Lisnaholic

This is a discussion thread for this album :-

It was a recent pollwinner in the FAIR Album club, but of course anyone is welcome to comment, especially if they have managed to locate the album somewhere, which I have so far failed to do.
Is it particularly obscure ?

__________________
"Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

Salami

Well, I hadn't heard this album before this event, and I can't say it's easy listening either. It certainly has some of the deepest and most thoughtful lyrics I've heard in a country album released in the last decade.

I think it is a fantastic album, the instrumentation is excellent and unintrusive and Brown's voice is fantastically gritty and has a unique edge. In some ways it reminds me of Bob Dylan in "Time out of Mind", in some ways it's completely dissimilar to anything else I've come across.

To "whet" your appetite in case you haven't heard it yet, I invite you now to listen to track 3 - "Cold+Dark+Wet", one of my favourites and an unusually playful yet laid back sound. Enjoy!



I fell in love like a drunk in a pond.
That twisted gal of whom I was fond,
She found a new man on the internet.
Wham I'm spam and it's cold and dark and wet.

Tell me what is a fella supposed to do
When a car costs what a house used to
And a house is a pile of chipboard, paint, and debt.
I'm at the city limits and it's cold and dark and wet

Big rig rolling over me in a blizzard -
I'm living on beans and chicken gizzards.
One day I was young, the next day I was old.
Late November, it's wet and dark and cold.

Jobs, I guess they're like wild geese -
They all went flying overseas.
I'm standing in the rain smoking my last cigarette.
Morning in America is cold and dark and wet.

Christmas lights are going up,
I could use a little joy juice in my cup.
Life is not a walk across the park,
Not when it's wet and cold and dark.

Well, it's very unusual, but I personally found it a great listen. What do you think?

EDIT: Lisnaholic: It is on Spotify if you're having trouble finding it elsewhere:

Lisnaholic

Thanks, Salami -and fazstp- I`m listening to the album now and am quite impressed with the two tracks I`ve heard so far. Thanks also for posting the lyrics, as sometimes it`s not easy to catch what he`s singing. Have you found that ?

__________________
"Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

Stephen

I guess you would describe this album as somewhere between blues and country. This is a collection of mellow, introspective and soulful tracks. I'm not really familiar with Greg Brown but on the strength of this album I would like to explore the rest of his rather prolific output.


He certainly has a rather earthy voice, kind of reminiscent of Tom Waits on his more gin-soaked tracks. The rest of the lyrics and a lot more info can be found here;

Greg Brown
Lyrics - The Evening Call

Salami

Yes, Brown certainly likes to mumble a bit when he sings, and I often find he trails off a bit towards the end of certain words and phrases.
For instance, the very first line of that last song "I fell in love like a drunk in a pond", was for me completely unintelligible.
I also think that his style of vibrato obscures the words a lot, which certainly makes it hard to follow.
Personally, I think it serves an interesting purpose, in this case emphasizing the metaphor "like a drunk in a pond" - sounds so much more poignant when he's making an effort to sound a bit drunk - and for me it really brings out the sense of depression.

Anyway, this is wild speculation, but for me it makes the album sound more interesting, as he seems to be trying to make his voice fit the mood very well.

Good work for running this poll - hopefully people are still listening to the album before making their judgment!

Lisnaholic

This album has been slowly growing on me during a week of listening to it. When Salami said it reminded him of Time Out Of Mind, I thought I was in for a pretty bleak experience, but I actually found most of GB`s songs had a warmer feel than big bad Bob`s most depressing album. If anything, Evening Call reminds me more of Love And Theft; songs from a man resigned to growing old, but finding comfort and humour in the process too.
I agree with what you say about the singing, Salami, that his style suits the mood so well, even though it means almost losing a wonderful line like, "I fell in love like a drunk in a pond" ! In fact I quickly grew to enjoy his throaty crooning, as well as the leisurely, clopping rhythm of the tracks, and his lyrics in general, which sound as casual as a conversation, but often take a quirky, unexpected turn. Favourite tracks so far would be Bucket and Kokomo, I think, but every track seems to hold something of interest.

So, another gem from fazstp, another artist who is completely new to me and a singer whose albums I hope to investigate more, starting with the links(Thanks) that you posted. If I find another GB album as good as Evening Call, I`ll let you know.

__________________
"Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

Stephen

After an admittedly cursory survey of his catalogue I think I might try his 2000 album Covenant. Previews sound pretty nice.