Ultraviolence

Love it all

Happy with purchase, had a tiny crack on front of cd case when arrived. But, it didn't effect overall product and cd played how it should.

Unlike some of the reviewers on this page, I was hooked on this album from the moment I got it; in fact it quickly supplanted "Born To Die/Paradise" on my personal playlist.This album has a sleekly stripped-down, entirely different soundscape from the often heavily layered mixing on the previous albums; in that respect - musically - it is a side-step rather than a leap forward, but I was immediately impressed by the quality and attention to detail on each track. Listen to the use of bowed acoustic bass on "Brooklyn Baby" for example, or the subtle deployment of the mellotron and synthesizer throughout the album - it isn`t just the beautiful guitar work that makes these such exquisite settings for Del Rey`s voice.In keeping with the previous albums, Del Rey takes on different personas for each track; I find her songs very visual - and yes, I've seen her videos, but I find myself conjuring up the lurid, paperback cover illustrations for each character she adopts; a list of pulp-fiction, soap-opera types - the battered girlfriend, the up-market escort, the gangster's mistress, the pretentious, would-be hipster of the afore mentioned "Brooklyn Baby" - a wicked self-parody, perhaps- which contains the most obvious example of the ironic, jet-black humour at play on a few of the tracks.Personally, I find her the singer most in-touch with the whole idea of Post-Modernism in the way she fearlessly appropriates ideas, idioms, songs and characterisations; she creates artistic and relevant reflections of modern Americana that are both critical and celebratory, nostalgic and fearfully negative in equal measure, yet they are all elaborate constructs - rather like Lana Del Rey herself - though I don't mean that in a pejorative or disparaging way - the singer has herself stated that she isn't at all like her alter ego.If you have the standard album, the last track "The Other Woman" serves as a neat, ironic foil to the cynical voraciousness of preceding tracks like "Sad Girl", "Money, Power, Glory"and the outrageously provocative "F****d My Way Up to the Top".The deluxe album has three extra songs that are certainly worth getting - "Florida Kilos" is a stonker of a track which suggests even greater possibilities for future exploration.It's also worth stating that you won't lose anything by downloading the album, as there are no lyrics or supplementary material contained in the CD packaging. The lyrics can be easily found online.Please don't be put off by some of the negative stuff levelled at this because it wasn't "more of the same" as some fans were expecting; "Ultraviolence" stands well on it`s own merits and is a truly rewarding, intelligent and thoughtfully inventive album - just listen, it`ll hook you.

Bought for a present

Surprised people haven't reacted to the lyric of the title track, and it's somewhat reprehensible promotion of domestic violence as something glamorous and desirable. I understand her need to be provocative, and I'm devoted to the woman, but she certainly went too far with this one, although one could to point to a scene from Blue Velvet as perhaps inspiration for this piece. As for the album itself, it's a touch underwhelming considering the material she delivered on the Paradise Edition of Born To Die. But it is in fact a very fine work, especially within the current pop genre, it's almost suicidal in its brave approach, but one pines somewhat for the seared into your brain melodies of Video Games and Born To Die. This is probably as uncommercial as Lana is capable of being. One of her greatest gifts is her ability to conjure magical melodies seemingly out of nowhere, but that gift is absent to a certain degree on this album. The first track is also way too long, and the tracks in general stay around too long. West Coast is spoiled to a degree by the tempo of the drums being too slow on the chorus; I keep wishing I had a device that could speed the damn thing up. I would also criticise her decision not to print more than fragments of her lyrics, as it smacks a bit of cowardice (or lack of confidence), one or the other. On the plus side there's the exquisite Shades of Blue, where Lana again channels her inner Liz Fraser (see also, Bel Air from Paradise). If I was being harsh, I would say she was kind of stealing stuff from Cocteau Twins, but I really like the fact she would even go there with her voice. Her vocals are generally superior on this album to those on Born To Die. It's also agreeable that she's dumped the whole hip-hop shtick, as entertaining as it was. I really love the playfulness and coolness of Brooklyn Baby (which is the only true single on the album in my view), though I would question the accuracy of her satire here. Speaking of satire, it is largely absent from this album, although F'd My Way Up To The Top is very amusing (I can't believe she wrote a song with that title; it's a classic). The album really reaches its pinnacle with Old Money, which is an incredibly personal and intimate ballad, one of her very best songs, even if the melody is not exactly original. You find here the core of what makes Lana unique. Some may argue what does a wealthy person have to feel melancholy about? But the very fact that she was materially blessed but is clearly maladjusted is what makes her such a vital and original artist. Nobody else could have written this song. Some have criticised her vocal performance on the cover version, The Other Woman, and admittedly when I first heard it, I thought it was over the top and a bit ridiculous, but my view has changed since then, so much so that I can't help thinking that she should do an album of cover versions next. Finishing the album in this way is eccentric and genius, and yes, despite what anyone says, Lana is a genius. It's a bit regrettable though that she no longer co-writes with the guy who helped her conceive Video Games and Born To Die. As for the bonus tracks, only Black Beauty is worth having in my opinion. The other two are B-sides at best. In conclusion, Lana is still one of the most remarkable women on the planet, but she's no longer pretending to be a hit-maker. I guess she's making music for herself, which is all she should ever really be doing. But it isn't exactly an unalloyed pleasure, and I have some sympathy for those who preferred Born To Die (although the Paradise recordings were really the peak of her work to date). The album requires patience, more than anything.

Amazing and Violent!

my favourite album, it arrived with no scratches and there was no problems.