I see the comments so far have been very positive. I must say, I went into this record with much skepticism. I can't help that. Let's chalk it up to experience. That, and being burned the majority of time by hype. But this Fullbright kid had me from the opener, "Gawd Above."
Said, “There’s one sure way humans can be bested
Give em wine and song, fire and lust
When it all goes wrong I’m the man to trust
And they’ll be all my own, all mine together
They will sing my praise, sing my name forever
I am God Above, Lord God Almighty, mama
But thats not all, I got me a flame
And its a swinger’s ball if you don’t know my name
Oh well you think its hot down there in July
I got the means and a kitchen to fry
Then you’ll be on my own, all mine together
All my doubting children locked away forever
I am God Above, Lord God Almighty, mama
I made the heaven and earth, I made the stars above
Is it too much to ask for a little love?
So I’ll tip my hat to all of your creations
You can fly like birds, destroy entire nations
Go and curse my name with your last breath
‘Cause all I brought to your life was death
And now you’re all my own, all mine together
Well you sing my praise, sing my name forever
I am God Above, Lord God Almighty, mama
Damn, man! Now that's a song.
I made it through the whole shebang, thinking the opening trifecta, which includes "Jericho," the tune I posted Monday and "I Only Pray At Night," a dark ballad that left me frozen in my tracks, the best of the lot. But rather be the guy I berate so often, I went back immediately and did it all again. And then again.
John Fullbright might be the real deal. I say "might" because I haven't sliced open his new one yet, and I've been told by more than a few that while good, it's not like the debut, "From The Ground Up."
Still, if my broken record lament of "no songs" is to finally get silenced, Fullbright could be the man to do it.
15 comments:
Pretty Wilco-y isn't it? Nice... right on the edge of being mopey, which ruins it for me, but just enough glimmer to keep me listening.
Very pleasant. I might listen to more...
first thought was Ryan Adams. man, good Ryan Adams was a thing.
Very nice.
This guy's great, his new record "Songs" is just as good. And he's only 26!
The Band/Stage Fright was where my head went. Less instrumentation but . . . Lots of stuff on the YouTube. Guy sure doesn't look like he sounds!
Check out Lucky Old Sun.
Twenty six.
Wow!
Recommended this to everyone for the last 2+ years. GREAT album! Every song's damned good at the very least, great at best. The new one's not quite as good, I don't think. Looking forward to your further ruminations, Sal.
PS, he's 26 NOW, 23 when this was released in 2011.
Hey, this was pretty good. Nothing beats the sound of a Hammond in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing.
Good stuff. Just imagine what he'll do once he lives a little.
He's the real deal. There's no sophomore jinx with "Songs" either, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
I'm hearing good deal as opposed to real deal. This genre seems immune to popular culture, which is good and bad. We all have our favorites in this vein. I have The Gourds, Cracker, Steve Earle, The Bottle Rockets, Marah, early Wilco, Slobberbone ... all good-to-great bands with songs that are on level with their influences (The Band, Grateful Dead circa American Beauty, Burrito Brothers, etc.).
It seems like the people who need to know about bands/artists like this know about them ... and this sort of music is invisible in the overall popular culture. Used to bemoan that fact, but it works pretty well for me now. Only wish it worked better for the artists and whatever kind of financial life they can scratch out in this environment.
For some reason Fullbright and his first album didn't grab me the way it has many of you. Not bad by any stretch but not the home run I'd heard it was. (Haven't heard album #2.)
Maybe it was just that I felt he was a distant runner-up to Jason Isbell in the sad-guy-strumming-a-guitar sweepstakes...
The Gawd Above tune brought Keith Whitley to mind. Maybe it is Fulbright's voice.....but I could picture Whitley doing this song.
I messed up........I meant to say CHRIS Whitley. It's a b*tch gettin old ain't it?
Listened to both records a few times now. The debut is better to be sure, but there are some really lovely moments on the new one. He can turn a phrase. Thank you Sal as always for finding this stuff. My musical life is richer!
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