This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
WHAT KIND OF MUSIC DOES HE PLAY? Although he started off in new wave pop-punks Boomtown Rats, these days Bob Geldof — Sir Bob to you, thanks to his fundraising efforts with Band Aid and other charitable endearvours — has matured into an artsy neo-troubadour.
WHERE IS HE FROM? As near as I can tell, the Irish-born Geldof now makes his home in England, though the self-described “Brother Theresa” seems to be at home anywhere from Buckingham Palace to an Ethiopian refugee camp.
HOW DOES THIS SOUND? Like another famous Bob: Dylan. If he enlisted Pink Floyd as his backing band, that is. Fueled by the 48-year-old Geldof’s grainy rasp and Zimmy-esque lyrics (“There are many here among us / who feel the sight is but a joke”), backed by lush, languid and gorgeously crafted soundscapes that balance classic art-rock with edgy electronics, the 55-minute Sex, Age & Death examines its titular subjects with intelligence, insight and searing emotional honesty.
