Maybe that's just the difference; I tend to really like albums like this, across the board, though usually they're more compelling when you're already accustomed to hearing the artist in a band setting. As much as I love music that uses the studio as a tool for exploring different avenues of creative expression, I have an equal passion for music that just reduces songs to their bare essences--chords, words, melodies, take 'em or leave 'em for what they are, or what the singer is capable of making them with as few tools as possible. I can see viewing the doubletracked ukulele as kind of tacky, but apart from that I think the overdubs are used appropriately sparingly--I think there are much more heavily overdubbed "solo" albums than this one (Johnny Cash's "American" albums are the first ones that come to mind) that are able to incorporate what are obviously non-live accompaniments (some of the arrangements for those Cash albums were recorded years after he was dead) without forsaking the feel of a guy sitting on a stool in front of a microphone, paging through a book of songs and playing whatever feels right, even if he only remembers a verse or two of it (which is kind of how I feel about the standards included here).

For what it's worth I think "Dream a Little Dream" is Eddie's best vocal on record since "Man of the Hour."

Agreed on both of your posts. I like this record, but it could have been so much better if it was just a mastered version of the demo album he passed around to his friends circa 2001.

Do all those demos circulate?

Same here. There was less performance in the vocals and less bells and whistles, they had a depressing singing alone to himself quality which really works for the songs. Just one dude trying to reassure himself with a ukulele.

I love that one man in a room with his guitar kinda thing, and unfinished song sketches for that matter, i bet eds got a shit ton of tossed off demos that i'd love.

I believe bit and pieces of that have circulated. But not the whole thing in its entirety.

Somehow I never got around to listening to this.

I listened to 4 songs on grooveshark a while back. Put them on my playlist twice in the morning and spun through them again in the afternoon just to see if anything had changed.

Wasn't impressed. Didn't buy.

sleeping by myself and without you are excellent. The rest of it is a niche listen for me. Or it was. It's been well over a year since I've gone back to this. Probably more. I just don't think the songwriting here is that good (with the above exceptions). Some of the covers are nice

I like goodbye the best.

It came out at the same time as my relationship was in a pretty rocky place as well. I don't know how to say it other than the cliched, "the album spoke to me." Between that and finding "We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things." around the same time, I listened to those two albums over 20 times each in the span of a month.

Broken Heart is sublime on this.

Stip is right. Very little has circulated.

I probably should give it a chance but I have a hard time getting up for an album full of songs played on a ukulele. One or two maybe but an entire album seems unnecessary.



I'm kinda glad I skipped it since Sleeping By Myself will be a new song for me and that seems to be the song from Uke Songs people enjoy so I'm hoping the LB version will go over well for me.

I'll be really interested in your opinion on it, as it's fresh to you.

I'll throw it on every now & then. Some are certainly stronger than others but Without You inevitably gets repeated the most. Sleeping By Myself, Longing to Belong and Light Today are others I like too. I'm curious how the full band Sleeping will work, I like it as now. Without You though would have been my choice if they had to rework one.

I'm always surprised to hear "Without You" singled out as among the few tracks people like on this album. I think it's one of the weakest songs on the CD.

The intro of that song might be my favourite part of the album. I wish he'd return to it later on.

I think that's what bugs me about the song--it starts off beautiful but kind of loses the plot melodically. Same problem I have with "Sirens," actually. It's almost becoming a touchstone of Ed's latter-day writing.

MYM too

Meh, I can see it, but it doesn't destroy my enjoyment. I just wish I could be in the room when he writes these songs so I can say REPEAT THAT... OVER THERE. YES, THERE.

Besides arguably Can't Keep, I think the best song on here is Without You and it's not really close. Certainly among the original compositions, at least.