RobMCFC
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Only had my first listen, and I enjoyed it, but I'll certainly be saying something like this in my full review.
The Album Review Club - Week #147 - (page 1942) - Blonde On Blonde - Bob Dylan
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threespires
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Two great albums, not even Daniel Lanois's attempts to turn it into a U2 album can spoil Wrecking Ball!
mancity2012_eamo
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Loretta Lynn on BBC 4 tonight fits the description perfectly and yet I’m finding the program quite extraordinary.
The family she came from are all recording artists. Peggy Sue. Jay Lee. Pasty Cline. She named load more I recognised. Sheryl Crow in there too.
She’s part Cherokee.
To me the music is nearer C&W than pure country but who am I to categorise an American institution.
If they say it’s country, it’s country.
Whatever way you look at it, it’s the hillbilly redneck (using their own description here) end of things that I can’t take to.
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mancity2012_eamo
Well-Known Member
Ok. I lectured earlier about the difference between C&W and country.
I take it all back. I know nothing. Because BBC4 tonight with Country st the BBC has been the stereotype of everything I hate about C&W.
Hold on Chet Atkinson has just comes on. Some nifty finger picking going on.
I take it all back. I know nothing. Because BBC4 tonight with Country st the BBC has been the stereotype of everything I hate about C&W.
Hold on Chet Atkinson has just comes on. Some nifty finger picking going on.
Bill Walker
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I actually really don't like this, it's her lazy drawl which sounds contrived/forced to me and the simplistic Pop inflected country style, the first 2 tracks sound like Pop to me but sang with a countryish drawl. very simplistic songs 3 or 4 chords which all blend into one total instantly forgettable borefest. It reminds me of one of those 70s Woolworths "Music For Pleasure" budget albums, songs by unknown singers.
I don't feel any art or emotion at all, it's as empty as the fuel tank on a dead rusted pick up truck on a lonesome highway. It's faux Country....Even the tumbleweeds take a wide berth.
I'm out, sorry 2/10
I don't feel any art or emotion at all, it's as empty as the fuel tank on a dead rusted pick up truck on a lonesome highway. It's faux Country....Even the tumbleweeds take a wide berth.
I'm out, sorry 2/10
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FogBlueInSanFran
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This one looks to be even more divisive of opinion than Moving Pictures.
Halfway through I am definitely leaning to an outlier score as well.
But you’ll have to wait to see which side of the bell curve I’m on :)
Halfway through I am definitely leaning to an outlier score as well.
But you’ll have to wait to see which side of the bell curve I’m on :)
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RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
I've noticed before, Bill, that Americana is not your thing. I have to say Im surprised - I know you play the guitar, so I would have thought you'd be one to appreciate the slide/dobro on some of these albums. To me, it is a far better sound and more creative than some of the regular blues favourites that a lot of people seem to love.
This is not a criticism by the way, just an observation as a way of provoking a bit of debate.
Its interesting to me because I always tell people I love the blues, but whenever anybody recommends something in that genre, I often find it one-paced, one-dimensional, sounds the same as everybody else and lacking in something that I can't always put my finger on.I think I'm coming to realise that the albums I really love in this genre use some of the classic blues instruments - and then move away from this genre taking it to somewhere different.
Back to this album though - I'll probably have a lot to say about it but one listen in, it's way too early to judge.
GoatersLeftShin
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Well this is an interesting one as I'm not sure it I like it or not! I've given it 2 listens now and part of me likes the 'sound' but part of me doesn't like it. It's one I really can't pin down at all.
My favourite track on the album was "Can't let go" - it was superb and that combination of country/blues is superb and it's a genre I really like. "Jackson" is another great example of this - that's a fantastic song as is "Greenville". It's really thrown me if I'm honest. I think what it is that I'm not a big country fan, but this album is a very good country album. No doubt about that.
I think this is an album I'll come back to I think as I do tend to like albums that have "something" in them that I'm not sure about. There's definitely enough in this album that I will return to, but I'm not quite sure whether I'd ever think I was in the mood for a country album, if that makes sense!
How to score it? It's not a genre I like, but I can appreciate this is a good country album. There's enough variety in the songs and they are performed well. That slide blues guitar is something else! I honestly think I'd really like to hear her play this album live. I've said before that, for me, some genres have to be enjoyed like and classical and jazz are in that bracket for me. I think I'd put this album in that category - listening to this with a decent pint would be superb!
I'll go with an 8 - a very good score from someone who's not a massive country fan!
My favourite track on the album was "Can't let go" - it was superb and that combination of country/blues is superb and it's a genre I really like. "Jackson" is another great example of this - that's a fantastic song as is "Greenville". It's really thrown me if I'm honest. I think what it is that I'm not a big country fan, but this album is a very good country album. No doubt about that.
I think this is an album I'll come back to I think as I do tend to like albums that have "something" in them that I'm not sure about. There's definitely enough in this album that I will return to, but I'm not quite sure whether I'd ever think I was in the mood for a country album, if that makes sense!
How to score it? It's not a genre I like, but I can appreciate this is a good country album. There's enough variety in the songs and they are performed well. That slide blues guitar is something else! I honestly think I'd really like to hear her play this album live. I've said before that, for me, some genres have to be enjoyed like and classical and jazz are in that bracket for me. I think I'd put this album in that category - listening to this with a decent pint would be superb!
I'll go with an 8 - a very good score from someone who's not a massive country fan!
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RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road – Lucinda Williams
In a previous review I mentioned “grit” and subsequently struggled to explain exactly what I meant. Well, this album has it in spades: an unconventional voice, rustic instruments that sound real, a well-produced album that doesn’t sound like it’s been over-produced and lyrics that talk of people and places that you can picture, or at least imagine.
I made so many notes whilst listening to this that I’d bore you all to tears if I wrote it all here, so I’ll just give you the highlights.
“Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” – fantastic - the mandolin after each chorus gives it a great feel.
“2 Kool 2 be 4-Gotten” - Despite the awful title and worse syntax this is a nice spritely/poppy number, giving a real flavour of the South with its mention of “taking up serpents”, june bugs and hurricanes.
“Can’t Let Go” – superb song and blues guitar, but it’s a pity that it’s a cover version. I always feel a little cheated when I love a song that I hear for the first time and then find out it’s not the artist’s own. However, it is a great performance and one cover in a collection of otherwise original songs is fair enough.
“Joy” – I love the vocals and guitars. Listen carefully at the start of the song – you can hear the dobro in the left speaker and the electric guitar on the right.
There are a few songs on here that on my first listen, I thought sounded “a bit too country” even for me. But I was wrong, even these songs are elevated by the accordion, the dobro, the mandolin, Lucinda Williams’ voice or some other element that makes you sit up and take notice.
There are so many things that I love about this album because it’s right up my street. I love albums that make good use of accordion, mandolin and what is probably my favourite instrument in music: the resonator/dobro. It’s such an amazing sound that I could listen to it all day. Added to this “sonic pallette” is the lyrics, which mention people, places, travel, geography – again, all things that I love about good songs.
Lucinda Williams has a great unconventional voice. @Citizen of Legoland said that it sounded like Sheryl Crow and he’s on the money in terms of the voice, because she does sound very much like her on a lot of tracks.
Having Roy Bittan (Springsteen’s long-time piano player) play Hammond and accordion on the album is another plus, as is having the great Steve Earle producing.
At first, I was thinking an 8 or a 9 for this, but even the songs that I thought were weaker grabbed me on the second and third listens. If I was weighing this against the very best albums in my collection, this would probably still be a 9, but I don’t think anybody could nominate a better album I haven’t heard before, so for the purposes of this thread, for the first time, I’ll go the full 10/10.
Well done @bennyboy, a superb choice (chef’s kiss).
In a previous review I mentioned “grit” and subsequently struggled to explain exactly what I meant. Well, this album has it in spades: an unconventional voice, rustic instruments that sound real, a well-produced album that doesn’t sound like it’s been over-produced and lyrics that talk of people and places that you can picture, or at least imagine.
I made so many notes whilst listening to this that I’d bore you all to tears if I wrote it all here, so I’ll just give you the highlights.
“Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” – fantastic - the mandolin after each chorus gives it a great feel.
“2 Kool 2 be 4-Gotten” - Despite the awful title and worse syntax this is a nice spritely/poppy number, giving a real flavour of the South with its mention of “taking up serpents”, june bugs and hurricanes.
“Can’t Let Go” – superb song and blues guitar, but it’s a pity that it’s a cover version. I always feel a little cheated when I love a song that I hear for the first time and then find out it’s not the artist’s own. However, it is a great performance and one cover in a collection of otherwise original songs is fair enough.
“Joy” – I love the vocals and guitars. Listen carefully at the start of the song – you can hear the dobro in the left speaker and the electric guitar on the right.
There are a few songs on here that on my first listen, I thought sounded “a bit too country” even for me. But I was wrong, even these songs are elevated by the accordion, the dobro, the mandolin, Lucinda Williams’ voice or some other element that makes you sit up and take notice.
There are so many things that I love about this album because it’s right up my street. I love albums that make good use of accordion, mandolin and what is probably my favourite instrument in music: the resonator/dobro. It’s such an amazing sound that I could listen to it all day. Added to this “sonic pallette” is the lyrics, which mention people, places, travel, geography – again, all things that I love about good songs.
Lucinda Williams has a great unconventional voice. @Citizen of Legoland said that it sounded like Sheryl Crow and he’s on the money in terms of the voice, because she does sound very much like her on a lot of tracks.
Having Roy Bittan (Springsteen’s long-time piano player) play Hammond and accordion on the album is another plus, as is having the great Steve Earle producing.
At first, I was thinking an 8 or a 9 for this, but even the songs that I thought were weaker grabbed me on the second and third listens. If I was weighing this against the very best albums in my collection, this would probably still be a 9, but I don’t think anybody could nominate a better album I haven’t heard before, so for the purposes of this thread, for the first time, I’ll go the full 10/10.
Well done @bennyboy, a superb choice (chef’s kiss).