Box of Rocks
Samira Mohamed
I received an email one day from someone called Samira Mohamed, asking me whether I would review her album if she sent it to me. I said yes, but warned her that I would blast it if I didn't like it. She was game. And thus I received Box of Rocks by courier a few weeks ago.
When I saw the cover I wondered why she didn't just put in her name as Samira instead of going the whole hog and adding her surname too, not that it mattered a great deal. But then probably she didn't want people thinking she was trying to cash in on Shakira!
The cover is done in black n white and frankly, not at all impressive. The fonts used make the smaller letters, read credits, impossible to read. The lack of a flap or some impediment at the mouth of the CD cover means the CD could fall out any time. Samira seems to be a very young girl, so a much more flattering picture should have been used. I am nit-picking here, really! Looking for flaws n finding them. You know why? Coz her vocals more than make up for all the flaws!
The overall sound is that of a very low budget production, were corners have been cut in abundance. Somehow the well-rounded feel is not there in the recording. But once again, I must reiterate that her vocal prowess more than makes up for all these minor shortcomings.
The album has six songs in all. Love is the main theme here. Rightfully so, a pretty girl in her twenties, obviously, I wouldn't expect her to write about poverty and world issues. She would be pretending, if she were to write about those!
The opening song is Weather. Her vocals hit u straightaway. Impressive, 2 say the least. But, You r my weatherman and I'm your weather… sounds rather stretching things too much, even for the hard core romantic.
The next song is Nasty Love. Now this one has fabulous backing vocals. Done by Samira herself, if I am not mistaken. The powerful highs she gets in her 2nds, or was it 3rds, is impressive! The lyrics get better here. The change of tempo and then she goes into the she-bop-a-lula in a real husky, powerful voice…… wow! The songwriter in Samira really comes to the fore here. Her look at love as a nasty feeling that she's hooked onto is a fresh treatment. Her lead vocals are no less impressive, but the backing vocals really stand out.
10 Green Bottles is up next. This one's the best song in the album by far. My favourite. A soft song really, with bare bones backing, on the first listening. The lyrics are actually a series of images put down in words. Had it been Syd Barret, I would have said that they must have been brought on by substance aided hallucinations, but Samira,….. can't be?! But some of the images painted in words are thought provoking……. Scintillating violet comets, Like a steadfast transfixed hand, Driftwood on a flowing river, Flotsam from another world, Gently flowing to the ocean, Champagne and raspberry swirl. But a small doubt from a layman, who can't write lyrics to save his life,…. is she trying 2 hard at the lyrics?
Simplicity has always been the hall mark of great songs. All said and done, this song is my favourite listening. The violin bit is beautiful and subdued and stays in the background without intruding, adding to the mellow mood of the song.
Up next is Time to Dream. This one too is about love, but where she needs her space to dream. A good song. She has great vocals, knows it and showcases it.
Prima Donna is the next track on the CD. Samira really lets it rip here. The guitar work on this track is excellent. Jazz influenced? I like the lyrics on this one. Simple. The Primadonna/Cinderella concept
The next song on the album is River. This is dedicated to the memory of the muse's father. A touching scene between father and daughter. Here, the lyrics have been kept simple. Ta dum dum….. she goes .. rounding off the song nicely.
All in all, a lovely album. Her singing really gets to you. My first impression when I heard it on my bigger system was one of disappointment at the quality of production, though the vocals were impressive. Later on the album started sounding better in my car and later, even better on my ipod during my morning walks. The album and Samira's singing grows on u. I wish she would play a lot of gigs to promote the album.
For more details on Samira, her influences, bands etc, check out the following links. I have gleaned them off Google.
http://opusbangalore.blogspot.com/2005_12_01_opusbangalore_archive
http://www.geocities.com/planetclockwork/band.html
http://radioverve.com/band/clockwork-orange
Review by Harris
Box of Rocks MP3 Downloads
Weatherman | 10 Green Bottles
Box of Rocks Lyrics
1. Weather
Space this out
A little distance goes a long way home
Need some time
Take my shelter in my little cocoon
Scream and shout
Make a noise if you really think you need to
These are days
That we’ll remember a the start of something huge
Chorus: There’s no question we won’t be together
You’re my weatherman and I’m your weather
But I think it’s gonna rain down
Just for a little while
Hold me tight
There’s a truth in this warm afterglow
Think you’ll find
A truth that baby I know you know
We’ve got religion
Though some think it looks more like a crime
I’m not your keeper
But that don’t mean you can’t be my shrine
Chorus: There’s no question we won’t be together
You’re my weatherman and I’m your weather
But I think it’s gonna rain down
Just for a little while
2. Nasty Love
Clinging to people that are close to you
Singing love failure songs and sighing at the moon
Watching for the stars and every night
Sleeping in your T-shirts baby this isn’t right
Ch: What is this nasty thing called love
I have it but I just can’t get enough
What is this wicked, wicked feeling?
And why do I remind me of the people I used to laugh at?
She-bop-a-lulah baby you’re my honey
I can’t begin to tell you how mad that makes me
And it pisses me to the bone
That without you I can’t stand on my own, oh baby
She-bop-a-lulah baby you drive me crazy
In so many ways and I’m so hazy
About the woman that I used to be
And now suddenly there’s a you and me
Flowers were dumb I used to say
And any kind of presents went down the same way
There you showed up one day
And ruined all hose me-ish things that I thought to be true
She-bop-a-lulah baby you’re my honey
I can’t begin to tell you how mad that makes me
And it pisses me to the bone
That without you I can’t stand on my own, oh baby
She-bop-a-lulah baby you drive me crazy
In so many ways and I’m so hazy
About the woman that I used to be
And now suddenly there’s a you and me
Ch: What is this nasty thing called love
I have it but I just can’t get enough
What is this wicked, wicked feeling?
And why do I remind me of the people I used to laugh at?
3. 10 Green Bottles
Rise above the traffic here
The night is filled with quiet
The stars smell like heady flowers
In the lining of my jacket
A new religion is unfolding
People crossing, heaven’s holding
Watchtowers gleaming high above
The ocean of this rocky love
Tonight is so mellow
Fields of light like dormant giants
Bending like the willow tree
Defying all the laws of science
Swaying in a topaz breeze
Ch: Slowly I become
The person that you are
Distant worlds come crashing down
10 green bottles on the wall
Gently I return
To home where I belong
Drumming in my ears like music
10 green bottles on the wall
Tonight is so mellow
Tonight is so mellow
Sand dunes shifting in the desert
Mystery in nomad land
Scintillating violet comets
Like a steadfast transfixed hand
Driftwood on a flowing river
Flotsam from another world
Gently flowing to the ocean
Champagne and raspberry swirl
Ch: Slowly I become
The person that you are
Distant worlds come crashing down
10 green bottles on the wall
Gently I return
To home where I belong
Drumming in my ears like music
10 green bottles on the wall
Tonight is so mellow
Sophisticated dressed in silence
Relevance in quiet
Boomeranging off the windows
Peaceful thought in flight
Ch: Slowly I become
The person that you are
Distant worlds come crashing down
10 green bottles on the wall
Gently I return
To home where I belong
Drumming in my ears like music
10 green bottles on the wall
4. Time to Dream
I don’t know what I’m doing any more
Feels like the suffering is less painful than the cure
You must think that I don’t love you anymore
Baby you know it isn’t true
I can’t be without you
Ch: And we can fly in a sky so blue
Are you scared of me baby?
I’m gonna look out for you
And we can run like the perfect team
But for the minute now baby
I need some time to dream
I don’t know what I’m saying anymore
I threw my caution to the wind
You must think that I don’t love you anymore
Baby you know it isn’t true
I can’t be without you
Ch: And we can fly in a sky so blue
Are you scared of me baby?
I’m gonna look out for you
And we can run like the perfect team
But for the minute now baby
I need some time to dream
So let it go down a little easier
I know it’s stuck there in your throat
A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine
Go down a little sweet and slow
How can I explain this to you?
Without making it seem
As if I were turning away from you
This is an endless waking dream
How can I make it seem
How can I make it seem
Ch: And we can fly in a sky so blue
Are you scared of me baby?
I’m gonna look out for you
And we can run like the perfect team
But for the minute now baby
I need some time to dream
5. Primadonna
Hey primadonna, high priestess of the kitchen
Good little mama, who put you in your place?
Were you born in that apron so you could see that were tidy?
You know that he’ll be home soon
So wipe those tear tracks off your face
Ch: Primadonna, couldn’t do it without you
Hey Cinderella, you’re number one
Your knees are always kissing
Just like what your mama taught you
Did you wipe the counter and put the sponge back in its place?
What’s that in the attic?
A suitcase full of memories?
Your degree, your guitar, your wedding dress
Ch: Primadonna, couldn’t do it without you
Hey Cinderella, you’re number one
Run away, run away, run away, fly away
Hey little sister
With the sea shells on your window
No time for TV, got your life to rearrange
Hey ex-secretary
Bet your boss don’t miss you
Or how you turned away so fast
When he looked at you that way
Ch: Primadonna, couldn’t do it without you
Hey Cinderella, you’re number one
6. River
There is no just cause
Why some people die
And it’s so easily lost
From your mind eye
As I walked my the river
There he was my dark side
And he told me things I knew before
And he said to me, “My darling don’t you cry”
The boatman wasn’t to be seen
I couldn’t swim in this murky dream
And I felt the river swell
As my tears ran off to hell
And he said to me, “Now don’t you think aloud
Thoughts are real here beyond the clouds
When the boatman finally comes for you
I will smile and welcome you”
And I said to him, “Now do I make you proud?
Even thought I haven’t been beyond doubt
My love is the flowing river
To the ocean with a shiver”
Then he just turned and walked away
I guess I’ll know only on that crossing day
Till then you’ll hear the sound
Of my tears falling gently to the ground
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