| View Larger Image | Empathy | Audio CDby Mandalay
| List Price: | $15.99 | |
| | Binding: | Audio CD | | Format: | Import | | Studio: | V2 | | Release Date: | March 20, 1998 | | Sales Rank: | 219,083th |
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TRACK LISTING |
Disc: 1
- Track 1: This Life
- Track 2: Flowers Bloom
- Track 3: Insensible
- Track 4: Another
- Track 5: Enough Love
- Track 6: All My Sins
- Track 7: Opposites
- Track 8: This Time Last Year
- Track 9: Kissing the Day
- Track 10: Beautiful
- Track 11: About You
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Album Description
Out of print in the U.S.! Second album from this Electronic dream Pop duo, originally released in 1998. Instrumentalist Saul Freeman had originally been a member of Thieves with controversial vocalist David McAlmont before forming Mandalay with Nicola Hitchcock. 11 tracks including 'This Life' and 'Flowers Bloom'. V2. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 4 reviews)
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WONDERFUL! by Soul Bird  5 Stars
October 13, 2008
The voice of Mandalay sounds like Everything But The Girl, but with more vibrato, and it has tasty pop/chill/hip-hop arrangements, which makes this CD a total winner! Perfect for mellowing out, this is a deep and rich recording that will show off your system. If you'd like dreamy type, catchy music with beautiful vocals then this one's for you!
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Exquisite "Empathy" by E. A Solinas (MD USA)  4 Stars
November 29, 2004
"You couldn't even bring yourself/ To stay, oh no/You had to go," Nicola Hitchcock sings accusingly in "Empathy," the fourth and final release by British trip-hop group Mandalay. Sounding a bit like a dreamier version of Portishead, "Empathy" is enchantingly smooth music coupled with Hitchcock's breathy vocals.
It starts off with the string-led ballad "This Life," before heading off into softer, dreamier territory, such as the trippy, sensuous "Flowers Bloom" ("Kisses my shoulder/Cradles his body/Behind mine/Shin to toe to thigh to mind..."), the airy piano ballad "Insensible," and the wistful "Beautiful." Only a few have sharper electronic sounds, like the bouncy trip-hop "Kissing the Day."
"Empathy" leans a bit more on the trip-hop than the pop edge, with a bit of symphonic grandeur mixed in with the horns and strings (or electronic approximations of them). This is definitely music to slow-dance to -- the sweet tone and abundance of love songs demands it.
Hitchcock's voice is the centerpiece of Mandalay. Her singing is a bit trembly and very sweet, like a lost child; the wispy vocals in "Insensible" add to the feel of frightened innocence. And her songs are well-suited -- they're a bit high-school-love-poetry in their simplicity, but they are quite pretty, especially when they stay simple. "Do you know you're beautiful?/You are, yes you are, you are," has an oddly touching resonance.
But if Hitchcock is the centerpiece, then Saul Freeman's electronic production is the flowers that cover the centerpiece. He manages a downtempo, almost jazzy sound, but switches over to soundscapes that stop just short of being epic, and the cascading electronica of "Kissing the Day." Samples of church bells are patched in, and what sounds like muted brass and violins.
Mandalay left on a high note in "Empathy" a truly beautiful album that seems all the more poignant because it was their last. Beautiful, mellow and sweet, this is a definite must-listen.
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This is a Perfect Phenomenal Duo ! by Arish (PhOenix , aZ) 5 Stars
January 11, 2003
I thought I had heard every type of great music there was to hear until I heard this group. This group is amazing the have a unique blend of Pop, Trip Hop with a little dab Hip Hop. Saul is a production Guru /Genius! and you add Nicola's lyrics and shivering vocals, it was untouchable. Mandalay is by far most, my favorite Trip Hop Band. There isn't anything missing with this group. I have everything they have ever made including the B-sides. Once I heard "This Life" on "The Next Best Thing" Sountrack I was petrified ! I went and haunted everything they ever made and payed whatever the cost was. There B-side collection is off the chain! Not even the throw away (B-side) tracks lacked any production or lyrical value. "Instinct" is the second lp they composed before the amazing duo called it quits. Its was beautiful as well, abit different but equal in quality. "Instinct" showcases a more mature Mandalay a lot more laid back but creative. "It's enough Now" is the masterpiece on "Instinct". "Solace" is nothing more than a U.S greatest hits. Trust me, It doesn't fully illustrate "Mandalays" full talent. Everything this band put their hands on was magic and amazing. Don't Hesitate to purchase their material at all, Trust me you won't be disapointed. I was extremley hurt when Nicola e-mailed me and told me they had called it quits. She now works with DJ Teisto. You will find her on a song called "In My Memory" but the magic isn't the same. Saul, I believe now does movie scores and instrumentals of some sort. Boy, what a waste of great talent. I was hoping they stayed together forever because it could have only gotten better. If you are interested in a similiar group try "Airlock"-Drystar they are the closest I have heard to this. Also "Madonna's Bedtime stories Lp" is some what reminisent of their sound. I can go on and on about this group but until you experience it, you will not know what you have missed. I have played this band to all nationalities and everyone saw what I saw in it. Nicola hates when I call her music Trip Hop! She refers to it as sophisticated Pop! But trust me this music is miles ahead of POP in my opinion that would be an insult. The beats are futuristic and extremley unique and well put together. When you hear the Slamin' Hip Hop Drums with a touch of Drum N'Bass with the Computer effects? You will feel me on this... and understand the wrath of Saul Freeman. 1. Empathy *****2. Instinct *****3. Solace (U.S Greatest Hits) ****4. And if you can find the singles with the B-sides definitley Do so!
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Why you haven't heard of this group. 5 Stars
October 29, 2001
Let's get this straight: this is a UK group that is the favorite of a lot of people outside of the US. Even Madonna loves this group and you really can't blame her. The trip-hop-lyrical prose of this group gets you reeling into a blissful earful of Empathy.If you like Portishead, you probably have already heard some of these songs. There is a "bootleg" album, called "PEARL" which is actually Mandalay. The style is the same, but the artists are very different. And in my opinion, Mandalay is much better. These songs are worth the price: they're impossible to find and they are incredible otherwise. Buy it, listen to it, spread the word. Mandalay the musical group is completely here to stay.
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SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
| Solace
by Mandalay
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| Instinct
by Mandalay
Sophomore album for UK electronica duo featuring multi-instrumentalist, Saul Freeman (Thieves) and vocalist Nicola Hitchcock whose been described as, 'an intelligible Liz Fraser'. Mellow, moody ethereal pieces with floaty vocals, ala Portished, Cocteau Twins and Tori Amos. Includes the first single, 'Deep Love'. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.
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| Passive Aggressive
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| Love in the Time of Science
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| Sit Down and Listen To
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Subtitled - The Live Theater Recordings. European edition of the Belgian ambient pop act's 2003 newly recorded acoustic sessions features 14 tracks including a beautiful rendition of Lee Hazelwood's 'My Autumn's Done Come' along with the new single 'The Last Thing I Need Is You & 1 bonus track, 'The Last Thing I Need Is You'. Columbia.
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