Customer Reviews
A Beautiful Sound 
2008-07-03
This is the kinda of music that can stop you in the midst of your tracks.
Creativity and beauty swimming in perfect harmony.
Her music makes you proud to be HUMAN.
Regina is the best!!! 2008-05-20
Think..a happy Tori Amos. Think..Fiona Apple at her proper weight level.
This is great music. And Regina Spektor should be a star. I can't wait to see what's next.
Pleasantly suprised 
2008-04-28
I didn't realize how much I would like her music. Aside from a very unique voice, her lyrics are truly original. I haven't stopped listening to this album since I got it!
A Revelation! 2008-04-22
At first this CD fell strange on my ear, and I didn't think I liked it. But something made me listen and brought me back again and again. I am now firmly of the opinion that Regina Spektor is an astonishing talent. Her musical style expands the boundaries and grays the lines among many musical genres: folk, pop, classical, rock, jazz, ethnic, etc. And, oh boy, can she sing! And play the piano, too! Also, the guitar! Her melodies are generally high energy and catchy (read "can't get it out of your head"), none of that monotonic, pedestrian tripe that many songwriters use as bland conveyances for their lyrics. Instead, with Regina, there is always a spark of genius and a freshness, like something special and new has come into the world. Her lyrics often combine a playful childlike whimsy with flashes of profound insight. She will exaggerate the pronunciation of a certain word as a child might or as someone from the Bronx might, obviously just for the fun of it. And you come away from the experience feeling that's what she is all about, having fun with the sound. For me, she has been nothing short of a revelation. We need more of Regina Spektor!
Amazing! 2008-04-21
I share my ipod with my husband, so sometimes songs/cd's appear on it and I've no idea what to expect. So I'm walking along, down new york city streets, and this amazing voice comes on, singing clever, sad, witty, dazzling songs. I didn't even know what I was listening to, but I knew that I couldn't bear to turn it off, and will listen to her again and again. Regina Spektor doesn't sound like everyone else, indeed she doesn't sound like anyone else, she's not folk, not pop, plays a beautiful piano. Definitely worth exploring. A happy find.
a beautiful introduction to Regina Spektor...... 2008-03-14
Regina Spektor’s last album, 2004’s Soviet Kitsch, garnered praise from Time, Rolling Stone, Spin, Vanity Fair, The New York Times and many others. But this Russian-born, Bronx-bred singer-songwriter-pianist, who emerged from the NYC café circuit, continues to expand her vision. On Begin To Hope, produced by David Kahne (The Strokes, Sublime, Sugar Ray), she broadens here palette with electric guitar, drum machines and seductive electronic loops, finding new canvases for her provocative vocal style. Hope for pop has arrived with Regina Spektor.
Pleasantly Surprised 2008-01-30
This is how it works . . .
If you are expecting an artist like Sarah McLachlan or Vanessa Carlton, this is not the CD for you.
If you like artists with a bit more spunk and quirk, like Tori Amos, Bjork, or Fiona Apple, then listening to this album will be like enjoying a new favorite flavor of your favorite drink--new, refreshing, and enjoyable; it isn't going to replace the classic favorites you already love, but rather, it will add to them.
I first heard Regina Spektor on VH1 with "Fidelity" and though I liked the song, and it would get stuck in my head pretty easily, I was hesitant in buying the album because I thought she might be too what we call in Phoenix, "KEZ", or light music, the kind of safe light-hearted fare heard playing faintly in a department store.
But I was thankfully very wrong.
My friend bought me the CD for Christmas and when I listened to it, and listened to it twice (no dj was asleep, I just wanted to), I discovered that each song is unique on this album, has its own style, its own personality. Spektor's voice is beautiful in each song but also displays her range and variety in vocal styles.
This is one of the most fresh albums to come out in a long while. It has more to offer than the typical run-of-the-mill pop. Interesting vocals, lyrics that tell stories and also lead to singing along, artistry, creativity, piano, rock, soul--this album has it all. It's full of character and is guaranteed to be on repeat in your iPod if you get it. Some favorites of mine: "Better", "Apres Moi", "Edit", "That Time".
Interesting if Odd lyrics 2008-01-20
I bought this as a gift for my cousin and she made me listen to it some. I liked the music, but thought the lyrics were just....odd.
Love Regina! 2008-01-20
Good driving to the beach music. Or walking through the rain in the city music.
Just good music.
Spektored : A Worthy Successor to Fiona Apple 2008-01-14
I knew Regina from her album "Soviet Kitsch", so I wasn't expecting anything revolutionary from this CD. My primary concern was with her voice - on that earlier album, it was more tinny and reed-like, and its obvious that she has worked very hard to get to where she is right now.
Regina Spektor, for the uninitiated, is very much in the Fiona Apple/Tori Amos mold. She isn't quite as lyrically gifted (or weird) as Amos is, but she is in every way comparable to Fiona Apple. In fact, listening to Track 1 "Fidelity", it is evident that Regina's voice is now much more comfortable in the lower register, lending the entire CD a smoky, blues-bar feel that is very, very appealing.
Reviewers have compared this to Feists' "The Reminder" and "I Megaphone" by Imogen Heap. I would agree, but if there is one peeve, and a minor one at that, is that I think Regina should go all out and indulge herself in the more orchestral pieces of work that she seems more inclined to. Some of the songs here, such as "Samson" are in dire need of a revamped version. Then again, I have not seen her in concert, so maybe she does do things differently on stage.
Regina Spektor's voice, however, is an acquired taste. I would say that if you don't like Joanna Newsom, you won't like this. Regina and Joanna sing from the same place, and this has been an issue for many listeners who like the music, but don't like the voice.
The 30 second audio samples on Amazon don't do this justice. If you are a fan of Tori, Fiona or even Alanis, I would say, give this a blind buy. You won't regret, and even in the worst case scenario, there are at least four good songs here that you can revisit.
Four Stars.
