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Post by jrmugz on Oct 23, 2014 20:16:52 GMT
Nod Over Coffee – Nice chorus, vocals remind me of someone else, one of the Finn brothers I think. I liked the separation between the instruments, you can kind of hear them all clearly - the sound as a whole on this album is very clear. Must be down to the producer? Lonely Moon – Interesting lyrics, sung with feeling. Goes on too long for me. Worry Too Much – Guitar sound is good, sort of Dire Straits-ey. Rolls along nicely but gets a bit repetitive towards the end. Look Over Your Shoulder – Definitely a Finn vibe going on here, that's not a bad thing at all. Plods a bit for my liking but you can tell he put a lot of thought into the lyrics. She Don't Have A Clue – I like this one, it has a dark undertone a bit like "Every Step You Take" and the soft percussion is pretty. Talking In Circles – Good intro and the lyrics stand out too. I like the line about the hammerhead shark, anyone who gets a hammerhead shark into a song is alright by me. Love Is Not The Only Thing – Pleasant song but not setting the world on fire for me. The hammond organ in the middle lifts it though. I Just Wanna Get Warm – Intro immediately reminds me of The Strawbs. Also sounds like a song that might have been on O Brother Where Art Thou? Nice bit of fiddling. Another Good Lie – A bit too long and uneventful for me, but he sings it like he means it. All Too Soon – The call and response chorus sounds good against the sharp guitar sound. A bit Fleetwood Mac? Like the outro. It's Not Your Fault – Never a bad thing when a person takes the blame and absolves someone else. I expect this went down well with whoever he wrote it for. I'm Looking Through You – Neat bit of fiddling, reminds me of something the Monkees might have done. Good foot tapping tune. What Kind Of A Friend – He's really gone to town on this one, plenty of thought has gone into the lyrics and passion into the performance. Maybe a bit too personal for an outsider to hear, but I bet he felt better getting it off his chest. The Way Of Men - Again this is all about the meaning - for me the song is quite slow and goes on a bit too long, but you can hear how much it means to him. Looking back over my review what I mostly notice is how many other artists I was reminded of. This is not a bad thing because they are all artists I enjoy listening to. And Mark Heard was plainly a gifted lyricist, what a terrible waste that he died so young. Thanks for sharing this, Jim. This isn't my normal kind of music and I'm not a great fan of the very slow stuff, but it's always interesting to hear something that really moves someone else Yeah, it's definitely about the lyrics, to me the music is nice and relaxing and consistent to keep the album cohesive. One lyric I really like is the bridge of "Look Over Your Shoulder": If you must be afraid be afraid of yourself
For being afraid of the fear you have felt
You will weather well in a climate of loveJim
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Post by jrmugz on Oct 24, 2014 16:50:39 GMT
Hey guys, only a couple days left on this, any other comments? Any comments from Chippa or unomusette on "another day in limbo", the electric song from Mark Heard I posted? Jim
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Post by Helmut83 on Oct 25, 2014 4:58:02 GMT
My review:
I had never heard about Mark idem (we must avoid redundancies), an this album was a good revelation. It is very melody-based and most of the songs sound inspired, non-forced. The sound is very clean and tidy. I’m usually not a big fan of the sentimental, thoughtful, “intellectual” songwriters, but I found myself enjoying several songs on this album.
On the cons side, I’m not too keen on whole acoustic albums, and at some point my ear was asking for a change in sound, despite the fact that the songs are good. The songs were there and the only thing he needed to do is record some in a more electric fashion, but who knows, maybe if he had done it it wouldn’t have come out well.
- Nod over coffee: great song; and it’s the first time I will say this since reviewing albums on this section: great pick for an opener. I don’t agree with you Jim about the chorus being so crushing and forceful as a chorus could be, but that doesn’t go against the fact that it’s very good.
- Lonely moon: decent song, with a certain air of sadness. The rhythmic section does some interesting patterns. Agreed with Uno about it needing to be shorter.
- Worry too much: sounds quite like something early Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers would have done. I like the rhythm and the chorus is OK, but I didn’t find it particularly interesting.
- Look over your shoulder: very nice ballad, quite emotional. I liked it. What makes it quite special is how the melody goes down at the end of each verse (“…tell me what’s coming…”). That’s what makes the song. The chorus messes up a bit, but when it comes to the verse it’s great again.
- She don’t have a clue: I don’t get this one. I can’t find much interesting happening here.
- Talking in circles: I was surprised to find some kind of reggae here. It didn’t convince me much, and he could have made more and better with the harmonica. Not the most inspired song.
- Love is not the only thing: I really liked the verse on this one, but the chorus doesn’t fit it IMO and left me wanting something more (that part of “but it’s the best thing” tears it down for me). Nice organ arrangements and solo.
- I just wanna get warm: always love a good country song. Those instrumental interludes were good to, although I would have liked to have them filled with instrumental solos. But anyway, I loved it.
- Another good lie: loved the lyrics on this one and the music is also good in my opinion. Pleasant and with one of the best choruses of the album.
- All too soon: didn’t like this one. The verses are nothing special and the chorus is incredibly flat in my opinion and might be the worst bit of the album.
- It’s not your fault: an OK song, but it always seems like it’s going to finally boom but it never booms, or at least not as strong as your ear is expecting. Liked the pedal steel guitar though.
- I’m looking through you: good cover of the Beatles’ song. I liked it better than the original, played with more feeling and the instrumentation (fiddle) is much more proper for the style of the song.
- What kind of friend: I’m not keen on songs as slow as this one.
- The way of men: another reflective song, but this one has more pace, a thicker instrumental layer and the melody is much stronger. I really liked it and he sings it with much feeling. A good way to close the album IMO.
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Post by jrmugz on Oct 25, 2014 11:28:52 GMT
My review: I had never heard about Mark idem (we must avoid redundancies), an this album was a good revelation. It is very melody-based and most of the songs sound inspired, non-forced. The sound is very clean and tidy. I’m usually not a big fan of the sentimental, thoughtful, “intellectual” songwriters, but I found myself enjoying several songs on this album. On the cons side, I’m not too keen on whole acoustic albums, and at some point my ear was asking for a change in sound, despite the fact that the songs are good. The songs were there and the only thing he needed to do is record some in a more electric fashion, but who knows, maybe if he had done it it wouldn’t have come out well. - Nod over coffee: great song; and it’s the first time I will say this since reviewing albums on this section: great pick for an opener. I don’t agree with you Jim about the chorus being so crushing and forceful as a chorus could be, but that doesn’t go against the fact that it’s very good. - Lonely moon: decent song, with a certain air of sadness. The rhythmic section does some interesting patterns. Agreed with Uno about it needing to be shorter. - Worry too much: sounds quite like something early Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers would have done. I like the rhythm and the chorus is OK, but I didn’t find it particularly interesting. - Look over your shoulder: very nice ballad, quite emotional. I liked it. What makes it quite special is how the melody goes down at the end of each verse (“…tell me what’s coming…”). That’s what makes the song. The chorus messes up a bit, but when it comes to the verse it’s great again. - She don’t have a clue: I don’t get this one. I can’t find much interesting happening here. - Talking in circles: I was surprised to find some kind of reggae here. It didn’t convince me much, and he could have made more and better with the harmonica. Not the most inspired song. - Love is not the only thing: I really liked the verse on this one, but the chorus doesn’t fit it IMO and left me wanting something more (that part of “but it’s the best thing” tears it down for me). Nice organ arrangements and solo. - I just wanna get warm: always love a good country song. Those instrumental interludes were good to, although I would have liked to have them filled with instrumental solos. But anyway, I loved it. - Another good lie: loved the lyrics on this one and the music is also good in my opinion. Pleasant and with one of the best choruses of the album. - All too soon: didn’t like this one. The verses are nothing special and the chorus is incredibly flat in my opinion and might be the worst bit of the album. - It’s not your fault: an OK song, but it always seems like it’s going to finally boom but it never booms, or at least not as strong as your ear is expecting. Liked the pedal steel guitar though. - I’m looking through you: good cover of the Beatles’ song. I liked it better than the original, played with more feeling and the instrumentation (fiddle) is much more proper for the style of the song. - What kind of friend: I’m not keen on songs as slow as this one. - The way of men: another reflective song, but this one has more pace, a thicker instrumental layer and the melody is much stronger. I really liked it and he sings it with much feeling. A good way to close the album IMO. OK, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one Helmut. A few things in response to some of your comments and in general, firstly this guy IS an electric artist, this was just a one-off acoustic album, maybe to fit the nature of the lyrics better. He has several other albums that cover a variety of styles, from synth-pop (where he made the whole album himself and called himself Ideola) to the much more electric guitar nature of his last album "Satellite Sky". Also, from my experience this CD gets much better with each play, as the hooks sink in better, etc. Also, I think that for any mediocre reviews, based on its laid back and reflective nature, for my part I would be hard-pressed to say the lyrics weren't top notch. Another thing, keep in mind this guy is an artist's artist, who I've never heard questioned for his authenticity. Guys like T-Bone Burnett, Bruce Cockburn, Pierce, Pettis, etc. are among his greatest fans. In fact he was signed to Bruce Cockburn's Rounder Records, but died before he could make any albums for it. Anyhow, glad I was able to introduce everyone to a new artist, and glad that everyone at least liked some of the songs. To me, he's like Dylan, love him or hate him or somewhere in between, if you're a fan of great songs, you'll wind up appreciating some of his contributions. Jim
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Post by jefflynnenut on Oct 25, 2014 12:52:50 GMT
Great album.....couldn't believe how much it sounded like crowded house at times! I hate finding great music to find out the artist has died! Great album though Jim!
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Post by Helmut83 on Oct 25, 2014 16:03:43 GMT
Jim, I never give much importance to lyrics. Music is all about the music for me.
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Post by unomusette on Oct 25, 2014 20:27:33 GMT
Hey guys, only a couple days left on this, any other comments? Any comments from Chippa or unomusette on "another day in limbo", the electric song from Mark Heard I posted? Jim Hi, just listened to it. It sounds quite up to the minute, what with the popularity of Mumford and Sons and Bellowhead. I prefer this sort of song to the slower, acoustic numbers - I agree with Helmut that it would be good to have had this sort of track amongst the tracks on Second Hand. Thanks for sharing, Jim
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Post by jrmugz on Oct 26, 2014 0:28:56 GMT
Hey guys, only a couple days left on this, any other comments? Any comments from Chippa or unomusette on "another day in limbo", the electric song from Mark Heard I posted? Jim Hi, just listened to it. It sounds quite up to the minute, what with the popularity of Mumford and Sons and Bellowhead. I prefer this sort of song to the slower, acoustic numbers - I agree with Helmut that it would be good to have had this sort of track amongst the tracks on Second Hand. Thanks for sharing, Jim Yeah, I kept thinking I should have put the "Satellite Sky" CD instead, that has "Another Day in Limbo" and a bunch of other great tracks, all of the electric nature. Well cool guys, thanks for sharing your thoughts, I appreciate it. Looking forward to the new CD of the week tomorrow! Jim
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Post by jrmugz on Oct 26, 2014 0:31:27 GMT
Jim, I never give much importance to lyrics. Music is all about the music for me. This from a guy critiques and re-arranges my simple use of "baa baa" in "Raining In the Farm". Jim
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Post by Helmut83 on Oct 26, 2014 5:45:24 GMT
Jim, I never give much importance to lyrics. Music is all about the music for me. This from a guy critiques and re-arranges my simple use of "baa baa" in "Raining In the Farm". Jim Haha... to fit the melody... important clarification.
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Post by Horacewimp on Oct 26, 2014 9:16:23 GMT
This from a guy critiques and re-arranges my simple use of "baa baa" in "Raining In the Farm". Jim Haha... to fit the melody... important clarification. Who said you could mess with my animals
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Post by jrmugz on Oct 26, 2014 11:21:34 GMT
This from a guy critiques and re-arranges my simple use of "baa baa" in "Raining In the Farm". Jim Haha... to fit the melody... important clarification. I know, I was just messin'. Jim
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Post by queenofthehours on Oct 26, 2014 17:27:58 GMT
Nod Over Coffee – I like an album with a country style. The mandolin proves you can't go wrong by featuring it on any track. Great guitar, a positive song. It could be one of my favourite tracks. I played this one many times.
Lonely Moon – Another great track. Very country. Reminds me a little of the Waterboys. Worry Too Much - Reminds me of Tom Petty. The slide guitar is great; I like it a lot.
Look Over Your Shoulder – A nice gentle one but still strong. I like the harmony vocal, it fits in well, and I love the guitars of all types used here. This song was still in my head for a long time afterwards.
She Don't Have A Clue - A bit Beatlesy in parts around the choruses. It seems a little dark in tone but great all the same.
Talking In Circles – Bit of a dub reggae sound with the bass, an interesting sound. Great singing voice. I like the guitar sound towards the end.
Love Is Not the Only Thing – I like the guitar and drum intro. Nice and bright sounding. The melody to this record is good too - as if it was adapted from a lost Beatles song.
I Just Wanna Get Warm – More good guitar – makes me wish I could play it! I like the fiddle. Another Good Lie - A bit of a Crowded House feel to this track.
All Too Soon – I like this one a lot, everything about it – funny how you find it hard to describe the songs you like best! Great acoustic guitar again.
It's Not Your Fault - Love the drums here.
I'm Looking Through You - One of the best Beatles covers ever. Why did the Beatles never utilise the fiddle like this?
What Kind of Friend - Beautiful.
The Way Of Men - A lovely ending track. Very Waterboys.
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Post by Helmut83 on Oct 26, 2014 17:48:33 GMT
Haha... to fit the melody... important clarification. Who said you could mess with my animals No, no! I didn't mean to say that! I have already learned my lesson. I once tried to get into the henhouse to get some cockerel noises and I got crapped all over from above. That's when I said "I better leave this to Horace, these hens must respect him more".
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Post by unomusette on Oct 26, 2014 20:26:09 GMT
I think it's the cockerel costume he always wears
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