Howie Day Album: “The Madrigals [EP]”

One word: WOW. I've been a big Howie Day fan for a while now, and I was absolutely elated to hear he was releasing this EP. I got up early and ran out to a local store. When I got home, I started listening to the CD and couldn't help myself, I ran upstairs and popped the DVD in. I didn't know what to listen to first! So, I get some rare songs from Howie and a DVD for under ten bucks, how can I complain?

Howie is so gorgeous. He's a talented genius and he's young and cute. What more can you want? The visuals and sound are CRYSTAL clear. I feel like I'm back at the concert. Epic did a wonderful job with this release.

What they didn't mention though, is that at the end of "Ghost," Howie breaks into his ever-famous "Beams of Light." I've wanted to see this done live again since I saw him in November 2002. Imagine my surprise.

The camera gets really nice close-ups of Howie and you get to see all his wonderful facial expressions. I just wish they kept the camera on Howie the whole time, and stopped panning out to the crowd. I don't really care if the girl in the front row wearing the blue striped scarf knows all the words to "Sorry, So Sorry." That's my only complaint, albeit a small one.

This EP is such a nice price, I'm probably going to buy it for all my friends and family, and make them listen to it and watch it over and over. Everyone should get to enjoy Howie as much as I do.

CD Setlist:

DVD Setlist:

I found Howie Day through the internet since he hasn't broken into the Australian main stream yet. This guy is seriously talented. One of the best solo artists I have heard in a long time. The Madrigals CD/DVD set shows how talented Howie Day really is. How he can get so many sounds from just an Acoustic guitar is truely amazing. I would recommend this album to anyone who is sick of manufactured pop artists (can I really call them artists?) produced by record companies purely for making money.

And this CD/DVD is amazing and proves that quite well.

THE CD,

Outside from the almost "poplike" Australlia, Madrigals is a great CD worth listening to over and over.The CD Starts out with "Madrigals" which is a Howie song I've leard live versions of many times before, but the studio version brings the song alive."You&APromise" is the only true downfall of this package but it isn't a bad one.Then here comes the highlight of the Cd, "Ghost" remixed.The original version of the song was amazing in its own right, but the remix puts it to shame.Now we're getting to the "good stuff". "Bunnies" the first listen of this song didnt seem like anything special, until I listened over and over, I now see it as an amazing song. If you never liked it before then you won't like it here."Sorry, So Sorry" has some of the best lyrics, and music availible today.

The DVD,

This is what I bought Madrigals for. If you have never seen or heard Howie live, be prepared for something totally different and amazing.He comes out and starts the set with "Bunnies" which I reviewed above.The same goes for "Sorry, So Sorry". Here comes "Ghost" again, the sound of the high notes and Howie going into "Beams of Light" is pure magic.Howie finishes with "Madrigals" which is great all together.

This EP is close to perfect, Buy it now if only for the DVD. And watch out for a new full-length Howie Day CD Due later this year.

If you have never heard of Howie Day, but you like pop/ alternative rock kind of music, this EP is great for you. The CD is short; 5 songs, but you get your moneys worth. "Madrigals" and "You and Promise" are the first two tracks, and they are just beautiful, relaxing songs with nice soft acoustic parts. "Ghost" which is also a track on Howie's other album, Australia, is the weakest song on the CD but still great. "Bunnies" is just pure magic. This song has a great guitar part and it is unbelievable, one of the perks of it being live. The lyrics don't exactly make sense, but the music quality overcompensates. And the CD finishes off with "Sorry so Sorry" another track from Australia and a really great song, also live. The Bonus DVD is also unbelievable, and there is even a part where Howie goes into Beams of Light. This EP is great as a transition CD until Howie comes out with a full length studio album in Fall 2003!

The mixes on this c.d. is totally awesome how Howie remixes these songs into totally different sounding tunes with the same lyrics. Some new songs are added and kick .... The DVD is unbelievable and this cd is definately worth the ... price!!