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Saturnalia | 
 enlarge | Artist: Gutter Twins (mark Lanegan & Greg Dulli)
Label: Sub Pop
Category: Music
List Price: £8.99
Buy New: £5.07
You Save: £3.92 (44%)
New (50) Used (3) from £5.07
Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 671
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 5.3 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 70761
UPC: 098787076127
EAN: 0098787076127
ASIN: B0012GJG38
Release Date: March 3, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| » | Stations | | » | God's Children | | » | All Misery/Flowers | | » | Body | | » | Idle Hands | | » | Circle The Fringes | | » | Who Will Lead Us | | » | Seven Stories Underground | | » | I Was In Love With You | | » | Bete Noire | | » | Each To Each | | » | Front Street |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Saturalia, the debut album by The Gutter Twins, brings together two long-standing veterans of the '90s alternative rock scene--Greg Dulli, the soulful voice behind the Afghan Whigs, and Mark Lanegan of psych-tinged grungers Screaming Trees and latterly, Queens of the Stone Age. Both gentlemen being, shall we say, personalities, Saturnalia could easily have come off as the musical version of the town that ain't big enough for the both of them. Agreeably, though, the pair appear to have learnt to live--indeed, thrive--in one another's company. The name The Gutter Twins may be something of a misnomer: "The Stations" and "Idle Hands" might unfurl in a thunderstorm of sludgy, blackened guitars, but there's also stately orchestral arrangements and quite grandiose, anthemic touches that suggest Saturnalia is more than a sleazy busman's holiday. Mostly, the pair let their vocals echo one another, which is a strange choice: their voices are so distinct, and it would be nice to hear a little more interplay. Still, at this album's level best--"God's Children", perhaps--it simultaneously recalls the psychedelic gospel of Screaming Trees' epic Dust and the gallows-bound soul of Afghan Whigs' Black Love, and as any fan of either band could tell you, that's a great thing. --Louis Pattison
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
Suprisingly excellent June 7, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Some superb reviews here, not much more you can add really. A fine album, and so much more than "Idle Hands", which as a single is quite misleading as to how rest of the album sounds. Having purchased it on the strength of the Screaming Trees/Queens of the Stone Age connection, I was perhaps expecting something a bit heavier. I honestly only expected something that sounded like a QOTSA side project, somewhere between Masters of Reality's "Deep in the hole" and the Desert Sessions 7/8. But Saturnalia stands on its own just fine. It's terrific hearing Lanegan's vocals again, and probably the best album i've heard this year. Just don't expect anything as up-tempo as "Hangin' tree".
 Sympathy for the devil May 4, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
As always with these two masters of American Gothic, the sacred and the secular entwine like two sides of the same coin. Lanegan can sound like the very devil, his gravelled growl rising from the depths to add weight to Dulli's lapsed choirboy croon. Their writing styles are also complementary: Dulli's deft way with a rock song produces some of the album's smoother moments, like the swooping Radiohead-meets-Alice-in-Chains "God's Children" - while Lanegan gives us tracks like the lycanthropic "Bete Noire".
When they write together, they produce everything from rip-roaring single "Idle Hands" to the album's centrepiece - the swirling, ritualistic "Circle The Fringes". Probably the album's only weak point is the rather dated "Each To Each", over-decorated with mellotron and synths. Emotionally, though, it feels like a redemptive closing track, the light at the end of the long dark tunnel.
Then, abruptly, we come out into the light and birdsong and acoustic guitars welcome us back...into hell. Closer "Front Street" is perhaps the darkest song on this penumbral work; seductive, weary, yet glinting with malevolent glamour. When Lanegan snarls "we're gonna have us some fun", you know he isn't talking about a trip to the seaside.
 5 star dreadful twins April 24, 2008
1 out of 21 found this review helpful
This cd is awful. Its a eclectic mix of nothing, and instantly regrettable. Thanks are warmly extended to those who recommended it....don't give up the day job!!!!!!
Heaven's Quite A Climb April 8, 2008
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
Lanegan and Dulli have forever been troubled souls, and "Saturnalia" shows no glimpse of the two lightening up. Lyrically, musically and visually this album is as passionately dark and melancholy as anything in either artist's back catalogue. Don't expect classic folk singalongs about the prairie and summertime joys - expect two wistful men of acumen singing the real dirty blues.
Where "Saturnalia" succeeds most is in fusing the styles and sounds of the two artists. Like all of Lanegan's solo albums, there is an overwhelming sense of maturity and wisdom in his delivery - a feeling that he really has seen some bleak times, far beyond those of the self-wallowing MTV plastics. His voice is as gravely and whiskey-drenched as it has ever been, perfectly matching and emphasising the often gloomy lyrical content. This complements Dulli's higher pitched and more melodic vocals perfectly. The two voices are constantly shifted to great effect; the best examples of this would be "Circle The Fringes" in which Lanegan rips through Dulli's melodic lines with a rumbling quake, instantly blackening the song's atmosphere. If not within the same song, the two deliveries are often placed side by side, such as with Lanegan's Tom Waits styled romp "All Misery" and Dulli's beautiful ballad "The Body".
In terms of song writing "Saturnalia" is successfully varied, and a seamless combination of the two artists. Songs such as "Who Will Lead Us Now", "All Misery", "Bete Noir" and "Seven Stories Underground" sound very reminiscent of Lanegan's solo output, all offering frustrated and brooding lyrics over a sombre folk/blues sound. Dulli's writing is very evident in a few of the more rocking songs (note - more rocking in relation to the brooding dirge elsewhere), such as "God's Children" and "Idle Hands", both of which recall "Gentleman" era Afghan Whigs with driving guitars and a vigorous delivery from Dulli. However, this is not to say "Saturnalia" is merely a mix-match of the two artists' sound - "I Was In Love With You" sounds superbly fresh, starting up like a down tempo Lanegan love song it builds and climaxes into a blistering rock ballad, with Dulli really attacking the vocals to create one of the album's finest moments. The album's closer "Front Street" fashions the album's strongest duet, centred around the chilling lines "We're gonna have us some fun".
"Saturnalia" is yet another remarkable outing from Mark Lanegan, and for me, some of Dulli's work best since the Afghan Whigs heyday. Perfect for fans of either artists, or those simply wanting some real gritty folk blues.
A dream pairing April 1, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have been a fan of both Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan for over a decade now.
The thought of the pair teaming up is a mouth-watering one.
The album does not disappoint either. Lead vocals are usually a case of one or the other but both offer fine backing vox to each other.
Mark Lanegan opens proceedings with the superb The Stations which sets a high standard for the rest of the album. The duo don't let up. Each track is crafted beautifully and the 52 minutes simply fly by.
Current favourite track is I Was In Love With You. Greg on lead vocals, sounding like The Jesus & Mary Chain's Jim Reid fronting late-period Beatles.
I still buy most new music on vinyl. I'm no technophobe though. I have an iPod and it was a welcome surprise to find a slip of paper tucked inbetween the two records offering me a free MP3 download of the entire disc from the Sub Pop website. Very thoughtful, most welcome and I emplore the other labels to follow suit.
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