Albums to watch

Songs Cycled

Van Dyke Parks

Songs Cycled

The widely-respected Brian Wilson collaborator, lyricist and producer with his first solo release in 24 years, a reworked collection of his Americana compositions, to mark turning 70

ADM rating[?]

6.7

Label
Bella Union
UK Release date
06/05/2013
US Release date
23/07/2013
  1. 9.0 |   Uncut

    The Pope of pop is still making the best music of his life
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  2. 8.5 |   Paste Magazine

    This work, accompanied by artwork and liner notes from some of the world’s best contemporary artists, is intended to be taken as a whole
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  3. 8.2 |   The AU Review

    Van Dyke Parks doesn't fit into any pigeon-hole, and while that makes his music inaccessible to a lot of people, it's also what makes him great
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  4. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Certainly doesn’t represent all that Van Dyke Parks has to say about the state of the modern world, but the album does manage to assuredly illuminate Parks’ singular artistic vision and his enduring impact on the music of our times
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  5. 8.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Songs Cycled has everything you’d want from Van Dyke Parks and from an album
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  6. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    A wonderfully engaging, fluent and stimulating listen from start to finish
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  7. 8.0 |   The Scotsman

    Van Dyke Parks still operates at that unusual point where talent, ambition and eccentricity meet
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  8. 7.2 |   Pitchfork

    Some artists run out of ideas; Parks seems to constantly have three more than the typical cognitive load of the human brain allows
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  9. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    If anyone could nail a dystopian Oklahoma!, this guy could
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  10. 7.0 |   All Music

    The impossibly orchestrated compositions on Songs Cycled are constantly unraveling and being wound back in, making them a little bit hard to keep up with at times, but something amazing to behold nonetheless
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  11. 6.0 |   The Irish Times

    An album of huge ambitions fully realised
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  12. 6.0 |   The Observer

    Aficionados of Parks's highly maverick take on pre-rock songcraft, however, will relish these updates
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  13. 6.0 |   NME

    An intriguing curio of a forgotten time
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  14. 6.0 |   The Independent

    Behind the rococo charm lurks a subtle emotional power
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  15. 6.0 |   Mojo

    It's a joy to hear VDP's mission with the boosted clarity of 21st-centurt production. Print edition only

  16. 6.0 |   Q

    Idiosyncratically engaging vocals and melodies. Print edition only

  17. 4.0 |   The Digital Fix

    Van Dyke Parks isn’t for everyone, and this bizarre collection of music is not going to do anything to change that fact
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  18. 3.0 |   The 405

    You can't expect what worked decades ago to work the same now
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Van Dyke Parks: Songs Cycled

  • Download full album for just £8.49
  • 1. Wedding In Madagascar (Faranaina) £0.99
  • 2. Dreaming Of Paris £0.99
  • 3. Hold Back Time £0.99
  • 4. Sassafrass £0.99
  • 5. Black Gold £0.99
  • 6. Aquarium £0.99
  • 7. Money Is King £0.99
  • 8. Wall Street £0.99
  • 9. The Parting Hand £0.99
  • 10. The All Golden £0.99
  • 11. Missin' Missippi £0.99
  • 12. Amazing Graces £0.99
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