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CDNow

An eclectic and enjoyable mixture of pop, light rock, light country, and tinny, horn-happy soul, Velvet is almost compulsively cheery.

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Wall of Sound

When Mullins hits his mark (as he often does on Beneath the Velvet Sun), the results constitute Southern-flavored pop at its finest. Just don't expect your world to be rocked by lyrical insights or musical innovation.

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Checkout.com

Sun's production is disappointingly safe, walking down a very predictable, somewhat dated road, instead of machete-chopping a path of its own.... [Its] most dazzling moments are its most straightforward -- the ones where Mullins strips away his affectations and flashes naked emotion.

All Music Guide

Beneath the Velvet Sun is the uneven work of a talented artist who doesn't seem to trust the idiosyncratic approach that brought him to national attention enough to really let himself go. You can hardly blame him for trying to play it safe, given his one-hit wonder status, but the album's very bow to commercialism may keep it from being the hit it might have been.

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Entertainment Weekly

It's Richard Marx filtered through Beck. [10/27/2000, p.121]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Diana S gave it a10:
I think this is Shawn's best cd yet, and I love them all! A while back I lost my cd case and my entire library of cd's. Shawn's cd's were the first ones I sought to replace. Keep up the good work Shawn.

Jarmila K gave it a10:
My goodness, this album is very very very good just like all the others he has made. He really is the best according to me. I can't stop listening to this cd. I'm addicted to it!

Jan J gave it a 9:
Wonderful. Great for singing to. Soulful. Emotional. Is in touch with emotions of human beings.

Vivian V. gave it a 10:
I haven't stopped listening to this album since I got it 3 months ago- I know every note in every song, and I never tire of it. It's an incredible production. I rank Shawn Mullins right up there with Little Feat and Jimi Jamison of Survivor- sheer brilliance.This album has prompted me to purchase 'Soul's Core', which is equally incredible.

Theo C. gave it a 7:
This is clever and light with what feels like an authentic Southern flavour to this BritCrit. The lightness is simultaneously a strength and a weakness: often fun but challenging only in the wit of the lyrics.

Jason M. gave it a 10:
One of the best albums I've owned. A leap of faith from one good song on the radio. A touch of the South and truw enjoyment of making music. Not a bad guy.

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Beneath the Velvet Sun

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