Hello again :D
Anyway, weeks ago I was going to provide my opinion on the Endless Wire album that I asked people's viewpoints of. I guess I got lazy and didn't want to write down my feelings about it because I felt it would take too long (due to the fact that once I start writing, I never am able to stop...I can get lengthy).
I was trying to decide whether or not I wanted to bump the other thread or make a new one. I decided to do the latter because I thought it would result in more views, due to the topic being newer. I hope I did not annoy anyone by making a new topic about something that I already stated a few weeks ago. I just thought I was doing what was best. :D Anyway....
I have been listening to the album for nearly a month now and while I can't say I love the album quite as much as, say, Cold on the Shoulder, Shadows, or Salute (the other albums I had ordered in conjunction with Endless Wire), but I can say with certainty that I like this album quite much. I would say that I feel the same way about this album as I do about Old Dan's Records...it's like a record that I don't immediately think about listening to in GL's collection off the bat, but once I listen to it, I think to myself, why didn't I listen to this more often? Or something like that.
To be honest, I feel that there are some great songs on it, and that the album is a bit underrated. I am, however, trying to decide whether or not I agree with other people's reservations regarding their opinion that it may not be up to par with other albums, or that the band sounds unenthused or something. Maybe you can see whether or not you concur with this, but I think that if I were rating it on Amazon, I would give it at LEAST a 4-star rating...
Well, I got the "con" part out of the way. Let me continue with what I perceive to be "pros."
The songs themselves seem to be just fine...I love them all, even though my least favorite on the album is Sometimes I Don't Mind...but the electric guitar on there helps things. I like the 2nd version of The Circle is Small (and of course, I like the first), because it seems a bit more personal-sounding in the way it is sung, I don't know why. What surprised me is the song If There's a Reason. I was apprehensive about whether I could listen through this song in its entirety every time Hangdog Hotel Room ended...I felt it was a listenable song but it didn't click with me for a couple listens, then suddenly one fine day I was listening to it and thought to myself, "Hey...it's a slow song, but it's got a catchy hook!" And ever since, I like this song now. I have to admit, this song may sound slow and meandering, but I can feel that this song is more difficult to sing than one may realize. Anyway, I will go on...
I like every song in their own way. I get a kick out of Hangdog Hotel Room and I adore Dreamland...for some reason that song stands out for me. Songs the Minstrel Sang kind of remind me of Cherokee Bend, while If Children Had Wings sounds like a firsthand account of emotional pain and strife...
There's something though that I observe about this album that I didn't observe even in the meloncholy melodies of Cold On the Shoulder...(and I do love that album!)...it seems like GL is very sad in this album...and NOT just because he's singing a sad song or two...he seems emotionally down in spots on this album...as if something is bothering him personally (probably problems in his marriage...I don't keep track on WHEN his problems began though)...I didn't notice this internal sadness as much in some other albums...it's as if something is weighing him down emotionally...I notice this in songs like If There's a Reason, Dreamland, If Children Had Wings, and The Circle is Small. Does anyone notice this? Oh well, if anyone doesn't, that renders me the only person who does.
[ July 31, 2005, 00:06: Message edited by: Shazia ]
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