the sound of music by pizzicato five

Entertainment Weekly - "...While their retro tendencies lend a patina of kitsch to the proceedings, they go at it with a sophistication and polish that sidesteps cheese. In other words, they mean it." - Rating: B+ Melody Maker - "...I love Pizzicato Five. If you do, too, then you are my friend. If you don't, you will. Oh yes, you will." Spin - 8 - Very Good - "...this Japanese duo is cute, kitschy, cuddly--what Hello Kitty might sound like....The sound is now a little less funky, a bit more thumpy and considerably fuller and jazzier..." Q - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...bulging with brilliantly executed retro-pop..." NME - 6 (out of 10) - "...P5 spin in a storybook orbit where every day is a potential magazine cover, where kitsch is king, and where fame and fortune are just the flick of a feather boa away....[THE SOUND OF MUSIC] collects all manner of musical styles..." Musician - "...the only thing standing between the P-5 and stardom is that they sing in Japanese....the heart of the P-5's sound is its giddy, grab-bag blend of '60s pop, '70s soul, and '90s alterna-chic. That needs no translation..." Spin (12/95, p.118) - 8 - Very Good - "...this Japanese duo is cute, kitschy, cuddly--what Hello Kitty might sound like....The sound is now a little less funky, a bit more thumpy and considerably fuller and jazzier..." Musician (11/95, p.95) - "...the only thing standing between the P-5 and stardom is that they sing in Japanese....the heart of the P-5's sound is its giddy, grab-bag blend of '60s pop, '70s soul, and '90s alterna-chic. That needs no translation..." Q (2/96, p.101) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...bulging with brilliantly executed retro-pop..." Melody Maker (6/15/96, p.43) - "...I love Pizzicato Five. If you do, too, then you are my friend. If you don't, you will. Oh yes, you will." NME (6/22/96, p.54) - 6 (out of 10) - "...P5 spin in a storybook orbit where every day is a potential magazine cover, where kitsch is king, and where fame and fortune are just the flick of a feather boa away....[THE SOUND OF MUSIC] collects all manner of musical styles..." Entertainment Weekly (11/3/95, p.65) - "...While their retro tendencies lend a patina of kitsch to the proceedings, they go at it with a sophistication and polish that sidesteps cheese. In other words, they mean it." - Rating: B+

Beautifully packaged in a minimalistic white Digipak overlaid with a clear plastic band cryptically announcing "Music is organised by sound", 1995's THE SOUND OF MUSIC looks considerably more elegant and mysterious than the amusing retro-kitsch graphics of Pizzicato Five's 1994 U.S. debut, MADE IN USA. Like its predecessor, THE SOUND OF MUSIC is a compilation, gathering almost equally from two Japan-only releases, BOSSA NOVA 2001 and OVERDOSE. But where MADE IN USA hedged its bets by focusing on the Japanese duo's most straightforward English-language tracks, THE SOUND OF MUSIC kicks off with the bizarre BYE BYE BIRDIE homage "We Love Pizzicato Five" and dives headfirst into giddily hyperkinetic pop-culture-in-a-Cuisinart romps like "Groovy Is My Name" and "If I Were a Groupie". Quotes from Bacharach, Barry White, disco, the Beatles, and Kraftwerk enliven Yasuharu Konishi's slyly ironic tunes, and singer Maki Nomiya makes them her own. This album is a delight.|