The other link I posted is not varied much at all, so I went ahead and signed up for RYM just to use the random feature. Pulled up a few where I couldn't find full albums and some were just singles releases. I also skipped a few just because I wanted to, which I know I shouldn't do. I'm trying to not get in the habit of skipping albums just because I think I won't like it, no matter the genre, which I almost did with this pick. But that defeats the purpose of randomness, so here we go:
Fred Eaglesmith - Drive-In Movie
Genre(s): Rock, Folk, World, & Country
Year: 1996
General Pace: Slow to moderate, downbeat, wonky, twangy.
Lyrics: Some interesting turns of phrase, some traditional heart-pang issues, and a lot of odes to Americana, or maybe it's Canadiana, because Eaglesmith is Canadian.
Listenthrough: If you didn't know Eaglesmith loved trains and automobiles before hitting the play button, you certainly will by the end of
Drive-In Movie, with such lyrics as "I was born on a Greyhound bus, momma was a diesel engine," "49 tons of diesel locomotive couldn't drag me back to you," and "I wish I was a freight train." Tracks three to five deal with relationship woes, and those make for his least interesting material on the disc IMO, even with some of the backing vocals provided by Lynn Miles. Outside of that,
Drive-In Movie is small town, throwback reflective type of stuff: Station Wagons, hookers, women on parole, soda machines, and winding, deserted roads with old-time gas stations. It's all there.
Best Song: White Rose is the best-produced.
Summation: I have to say, as much as the train and automobile themes felt somewhat semi-forced, this album would've been a lot more fun and creative if he continued down that road through its entirety. Just to see what he would've come up with, lyrically. If you want something that evokes a go West (to British Columbia? I suppose), wide-open, dusty road, good-natured outlaw experience with a little heartbreak on the side, this might be for you.
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I looked him up on Wikipedia
after I wrote this and found this:
Quote:
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As a teenager Eaglesmith hopped a freight train to Western Canada and began writing songs and performing.
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That was pretty much my takeaway, so I'd say he got that across in this album like he intended.