Category: (Music)
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Country blues ready for the roadhouse!
Enjoyable? Yes. Brilliant? No.Reviewed by Bruce J. Morton, 2002-05-15
Is this CD an all-time great? Nope. Epic? Hardly. Do the other reviewers have their heads in a dark place? Welllll, not exactly :) Having been a serious music listener for 25 years, I tend to know what I like. Right away. Three notes is usually enough, unless horrid vocals undermine what could/should be good stuff (in my case, Black Crowes, later Tom Waits come to mind). Point being, tunes almost never "grow on me". This disk seems to be the rare exception. First time through, I wasn't impressed. Yes, the main singer does a nice Dylan impression, another sounds like Mick, and many of the riffs have the Byrds written all over them. However, in terms of impact and songwriting prowess, this weighs in closer to the Hollies than to any of the aforementioned legends. The lead guitar lacks muscle, and the drumming is fairly lightweight at times. That having been said, I CRANKED the transcendent new release of Little Feat's Waiting For Columbus on the way to work today. So what have I found myself humming all morning? Not Fat Man, not Dixie Chicken, but the Circuit Riders' Brown Eyed Biloxi Queen, a catchy tune if there ever was one. High Lonesome Road and Buffalo Creek Bridge are quality tracks, as well. The best songs on this disc would fit in nicely on The Basement Tapes, which is high praise in my book. I'm not sure I'll ever play this without wanting to skip Looks Aren't Everything, but any band's allowed one clunker. Deed of Trust is clearly getting under my skin more with each listen - a definite keeper. There's something of value here, and I'm glad I didn't write if off too quickly. I'll be on the lookout for more - if these guys can put together something with a little more meat behind it, they could make some serious noise.
Good alt-country discReviewed by M. Byers, 2002-04-23
American Beauty Rose Dead meets Nashville Skyline Dylan.
Good stuff.
alexandria reviewReviewed by DJ, 2001-07-24
These guys are son volt, dylan, and doc watson rolled up into one country groove. Definitely check them out.
