Andrew Dost
Columbus


5.0
classic

Review

by Wombat988 USER (12 Reviews)
February 18th, 2012 | 10 replies


Release Date: 2008 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Yes, the man behind most of the instruments in fun. wrote a play as well. And this is the child's concept album that happens to be the music for it.

On its own, this album is a 4.5.

Most of you by now should be aware of fun. They've had a song performed on Glee, and because of it their new album is getting a lot of attention. Hopefully most of you are aware of Andrew Dost as well, being the main instrumentalist of the band. If not, you now know who he is. Anyway, around the time the band's debut album, Aim and Ignite, was released to the world, Andrew Dost was working on a project of his own, namely a play giving a fictional account of Christopher Columbus and his discovery of America. He also composed an album of seventeen songs to go with the play.

This review will be split into two halves. The first half is this album on its own. The second half is the album accompanying the play it was written for.


Part one

As you would guess from the fact this album was written by the main man behind fun., this album is for the most part very upbeat and very simply fun to listen to. This brings up the first point; the composition of this album is immense. Dost manages to capture the perfect mood of each song in the music he composes. Songs such as Hey Columbus! throw you right into the song with trumpets, piano and even a slide whistle bursting in with a very harmonious yet wild feel. You can also hear audience members yelling at each other as if they were watching this performed in some sort of play adding to the wild factor of the song. It's almost like something The Muppets might do. The same applies to most of the upbeat songs on the album. They are all very well structured but still sound like a riot happening in a song. It's very hard to imagine without listening.
There is also a good mix of slower, sad songs on the album. Just about every song, featuring vocals from Guinevere (Columbus' apparent wife) falls into this category. Dost shows us with these that he can do more than fun.'s boundaries ever let him, writing moving songs about lost love and loneliness. The world is flat is a good example of this. Featuring duel melodies played on Piano and Harpsichord in minor scales along with cymbal rolls, Dost instantly gets across the feel of loss that Columbus must feel from leaving his wife. Dost's almost whispered vocals give a haunting feel to the song, and the melancholic vocals of Guinevere (I can't find the actual singers name) are enough to send shivers down your spine. The song then depresses into a marching drum roll pattern with doo-wop vocals and the harmonious duet of the two vocalists causing an emotional avalanche. Needless to say, it does what it aims too very well.

That is another part of the album which excels. Dost features his friends in smart ways, as they aren’t simply sidelined to the supporting roles. The peripheral musicians become headliners often (like on piano-fuelled Welcome To Our Native Land), and you’ll barely miss Dost’s pitch-perfect tenor. The one main criticism on this album is the lyrics. They're easy to comprehend as this album is very much surface-over-depth, but at times they seem like Dost just threw in parts to fill in gaps and complete the song. For example, in the song One Man Mutiny, he references saving Poseidon's life and asks him to save his in return. However, this is not mentioned at all in any of the previous songs, which doesn't make the storyline as convincing as it could be. This is quite important considering this album is one long story put to music.

Though this album is perfect musically, it is let down by the flaws in the storytelling, which is what this album is meant to do well. 4.4/5

Part two

[URL]http://andrewdost.wikispaces.com/[/URL]

The above link leads to the script of the play Columbus written by Andrew Dost. If you read the script of the play before you listen to the album, the album means so much more as it fills in all the plot holes (E.g. the Poseidon incident). Though the album gives sufficient detail in just the songs, the play gives more back story and makes the album all the more interesting. It also gives you a greater sense of respect for Dost as you realise just how much work has been put into his work. Admittedly, he could have done more; there are extra songs in the play which are not on the album, and it would probably have taken a month at the maximum to create them. These songs are featured on the tracklist despite not being on the album, which is a bit of a middle finger to whoever listens.

It's very hard to get across what a difference the play script makes to the album. This is not a reviewing site for literature, and I have no intention of going into detail on it, so you will just have to trust me on this one and read it yourselves. This is one of the most enjoyable albums I have ever had the pleasure of listening to, with a great amount of emotion in the music and great storytelling when it is necessary. If you like fun.'s first album but thought it a bit too overly happy, this is the perfect album for you.

Overall score: 4.8/5



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user ratings (5)
4.3
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Comments:Add a Comment 
Wombat988
February 18th 2012


411 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

My first ever review featuring BB codes, Hooray!

Wombat988
February 18th 2012


411 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

Any songs in the tracklist with stars by them were on the tracklist but not featured on the album

MagicFunction
February 18th 2012


2 Comments


Been meaning to check out this Album. Bro likes then I shall get x.

Wombat988
February 18th 2012


411 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

I'm too lazy to fix the URL

thatoneguy726
February 18th 2012


1669 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Oh my eff I forgot about this till like yesterday. It's perfect.

Wombat988
February 19th 2012


411 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

Glad someone else appreciates it :D

VicariousIntent
February 29th 2012


1632 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

I just gave this my first listen, and I couldn't help but be put off by how historically inaccurate it is, even though I know that's dumb. I liked the songs a lot (especially the sadder ones), and it was cool to hear Nate Ruess make an appearance as the Native Americans. But it all felt like the story of Columbus being taught to a group of 2nd graders, as opposed to what it was really like.



I'm pretty sure I should just get over it and listen to it again, and maybe read the script too.

thatoneguy726
March 30th 2012


1669 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

It totally COULD be used to teach second graders though, and I think that's a great thing. Honestly, he should just send it to Disney. I can easily hear it all being a classic cartoon.

VicariousIntent
March 31st 2012


1632 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

I mean, I guess you can't exactly teach grade schoolers that he treated the Native Americans horribly and all that, but

there are some things that just don't make sense to include.



Like at that point, most people knew the world is round. That wasn't the issue. Columbus wasn't "an explorer" or "an

adventurer", he was looking for an alternate trade route to India (and he sincerely thought he found it, hence why he

called the Native Americans "Indians"). And to say he came up with the name "America" is a little retarded, because it

was named after Amerigo Vespucci, an explorer who basically stole the credit for Columbus' discovery. And the part

where they're talking about making Columbus President is completely ridiculous lol.



It's like, he put all this effort into the album, I just wish he could have done more research on the actual facts. Because,

yeah it could be used to teach little kids I guess, but when you grow up, they'd learn that practically everything they

were taught about this man was wrong.



I don't know. It just bothers me, even though the music is nice.

Wombat988
April 15th 2012


411 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

The thing is, it would have been boring if he'd written it about Columbus trying to find an alternate route to india.



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