The Real Ramona

by

Throwing Muses

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It's been more than a decade since " The Real Ramona " was released and the Throwing Muses are certaintly not kids anymore . David Narcizo , Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly are all enjoying a quiet family life nowadays while rarely do they perfom live anymore . Even though both Donelly ( with Belly's million-selling debut " Star " ) and Hersh ( with the acoustic ballad album " Hips And Makers " ) have experienced stardom during the 90's , their band somehow managed to remain all this time an underground secret for the few .

The Muses had always been adored by critics and there'll be a certain core of fans who will follow them forever but they haven't yet reached a wider audience and ...never really seemed to care in doing so anyway . Their music is an exciting , unpredictable mixture of raw pop and rock . 1991's " The Real Ramona " is arguably their best offering yet . Hersh's tortured vocals and wonderfully psychotic lyrics result in some truly gripping and addictive songwritting ( " Counting Backwords " , " Graffiti " ) while Donelly reveals a more sensitive , ethereal side of the Muses' music . From a generally great tracklist the songs which stand out are the moody rock lullaby of " Two Step " and the twisted , haunting storytelling of " Honeychain " .

The thing with " The Real Ramona " is that even though it's clearly a first - class pop and rock release , still it has remained largely unheard . That's so unfair for a record as good as this one - a record that all people who like good music can enjoy and not just fans of the Throwing Muses . A must-have withought doubt .

Unlike the majority of their early work, Real Ramona makes you wonder if you are listening to the fragments of two great albums, or one complete album with an identity crisis. This album is notorious mainly because it is the last Muses album with Tonya Donnelly, the more pop-inclined of the two half-sisters/founders, and more emotionally centered. Album's two best-known songs "Talking Backwards" (penned by Hersh) and "Honeychain" (Donnelly) couldn't further emphasize the polemic tendencies of the group's chief songwriters. "Talking Backwards" is probably what people would call a more "true Muses song" with the odd chord choices and Hersh's raw, slightly skeptical voice, and indicating more than a hint of her ongoing struggle with bipolarity. "Honeychain" conveys Donnelly's dreamier sensibilities, which would show up in equally solid form--if only occasionally--in her work with Belly and her new solo career. The rest of the album doesn't necessarily hold up as well ("Them Dancing" is a minor noteworthy tune), but it is still pretty good. People interested in a great Muses album that they can find right away could do well to find Hunkpapa (1989), in my mind the best record they did with the key founding members still intact. The first album, simply titled "Throwing Muses" is also really good, but don't be surprised if you find the recording a pain in the behind to find.