First time I tried listening to this, I was absolutely not in the mood and I gave up pretty quickly.
Turned out the album wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be and not as country leaning as I expected. The first track is a pretty good example of a style of country that I can't stand, though. I get calling most of this album folk, but the first track, with its instrumentation, its backing vocals, and even the vocal melody... it sounds like country. The kind of soft, radio oriented Nashville country that my parents have been boring me to tears with for the last 15 years, no less.
"Do Re Mi" is even worse. I hate that song. Maybe hard to understand, depending on where you're come at this from, but for me, that's one tremendously unappealing song and it exemplifies a lot of traits that are the very reason why I dodge and roll every time a country song is near.
Much of the rest of the album fares better. Nanci has a sweet voice, although nothing exciting. The music is well played, but designed to be inoffensive background filler. No substance, but it's nice enough. I can feel very, very engaged by something like Joan Baez's first few albums - much of the songs on which come from the same source as the songs on this album generally do. But where Baez is brimming with passion and the music is quiet but powerful, this Nanci Griffith album is just sort of flatlining.
In the abstract, I kind of get what people see in this, but it's a fact that it fails to light any sort of fire under yours truly. I can get along with "boring" singer/songwriter, folk and jazz of the "mild and inoffensive" variety in some cases, but most of any of those styles just bores me.
For me, this album sadly fits the "meh" category rather perfectly.
Sorry to crap on yet another album choice of yours, Troll! If it's any consolation, I guarantee you that everyone will hate my upcoming album. Feel free to punish me with 2-3 albums that you want to force me to listen to and review in my journal. I'll do it just as an apology for the rudeness, Trollheart
Linear Mode
