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"Devils and Dust" has some superbly written songs on it, but Bruce's delivery is so dry and noncommittal on most of them that it's a really dreary album to sit through, I'd imagine impossibly so if you have no taste for acoustic/folk or narrative-driven music. "Tom Joad" is kind of the same way.
So is WB Bruce saying “Sorry about that last record. Let’s have fun!” or something? It’s like the complete opposite.
Not super exciting so far.
Not sure if I'm reading you right but "Wrecking Ball" followed "Working on a Dream," not "Devils and Dust." Same logic could apply, but I seemed to remember you (like me) were a fan of "WOAD."
"Wrecking Ball" has a few winners, but a few of them ("Land of Hope and Dreams" and "American Land") are rehashes. I like "We Are Alive," "Death to My Hometown," and "Shackled and Drawn" a lot. The title track I find insufferably corny, a career low.
Joined: Sun May 25, 2014 9:32 pm Posts: 31614 Location: Garbage Dump
Kevin Davis wrote:
LoathedVermin72 wrote:
So is WB Bruce saying “Sorry about that last record. Let’s have fun!” or something? It’s like the complete opposite.
Not super exciting so far.
Not sure if I'm reading you right but "Wrecking Ball" followed "Working on a Dream," not "Devils and Dust." Same logic could apply, but I seemed to remember you (like me) were a fan of "WOAD."
"Wrecking Ball" has a few winners, but a few of them ("Land of Hope and Dreams" and "American Land") are rehashes. I like "We Are Alive," "Death to My Hometown," and "Shackled and Drawn" a lot. The title track I find insufferably corny, a career low.
Oh shit, you’re right. I am dumb.
“This Depression” is a weird hodgepodge of elements but I think I really like it
"Devils and Dust" has some superbly written songs on it, but Bruce's delivery is so dry and noncommittal on most of them that it's a really dreary album to sit through, I'd imagine impossibly so if you have no taste for acoustic/folk or narrative-driven music. "Tom Joad" is kind of the same way.
I tend to enjoy D&D practically for those reasons and 'Joad' as well, I just take the album listen under the guise of an almost beaten man just hanging on; very much the opposite of Bruce's stage presence during a full band gig. That aspect just draws me in a bit further. Funnily I thought of the D&D acoustic tour on the ride in and tossed on the 'Love, Tears & Mystery' comp when I got in to work this morning. Storytellers was around this time too which I thoroughly enjoy and recommend.
_________________ absinthe makes the heart grow fonder...
"Devils and Dust" has some superbly written songs on it, but Bruce's delivery is so dry and noncommittal on most of them that it's a really dreary album to sit through, I'd imagine impossibly so if you have no taste for acoustic/folk or narrative-driven music. "Tom Joad" is kind of the same way.
I tend to enjoy D&D practically for those reasons and 'Joad' as well, I just take the album listen under the guise of an almost beaten man just hanging on; very much the opposite of Bruce's stage presence during a full band gig. That aspect just draws me in a bit further. Funnily I thought of the D&D acoustic tour on the ride in and tossed on the 'Love, Tears & Mystery' comp when I got in to work this morning. Storytellers was around this time too which I thoroughly enjoy and recommend.
The D&D solo tour was extraordinary, a career retrospective that saw Bruce engage with his audience and his material in a way that reflected his genuine artistry arguably more than anything else he's done in his career. There are a few songs on the D&D album that convey that feeling you describe, but as a whole the songwriting, delivery, and presentation just fall short for me. Pull the highlights off and put them on a more eclectic album and I think their impact would be heightened -- as it is, the overall album feels too monotonous for any one song to have its full potential impact, yet not monotonous enough for it to succeed as an aesthetic statement like "Nebraska" or (to a far lesser extent) "Tom Joad." It's the kind of record he has the chops to pull off, but it just isn't strong enough.
What is the comp you reference? I'd be interested in checking that out...
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