American Gothic

David Ackles | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 11, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Collector's Choice
• ASIN: B00006RYIX
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,137 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #57 in Music > Indie Music > Folk > Singer Songwriters

Track Listings

1. American Gothic

2. Love's Enough

3. Ballad Of The Ship Of State

4. One Night Stand

5. Oh, California!

6. Another Friday Night

7. Family Band

8. Midnight Carousel

9. Waiting For The Moving Van

10. Blues For Billy Whitecloud

11. Montana Song

Editorial Reviews

Produced by Elton John’s songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, American Gothic is probably Ackles’ best-known album despite being the farthest-removed from a conventional rock release—just to give you an idea, the main session players hailed from the London Symphony! But the dark lyrical portrait of America painted by Ackles was so colorful, and his overall vision so compelling, that it stands up to repeated listenings as a multilayered piece of musical theater. Includes "American Gothic," "Love’s Enough," "Ballad of the Ship of State," "One Night Stand," "Oh, California!," "Another Friday Night," "Family Band," "Midnight Carousel," "Waiting for the Moving Van," "Blues for Billy Whitecloud" and "Montana Song." A true work of art.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Music's forgotten masterpiece, June 6, 2003

By 

Patrik Grannas (Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Gothic (Audio CD)

God knows I love this record. I got interested in David Ackles after reading about him in Mark Brend's book "American Troubadours". I bought "American Gothic" without knowing what to expect. I still remember the day I first listened to it. Personally I don't have the patience to listen through a whole album the first time I put it on. That wasn't the case with this one. I was already stunned after the first song (the title track) thinking that if the rest of the album is half as good, I have bought a masterpiece. The songs only got better and better...

Although traces of soul, rock, folk, gospel, blues and country can be found througout the record, the songs go well beyond the normally accepted boundaries of "pop music". Avant-garde and classical influences pervade Ackles's elaborate arrangements, and his background in musical theatre casts its shadow over everything. But even though it's complex music it's very melodic and so indescriably beautiful. It's such a tradegy that this record is so forgotten (and his other albums for that matter).

I'd put "American Gothic" in the same league as "Pet Sounds", "Revolver" and "Astral Weeks". Get this record today and be changed forever!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb American Artistry, May 8, 2004

By 

Dan Lauber "Dan" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Gothic (Audio CD)

One of the two brilliant albums the late David Ackles produced in the 1970s (the other being "Five & Dime" on Columbia, just released on CD in Oct 2004 by Raven), "American Gothic" offers some of the most insightful, touching, and humorous songs of the past 40 years. Love songs don't get any better than "Love's Enough" or "One Night Stand." "Waiting for the Moving Van" really captures the heartbreak of divorce. " Oh, California!" and "Blues for Billy Whitecloud" foreshadow the satire of "Surf's Down" on "Five & Dime." "American Gothic" and "Ballad of the Ship of State" are as timely today was they were during the Viet Nam War. It's a shame that "American Gothic" has not been more widely heard; it's a great shame that Mr. Ackles died of cancer on March 2, 1999.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and tough to pigeonhole, October 19, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: American Gothic (Audio CD)

No wonder people scratched their heads over this one back in the early '70s. Ackles' musical sources are mostly non-rock - Jacques Brel, Brecht-Weill, Aaron Copland, and Charles Ives, among others - while lyric-wise he explores the same American-grotesque territory mapped out by Hawthorne, Melville, and Poe. And it's GREAT - moving, funny, creepy, inspiring, haunting by turns. And very American in its concerns, its cranky individualism, and its insistence on plundering good ideas wherever they may be found.