than You Take
I'd Best Be Leaving You
Puzzles

Average customer rating:

Puzzles and Perfect Beauty

Manufacturer: Noyse Productions
ProductGroup: Classical
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000KRK7EC

Product Description

While the miseries of famine, disease, political chaos and chronic warfare which made life in the Fourteenth Century a challenge we hope never to relive, ever-resourceful artists and craftsmen managed to produce a veritable sea of treasures for the eyes and ears. The Newberry Consort brings a few of these treasures to life in Noyse Productions' first compact disc release. Go to www.noyseproductions.com to download extensive notes, texts and translations, and to hear samples of this recording and other fine recordings of early music.

Premonitions: Lindisfarne Stone/Chinese Puzzles

Average customer rating:

Premonitions: Lindisfarne Stone/Chinese Puzzles
Clarke , Skaerved , Thomsen , Heyde , and Watson
Manufacturer: Metier
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00004TSB2
Release Date: 2000-05-15

Average customer rating:

Magic & Math Puzzles & Laughs!
Anno's Learning Games
Manufacturer: Uni/Putnam New Media
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000002NVO
Release Date: 1994-08-30

Average customer rating:

clever and memorable
clever songwriter/straightforward alt-country
Catchy and Clever Tunes
Twang with a Twist!
Stories You Tell Your Friends Over a Few Beers

Critic's Darling
Steve Mardon
Manufacturer: Egregious Typo
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Country | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Country Folk | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0001CVE6Q
Release Date: 2004-01-16

Tracks:

Critic's Darling
I'll Take a Tuesday
Right on Red
Rated X
High on Your Love
Tex's Tune
Doctors Today
Elpie's Lament
Fear Factor
Coffee and Beer
New Girl at the Office
When I'm Drunk
Smiles and Laughs and Dances
Distracted
Short-Term Romance, Long-Term Pain
CD Song
Crossword Puzzle Blues (live)
I Couldnt Have Done It Without You (live)

Album Description

18 original songs from the Boston-based songwriter, including the local hits "Coffee & Beer" and "New Girl at the Office."

Customer Reviews:

clever and memorable.......2004-02-02

The album is a good mix of Steve's catchy, funny tunes (such as "Coffee and Beer" and "The CD Song") and his more serious, melancholic tunes such as my favorite, "Right on Red." There is something for everyone, whether you want to tap your toes to the twangy blugrass sound or appreciate good lyrics and melodies.

clever songwriter/straightforward alt-country.......2004-01-31

There's some great tunes on this. On "I'll Take a Tuesday", the chorus gets me every time. For anyone coming out of a relationship or trying to get into one, this album will hit a lot of right chords.

Catchy and Clever Tunes.......2004-01-31

Mardon's sound is a folk/country hybrid with some songs heavier on the twang than others. There are many clever tunes (When I'm Drunk, Coffee and Beer, New Girl at the Office, Tex's Tune)--with lyrics that bear a close listening. However, for me, it is some of the less cute songs (Right on Red, I'll Take a Tuesday) that truly resonate, while others such as Doctors Today manage to be both witty and moving.

Twang with a Twist!.......2004-01-31

Great lyrics...I always start my day with coffee and end it with a beer!

Stories You Tell Your Friends Over a Few Beers.......2004-01-31

Great CD. Music with a great deal of meaning. The lyrics cover the highs and lows of everyday people and everyday lives. Part of why the songs stick in your head so much is that you live them out everyday. If somebody made a comedy about the stories you tell your friends over a few beers, this would be the soundtrack.

Average customer rating:

I didn't think I liked rap music!

Puzzles
Headmess
Manufacturer: Funky Tickle Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

Pop Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music

General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00006IZXT
Release Date: 2002-09-15

Tracks:

Wrap (Puzzle)
Mysterious Ways (Puzzle)
War & Peace
Rapsody in Blue
Bang, bang
Check me out (Puzzle)

Album Description

This is the second album for Headmess, formerly known as Underbelly (first album "shade").

Customer Reviews:

I didn't think I liked rap music!.......2004-05-26

Love this cd! The beats are good - the lyrics are sublime (read while you listen - so much added dimension!) - who knew?

Clever, witty, funny, hip, danceable - just great!!

Amazon.com Review

"We hope that while browsing this adventure, you share with us this conviction: that multimedia can be the carrier of dreams, of humor, of memories, of peculiarity and of escape, in a world of emotions." --Eric Viennot, software creator

Well, we're happy to report that this imported French software from Lexis Numerique successfully lives up to its trippy ambitions. Ostensibly a "hunt" for treasure, this CD-ROM is a treasure unto itself, granting special rewards from the second you hear the first crinkly album page. Whether it takes you two days or two years to finally uncover the book's buried goods, you won't really care, because you'll simply be too immersed in the moody atmosphere, detailed textures, and compelling activities inside Uncle Albert's strange, yellowing tomb.

A sophisticated blend of video, audio, and visual elements, this great narrative quest begins with a flickering 16mm-style "film" of an elderly wild-eyed collector who--we learn in voiceover--spent all day "raising insects, counting stars, or building weird useless machines in his workshop." He was also a compulsive diarist who recorded all his stories and experiments in a large, ornate, 16-page album. Unfortunately, a small creature became trapped inside his album as well. It is your job to use a selection of the album's interesting tools (such as whistle, camera, fire, and watering can) to solve a series of thematic creative challenges and puzzles (such as space adventures and an ancient Egyptian archaeology dig), thus freeing the critter and earning the final treasure.

Full of scurrying insects, secret passages, and mysterious challenges, this CD-ROM will hook you and your kids for hours on end. The only misfortune in this product is the translation quality: certain words are completely incorrect ("sledgehammer" instead of "jackhammer") and others were very poorly chosen ("gun" where it should be "missile launcher"). Otherwise, this is a wise and wonderful product. It offers a perfect chance for children to learn that it's not where you're going that counts, it's how you get there. (Ages 9 and older) --Jean Lenihan

Amazon.com Product Description

Is Uncle Albert's wonderful treasure really lost? After finding his magical album up in the attic, you may think differently--that is if you can answer riddles, avoid traps, and open secret passages hidden in the fantastic album. The sneaky little creatures, fun tools, and strange machines you encounter from page to page may help you on your quest for the lost treasure. It is up to you to prove your intelligence, sense of observation, and skill. (Ages 9 and older)