Customer Reviews

Audible Sigh

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Attention music lovers: your new favorite band is here.

Music is equal parts soul and techinque--expressing one's emotions and using the right instruments and words in the right ways. Bill Mallonee and his Vigilantes of Love have mastered both.

This easily ranks as their best work to date (and that is an accomplishment) for several reasons. Mallone's lyrics sound more like personal experiences than stories -- original, intelligent and honest all at once. Listen to songs like "Resplendent", "Extreme North of the Compass" and "Black Cloud O'er Me" and there you are, sharing those same feelings. Musically, this album is more diverse with combinations of folk, rock, blues and Americana, but not country, at least radio country. Imagine a young Bob Dylan doing "Mermaid Avenue Vol. 3." Emmylou Harris and Julie Miller share their talents on the album, too. Fans of Wilco, Matthew Sweet, Neil Young and like musical tastes will surely rejoice. Production by Buddy Miller makes this the best sounding album of VoL's to date.

Like most other fans of Bill and VoL, I was introduced by friend (Thanks again, Dan!). I've listened to their music for five years and it still sounds fresh and new. The band paid its dues in poor label support and no publicity for more than a decade. If this album was the reason why, I understand. May this be the decade of success and spoils for the Athens, GA band! Do your part to save the world and yourself: buy this album!

One of the finest folk-rock albums I've ever heard, 'Audible Sigh' represents a gifted songwriter and talented supporting musicians at the height of their considerable powers. Bill Mallonee is a skilled artist with something to say - an heir to Springsteen and Dylan, with equally obvious literary influences to add to his own polished style. Literary listeners will recognize shades of Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor and Jack Kerouac in Mallonee's lyrics. Fans of folk-rock music will come away from a close listen to this outstanding record convinced that Bill Mallonee's name genuinely deserves mention in the same sentence as Dylan's. Finally, listeners who hunger for more than just the shallow, brain-dead humanism of today's chart-toppers will rejoice in the thoughtful, spiritual overtones to Mallonee's work that refreshingly lack preachiness. Standout tracks include a superbly written tribute to Jack Kerouac in 'Hard Luck & Heart Attack', gorgeous harmonizing from Emmylou Harris along with the easy-to-overlook lyrical masterpiece in 'Resplendent' ('Honey, we're all resplendent/Yeah honey, we are all thrift store'), and a haunting, poignant closer in 'Solar System' that will have you hitting 'Replay' again and again. This is an excellent record fueled by a career performance by the famously underrated Bill Mallonee. Exceptional.

After a decade of falling victim to major label neglect and toiling in the indie realm, Bill Mallonee and the Vigilantes of Love are finally getting their due with this great new album. Originally recorded for release on another label, Audible SIgh is finally seeing the light of day thanks to Compass Records. With production by Buddy Miller, and backing vocals of folks like Emmylou Harris and Julie Miller, this album can't miss. Fans of the alt-country/no depression vibe will get into this heavily, as well as those who like music from the world of alterna-folk. Thoughtful lyrics, passionate singing, and a world of musical talent make this disc a must-buy. For a band that has been around this long, I'd hate to call them "best new artist of 2000" but they will definitely be one of the breakout bands of the year on Triple-A and Americana Radio. Listen for them on World Cafe and other great radio!

Those familiar with VOL and the tortured history of this album will empathize with Bill Mallonee when he croaks in his trademark Athens drawl "There's always been a black cloud o'er me". Originally recorded with Buddy Miller in December 1998 and "released" four times (!) by various small labels in haphazard fashion, Audible Sigh is the little album that wouldnt die. This latest incarnation has the superior cover art of last summer's pre-release and an abridged song order. Although the newer tracks ("Black Cloud...", "Now as the Train") recorded last year after Kenny Hutson's departure, seem out of place and lack the finesse of the rest of the album, this is still one of VOL's finest moments. Mallonee's writing is better than ever, and there is no reason why songs like "Goes Without Saying", "Nothing Like a Train", "Resplendent" and "Extreme North of the Compass" shouldn't rocket him into the Americana mainstream. Several songs have been omitted this time around, most notably, one of the original releases highlights, "Any Side of Anywhere" - its unfortunate. Disappointments aside, all is made right by his chilling finale, "Solar System", reminding us Mallonee, with all his struggles, is one of the great writers of our time.

For years, Bill Mallonee and his band, the Vigilantes Of Love, have been churning out songs exploring the human condition. They have released about ten albums since, I believe, 1990 and this, Audible Sigh, is among one of their very best. Indeed, every song is good starting with the punch of "Goes Without Saying" ("so keep a candle in your window...and a fire on your hearth...keep a prayer on your lips...and some hope in your hearts") to the mysterious and evocative "Solar System" which ends the album....this CD will keep you not only rocking out American style (read: roots-rock), but will keep you thinking about Bill's muse and where he takes not only himself, but you on the journey....it's a trip well worth taking....I've listened to "Audible Sigh" in it's various incarnations probably over a hundred times and I still find it breathtaking! But, mere words, will not do this CD or Bill justice; to fully appreciate the Vigilantes Of Love is to listen with your heart and share in the exploration that Bill offers. As humans we all walk hand-in-hand trying to make sense of it all. This is a glorious ride. Welcome aboard!

The birth of the record has taken over a year. Fortunately, Audible Sigh is well worth the wait. This CD was supposed to be released last year when their label went under. What you have here is a rich collection of brillantly written tunes and and very catchy hooks. Check out the 3 new tracks on the album, "Now as the train pulls away", "Black Cloud Over Me", and "Solar System". This should be this band's well deserved break!

The Vigilantes of Love have been bouncing aroung the airwaves and touring heavily for many years. This new album is nowhere near their first release, but it is by far their strongest. Produced by Buddy Miller, with guest performances by Julie Miller and Emmylou Harris, this album is a stunning accomplishment.

Every element needed for an outstanding album is here; the arrangements feature shades of rock, county, folk, gospel with a strong dose of guitars, mandalins, pedal steel and harmonica, very reminiscent of Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Mellencamp and recent country alt heroes, Wilco and Sonvolt. The vocals feature Bill Mallone at his best with help from two legends. The real standout here is the lyrics, with Dylanesque musings on life.

This album is a noteworthy achievement and is a must have for fans of any type of music.

I once talked to Bill Mallonee following a VOL concert so I can assure you that he is real flesh and blood. However, after listening to Audible Sigh, you'll need no convincing. In a world of demographic-driven, assembly-line music (can anybody REALLY tell the difference between 'N Sync and Backstreet Boys?), Bill Mallonee is Preston Tucker, ignoring the trends and powers that be and making real music, the music of his soul.

Although fitting into the rootsy, Americana genre, Audible Sigh is not cookie-cutter music. There is the beautiful Emmylou Harris (who sings haunting background vocals on the track) Wrecking Ball-era atmospherics of Resplendent, in which a Dust Bowl farmer wonders at the origins of all the misfortune in his life ..... "how much of this was meant to be ..... how much the work of the devil ..... how much of this is failing flesh ..... how much the course of retribution". There is the mandolin-driven rock of She Walks on Roses, in which "everybody's got a secret ... buried under the ground". If you aren't dancing in some way or another on this one, check your pulse ... you might be dead and not know it. And for another great musical adventure, check out what Bruce Cockburn has buried under his floor in Breakfast in New Orleans .... And then there is the musically spare loneliness of the album closer Solar System, containing my favorite lyric of the CD ...... "she said, 'I'll follow you boy to the ends of the earth' ..... He said, 'I'm not going that far for what it's worth'."

This is great American music from a man who has lived these songs on the backroads of this country for the past ten years or more. He deserves to be heard and you deserve to hear him. Buy this CD! And then buy Blister Soul, in my humble opinion, the best VOL CD.

If you've been following the vigilantes of love for any amount of time you're probably familiar with their constant struggles with labels and the release of their music. They've dealt with labels stealing their masters (Core), labels going out of business right before the release of CDs (Pioneer) and labels who had no idea how to promote them (Capricorn). Well, those days are hopefully over as the Vigilantes release "Audible Sigh" on Compass Records... a label that actually seems to "get" the band. And this comes just in time, because if there's any justice in the world, everyone and their mother will go out and buy a copy of Audible Sigh... this is by far the band's most approachable work to date with many catchy tunes just begging for mainstream radio play. They've already scored a few points by getting the wonderful "Nothing Like a Train" on the TV show "Felicity". Other catchy songs include "Goes Without Sayin", "She Walks on Roses", and "Starry Eyed." If you are a fan of ANY alt-country-rock-folk you owe it to yourself to check this disc out... not much out there can compete with this musically or lyrically. As an added bonus, Emmylou Harris makes an appearance on the haunting "Resplendent." This disc is simply outstanding and if you're just checking out the Vigilantes of Love, a great starting point to their vast catalog.

Audible Sigh ranks up there with VOL's 'Blister Soul' and 'To The Roof Of The Sky' CDs. To these ears, Bill seems to have moved toward a more commercial sound with his lyrical message being less gospel oriented than in the past. Nonetheless ... this recording is a must! From the rockin' "Goes Without Saying" to the introspective "Nothing Like A Train", there's not a bad song in the mix. VOL fans will note updates to two `Cross The Big Pond tunes ... "Cloth Of Life" (now "Goes Without Saying") and "She Walks On Roses".