Bond Album: “Shine”

Bond is one of those great groups that pops up every now and then, with a dash of genuine originality rather than the same-old-same-old-packaged-as-something-new. Don't discount these gals because of their pretty faces or their outfits -- they can outplay just about anybody.

Among the songs are the layered, ethereal-yet-danceable "Allegretto," harp-accentuated "Shine" with its brilliant violin work, fast-paced "Fuego," haunting "Strange Paradise" with its softer tones and occasional electronic flares, antiquated-feeling "Big Love Adagio" (which would make the ideal romantic dance music), the spicy "Gypsy Rhapsody," and several others. One thing that Bond can never be accused of is of having all their songs sound alike.

The major selling point of Bond is that they take the traditionals and make them more accessable to the masses. That sounds like a bad thing, but the fact is that they give such musicians as cellists a better, younger, less fuddy-duddy image, a better chance of reaching out to people. But of course this isn't enough to appeal to people. Their music is wonderful, multilayered and rippling with the different instruments.

If you say you hate instrumentals, you might want to check out the Bond girls (I imagine they hear that joke all the time). They do for those instrumentals what Sarah Brightman does for opera, meaning that they bring some appeal for the masses. Quite a find.

Granted sex sales.... forget about the CD cover and the pictures inside... now how about the quality of music... I could hear their violin much better, much clearer from their first CD "Born". In this second CD, there are a lot of background music, digital effects, etc. that made it difficult to hear their violins. This CD is a bit too commercial. The background effects masked the ladies' true talents in violin.

I first encountered Bond in my public library, browsing through the classical section; as one might surmise, the cover art immediately took me by surprise, and I thought someone had misfiled this CD. After a cursory glace of what appeared to be yet another fly-by-night R&B girl group, I nearly put the disc back -- but at the last second, the Decca label caught my eye. "Odd," I thought, "Decca doesn't put out pop music; they're a classical label." Now suitably hooked, I opened the case and examined the liner notes closely; sure enough, this ersatz 'pop' group was a string quartet in disguise. Amused by the cute, clever marketing, I decided to give the album a shot.

The formula of "Shine" is one that has been tried before: take old-timey classical music and spice it up with newfangled production. While a fun idea in theory, which has been successfully orchestrated in the past (Meco's "Galactic Funk" for example, which deftly mashed disco beats into the Star Wars soundtrack), "Shine" suffers greatly from the fact that the producers are just plain wretched. There are exceptions; their dead-on rendition of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" is probably the best version of that song I've ever heard, and some interesting beat programming on "Gypsy Rhapsody" and "Sahara" sounds cheekily inspired by the Neptunes. By and large, though, the backing tracks are barely a step above the demo songs on a Yamaha workstation. At best, most of the tracks on "Shine" sound like background music for a Playstation game; at worst, such as on "Allegretto," the production is so terrible that it makes Walter Murphy's "A Fifth Of Beethoven" sound like the pinnacle of modern composition.

Bond are decent enough musicians, to be sure; they play stringed instruments better than I ever will, and both Haylie and Eos (first and second violins, respectively) each have original scores on the album to boot. Unfortunately, they are just that: decent, not extraordinary. When placed alongside their more ground-breaking contemporaries (such as the incredible Rachel's or the Dirty Three), Bond falls quite flat. Nevertheless, their obvious potential (however unrealized) assured by the few standout tracks -- and, let's face it, the fact that they're all totally hot babes -- saved "Shine" from a lower score than this. If, on future releases, Bond can find a better foil for their works -- someone who can utilize their talents in full (such as Tipper or Telefon Tel Aviv) -- and also find ways to challenge themselves as players (perhaps by taking some cues from John Zorn or Stravinsky), I believe they could mature into a force to be reckoned with. For now, though, it's little more than pretty faces playing 21st century elevator music.

The string quartet Bond is back with their second CD entitled Shine. Bringing back the unique sounds of their fist CD Born, Bond do it again with this CD. Combining classical styles with ethnic folk, Shine has something for every musical taste. Fuego offers a nice Spanish-type dance track, Speend is a cool contemperary rock song, and the cover song Shine adds some nice flavor from other parts of the world. Covers on this CD include a remake of the ever popular Led Zepplin song Kashmir, the classical Albinoni song Big Love Adagio and the great remix of the James Bond Theme. Fans of the first album will definitely love this album and new fans should try this and the first album. The DVD concert is also a must see!

Bond's sophomore album "Shine" is incredible! I own "Born" as well. These four girls are amazing. Who would have thought that a classical string quartet could bring together so many different types of music and make it into something this great! I would definitely recommend Bond to anyone, I've already recruited three of my friends to get at least one of the cds and they all love Bond now. Very addicting. Anyone who enjoys any type of music will love "Shine" or "Born", they're completely awesome. Definitely worth the months of wait!