Tasty Turin

Advantages: Fabulous food, fabulous people, fabulous city
Disadvantages: None

...Being my first trip to Italy I was very excited about the prospect of good food, good wine and of course good sights. Considering that I first thought that I was being asked to go to Truro in Cornwall imagine my delight when I discovered it was actually Turin, Italy (Geography isn?t a strong point of mine). I was only in Turin for 2 nights so only got a taste of the area, but it left me wanting more. ********* History of Turin **************** Describing Turin is not an easy task; the city is known for its cold, greyness and large industries. On the other hand, it is also a fascinating, interesting city. It is a city of charm, rich in historic monuments with the entrepreneurial spirit of a place in continual economic growth. It is very ordered, I was told this is because it was built to an urban plan from the roman period...

zippyfi 29.07.2003 · Read review
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Review of Turin (Italy)

Turin Brakes in concert

Advantages: Great Music, Great Band
Disadvantages: none

...A few months ago Turin Brakes came to perform in Birmingham at the Academy and I went along to see them. The Academy is quite a small venue, so the perfomances there can feel really personal. I already really liked the bands last album (The Optimist) and the day after the concert their new album was launched. Therefore the band played alot of old an new stuff. Music wise i really loved it, they played all my favourites from the Optimist and the new songs were even better. However, the reason why I wanted to write a review on this concert was not mainly because their music and songs were brilliant (which they were). What i wanted to say is that a few days before this concert the whole band had got a bug and it was quite nasty. Olly (the lead singer) said that they had been puking all day because of the bug, and it was so bad...

Suewan 10.05.2003 · Read review
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Review of Turin Brakes

An education

Advantages: Scenery, museums, food, shopping
Disadvantages: English not widely spoken - brush up on the basics before you go

...What I knew about Turin you could write on the back of a postage stamp - home of FIAT, famous Shroud, The Italian Job - boy did I have a lot to learn! The capital of the Piedmont region, Torino became home to the Kings of Italy when Vittorio Emanuale II of the House of Savoy (which had reigned in the area for 500 years) was crowned and the beautiful palace, Palazzo Reale (piazza Castello 191) is well worth a visit. Tours take place every hour. Don't be alarmed if you do not get an English speaking guide, there are detailed written descriptions in each room in English and French and you are given time to read them before being moved on. **Getting there and Where to Stay** With Ryannair offering such great deals, even the overnight stay and early departure from Stansted were worth it. Flight time to aeroporto Pertini CASSELLE...

BristolBud 24.05.2004 · Read review
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Review of Turin (Italy)

Bottled at Source: A Good Vintage

Advantages: A great album of rare and unreleased material with a "best of" compilation attached.
Disadvantages: None to speak of. Lyrics in the sleeve notes would have been a good addition.

...INTRODUCTION Every now and again, you come across a band whose sound is so simple and pure that you selfishly wish that no one else will discover them. Fame and fortune changes people, and I often find that as soon as they make it, many groups seem to drift away from what made them successful in the first place. Fortunately, this does not appear to be the case with Turin Brakes, a band that I ?discovered? quite by accident. My sister recently moved to Armenia to live and work there on a more or less permanent basis, and left me a large part of her sizeable CD collection. Poring through them for something new to listen to, I chanced upon Turin Brakes? Optimist album, and I have been hooked on their sound ever since. I was delighted to find my sister had their entire back catalogue (not that there is that much of it) but even so...

Hishyeness 16.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Bottled At Source (The Best Of The Source Years) - Turin Brakes

The mistery and the charm

Advantages: A charming town
Disadvantages: No one

...Turin always makes me think to my childhood and to my father. We usually get there during weekends, or when I was free from my scholar duties. He did a peculiar work, he was a window dresser, and the majority of his clients were in Turin. Strangely as it is, I never saw Turin with the sun: when I got there the weather was always rainy and cold! Turin is a serious, grey, shiny town, that makes me think to an old lady of the middle of the 19th century. Marbles are everywhere, and the ancient buildings cover different architectural styes, from Renaissance to Liberty. The charm of this town is in its atmosphere of mistery, as if any corner should hide a secret. From the middle of the town, the large Castle Square, all the streets unravel themselves like a chessboard, so the layout of the town is perfectly geometrical. A visitor...

shaoli2 25.01.2004 · Read review
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Review of Turin (Italy)

Baroque experience

Advantages: A town to discover
Disadvantages: new to tourism

...Turin is a regal, baroque toy. Of the early life of this town you can still see the two gates of the roman 'castrum'fortified village): one is the Porta Palatina the other is barely visible because was merged in the Juvara's Palazzo Madama. Of the medieval life only one complete (half abandoned) house. The real soul of this town is the essential baroque of the Savoia dinasty. If you want the look and feel of a XVII-XVIII century town, please, visit Turin. When the Savoia Family (the future kings of Italy) moved from Chambery (France) to Turin they trasformed the little town in a great exposition of their greatness. They call this architectural project 'theatrum sabaudae' the theatre of the Savoia. They build a major Royal Palace in the centre of the town (Palazzo Reale in piazza Castello) and another in the Parco del Valentino, then...

PicodellaMirandola 28.08.2001 · Read review
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Review of Turin (Italy)

Oh Please Save Me, Save Me From Myself

Advantages: Very Chilled out debut album, Real talent waiting to hit it big
Disadvantages: Few weak tracks but to be expected from a debut

...As Turin Brakes release their second album tomorrow morning, I thought I?d do a review on the first album they released two years ago, which has led us till today. Anyone who watched Top of The Pops on Friday night will have seen Turin Brakes performing the current single from the new album; Painkiller. Of course I understand if a lot of people just let it pass them by but in-case you were interested then the guys behind Turin Brakes are Ollie Knights and Gale Paridjanian both from South London. They are another to follow on the UK music scene in the vein of Coldplay and the likes. Although the first album didn?t really take off like Coldplay?s it looks like they might be about to do a Travis with a phenomenal second Album. From this first album it has been easy to tell that they were not the finished article at the time but now...

Andy.mack 02.03.2003 (25.03.2003) · Read review
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Review of Optimist EP, The - Turin Brakes

I'm the stone you've just thrown into the ocean

Advantages: A more Mature sound than the last album
Disadvantages: The Hidden track as i hate long Gaps.

...Well after there debut album Turin Brakes return with the second Ether Song. After getting a lot of critical acclaim in the papers the fan base never really seemed to happen, even thought I was telling anyone who’d listen about them at the time. Well after a couple of years of touring Ollie Knight and Gale Paridjanian returned with first two singles Long Distance and Painkiller, which suddenly helped them conquer the album charts. The style of music hasn’t changed and it’s still the acoustic guitar style of the first album however this time the drums have been brought in on some tracks. Of course the South London boys have grown up in their approach to music but then again after almost two years on the road that was bound to happen. The album opens with “Blue Hour”, which lasts 3 minutes 41 seconds. It...

Andy.mack 25.03.2003 (27.03.2003) · Read review
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Review of Ether Song - Turin Brakes

An album of two halves

Advantages: The first half
Disadvantages: The second half

...I know very little about Turin Brakes, so in order to make this review a little more complete, I decided to do some research. In my mind's eye, I had the line up of this band very similar to the likes of forgotten bands such as Starsailor, so I was surprised to see that they are just a duo, who have grown up together since they attended the same primary school in South London. Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian are the men behind the sound of Turin Brakes. Knights provides the vocals, and Paridjanian, the mellow harmonies, and innovative music. This is their second album, and after their first, The Optimist, was so well received by the fickle music critics in 2001, I really expected them to have more publicity and build up a much bigger following than they have done. At the time, they were nominated for The Mercury Music Prize, but they...

eandemam 17.02.2008 · Read review
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Review of Ether Song - Turin Brakes

An album of two halves

Advantages: The first half of the album
Disadvantages: The second half borders on dire!

...I know very little about Turin Brakes, so in order to make this review a little more complete, I decided to do some research. In my mind's eye, I had the line up of this band very similar to the likes of Starsailor et al, so I was surprised to see that they are just a duo, who have grown up together since they attended the same primary school in South London. Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian are the men behind the sound of Turin Brakes. Knights provides the vocals, and Paridjanian, the mellow harmonies, and innovative music. They have spent the last two years touring on the back of their somewhat muted success. This is their second album, and after their first, The Optimist, was so well received by the fickle music critics in 2001, I really expected them to have more publicity and build up a much bigger following than they have done...

nicanddarrell 20.12.2003 · Read review
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Review of Ether Song - Turin Brakes