'O' sounds merely great on first listen. Rice's alternately ragged/choirboy vocals(think Jeff Buckley without the histrionics) marry perfectly with Lisa Hannigan's fragile whispers. The songs are deceptively simple lullabies - Volcano swoops and embraces, Cold Water is suffocating and disturbing, The Blowers Daughter a near-perfect folk song of unrequited love - but they reveal their true depth only on play 19 or 20, when the entire album hangs together and the nuances become clear.

I was lucky enough to see Damien at this years' Glastonbury Festival and he was the highlight of the weekend (despite a rather thin crowd) - I fear it's the last time he'll play to such a small audience.

Listen and you'll be hooked
A friend of mine brought this album over 4 days ago, and I musthave listened to it 50 times following. Further to this I have also booked tickets to go and see him live; this guy is phenomenal.

The beauty of his music is often in its simplicity, not unlike Leonard Cohen, but also the feeeling of the Lyrics. Eachsong conveys a very clear message to the listener. However, the acoustic feel of guitar and then rising strings make you feel you're almost in the music. The music always compliments the heartfelt subject of the lyrics, for example the frustration of 'delicate' with strong rising string cords, but also a chilled slow guitar lick during the more thoughful verses.

Damien is clearly a loely Irish boy, but this does not translate to the very heavy lyrics of someone like Sinead o'Connor. A cello frequently compliments his music, and is almost like another vocalist in 'volcano.' The songs often are like dialogue between two people, saying the same thing to one another, but not really listening to each other.

My favourite tracks are 'The Blower's Daughter' which then flows into 'Cannonball.' Everything on these tracks sums up the best parts of the album. The great emotional feeling is there - "I can't takes my eyes off you / I can't take my mind off you / Till I find somebody new."
This then moves into a slightly more upbeat guitar lick of 'Cannonball.' Here he laments a past girlfriend he no longer has with him, and is confused by the subsequent relationship. This moves into a triumphant chorus in which he describes what he has learnt - "Stones taught me to fly / Love it taught me to lie / Life taught me to die." The contradictions of wht each experience are obvious - "so come on courage teach me to be shy." at then end it still reverts back to his wanting the girl, this track really also is an example of great musical composition.

Other good tracks are 'Amie' and 'Cold Water.' If anyone says this album is boring, they are simply not listening. Tkae a chance, buy it, and if you like it you will love it.

Loved it!
Damien Rice is such a talented musician. His music never gets old, you can listen to it over and over again. His soultry voice is always nice to listen to. I highly recommend it!!

Fearless
This is my first review of anything on Amazon, though I am a constant reader. I simply had to talk about this album.

The best way to describe this album is fearless. He takes the road less traveled by other up-and-coming singer-songwriters. While the new batch has had some very good singers, nothing compares to this album. They seem more interested in making a "clean" album, while this album seems like he is alone in a room baring his soul.

Though the strange thing is about the album s that you know he could not have been alone in a room. There is so much going on, so many chances taken that it is hard to descibe. Simply saying that it is an acoustic album is wrong. The album brings in much more.

Fearless in his atempts to expand beyond just him and his guitar. Consider how at the end of Amie, out of nowhere comes what sounds like an entire orchestra. It sounds beautiful and it becomes almost impossible to imagine the song without it. Then the gorgarian (sp?) chants that enter into Cold Water. By the end of the album it seems only appropriate to have an opera singer at the end of Eskimo.

But the wonderful things about the album is that it doesn't rely on these tricks. They are simply used to enchance the songs. Cannonball is simply him and his guitar, and it is one of the best songs on the album (a song friends of mine have confessed crying to when they heard it).

Another huge difference between him and others is the feeling involved. I have yet to hear another singer coming out now who you can feel their pain so clearly and identify with it(Howie Day is close). The only line in the chorus of The Blower's Daughter is "I can't take my eyes off you..." The way he sings it and the passion in his voice make the line more romantic and meaningful than an entire boy-band album.

Just the other night I went outside with my CD Player to sit on the front porch and listen to music while I smoked a cigarette. I started at track one, and became so engrossed in the songs, I just sat there until the album finished. It is THAT good. And it is that feeling that is put into every song that gives me the impression this album will age very well.

I agree with others that he brings back memories of when Jeff Buckley was around. They invoke the same spirit. And that is nothing but a compliment, because if there is anything music needs now, it is someone who can do to people what Jeff did. Even though Jeff died too soon, people are still listening to his music because it means so much to them. I have the feeling that this album will do the same. It is Damien Rice's "Grace".

My only concern is the same as others. How in the hell is he going to follow this up? But here is the fun part, imagine if he somehow makes a better album?

Finally...
When I first heard Damien Rice I immediatley felt pleasantly confused and relieved, thinking to myself, "Finally someone new with passion and true emotion".

I highly recommend this CD and hope more people discover this wonderful collection of songs. A true music fan will appreciate this one. Damien Rice's music is honest and full of heart. His backing vocalist, Lisa, is a purely gorgeous angelic voice that compliments Rice perfectly. The comibation of acoustic guitar and cello is simply beautiful. This CD has a refreshing classical feel that is delicate but full of power. The album was made to be heard loud from the first track all the way to the end. The songs are ordered to perfection and have a lot to give out to its audience. Don't miss out.

We need more artists like Damien Rice and it's wonderful to know true artists are actually creating good sound somewhere. It's difficult to believe this is Damien Rice's debut CD, the possibilites are endless for a follow-up.
Irish troubadour Damien Rice doesn't so much reinvent the folk genre on this lush, impossibly mature debut album as push its boundaries in several compelling musical directions at once--all the more remarkable considering the album was largely self-produced and home-recorded. His songs revolve around familiar, bittersweet concerns of life, love, and their attendant frustrations, but delivered with conspiratorial intimacy on melodic wings (like on the graceful "Cannonball") that Rice seems almost embarrassed to share. If there's anything like a template here, it's "The Blower's Daughter," the song that first attracted the interest/stewardship of film composer David Arnold (whose guest production provides "Amie" with expansive cinematic elegance) and became a massive Irish hit. His plaintive vocal, embroidered by the mournful solo cello of Vyvienne Long, is suddenly brightened by an instrumental flourish and Lisa Hannigan's vocals--before just as quickly wafting on the breeze. With touches that range from "Day in the Life"-styled string collages to the dizzy, exhilarating neo-operatic excesses of the 16-minute "Eskimo," Rice's musical palate here is as adventurous as his songs are grounded in emotional intimacy. --Jerry McCulley
Damien Rice's intriguing brand of stylishly, un-styled dirty folk music has made him one of the standout artists of 2003. O was first released in Ireland, where it quickly broke the top ten, and achieved triple-platinum status. Slim hard-back digipak. Vector. 2003.