the delicate and intricate melodies gives this album such a cool sound, and corey's voice is an almost hypnotic power throughout the album. fans of classical, and non-fans alike are gonna dig this album

im not such a fan of classical music, but theres something about this album that gives it a whole new feel. the clarinet and cello melodies give dargel's voice a really nice and fitting base to work over. the lyrics are direct and pack a punch great album

Certainly one of the best releases of 2010. Dargel really proves on this album that he is a true master of creating amazing chamber style orchestrations, which make for an amazing combination when played under his deep, Brian Eno-esque vocal melodies. The two CD's make for a ton of great material, with some great topics and images. Definitely worth it!

This is not classical music. It is poor pop. BB King has a cello in The Thrill Is Gone, should that be classified as classical? I think not.

This is a mind-blowingly artful and thoroughly beautiful album. These song-cycles rank up there with Schumann. Don't believe me? Download a few and see for yourself.

I've been following Dargel for a while but I just can't get behind this song setting. It sounds too much as if he's trying to become a pop artist. Both the music and lyrics where just too trite to bother with. Nobody's perfect it seems. -BZ

Don't be off-put by the double album, this is really two seperate albums - for the price of one! The first disc has what I've come to expect from Dargel, the off-kilter tunes and interesting orchestrations, and a certain bemused distance from his subjects. The second disc was surprisingly intimate, though, and showed a different side. There's more pathos to his characters here. The songs, all in all, are some of his strongest yet melodically, and very accessible. My only complaint would be that it's odd having the (excellent!) remix of "What Will It Be" tacked onto "Removeable Parts" when the original track is part of "13 Near Death Experiences" but that's a minor quibble, and easy enough to change in iTunes.

Corey's music breaks my heart and then pieces it together again.

Beautiful melodies, intricately orchestrated. One of my favorite '10 releases so far.

This is an absolutely phenomenal album. Don't be scared away by the price--this is a double album, and you get plenty of bang for the buck. Both Removable Parts and 13 Near Death Experiences are terrific sets, but I'm particularly in love with the latter. The phenomenal playing by ICE is part of it, but Dargel's haunted, sometimes almost broken, song structures are the main reason. It's an imperfect analogy, but there's a little bit of David Byrne in here, especially in the use of a somewhat disaffected vocal style that fails to completely mask the genuine emotions underneath. The orchestration is also a high-point. Dargel has a fantastic ear for instrument combinations that sound perfectly natural, but are actually fairly non-standard and intriguing. There's enough intricate interplay underneath the surface to reward multiple listenings. If you're like me, you'll hear new things every time you listen. Buy this record!