Awake [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

John Wesley Harding | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 23, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Appleseed Records
• ASIN: B000056ICM
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #235,936 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #71 in Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > Alternative Folk
  • #97 in Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > Singer Songwriters

Editorial Reviews

This remastered re-release of the 1998 CD by acerbic, articulate singer-songwriter and self-proclaimed practitioner of "gangsta folk" is bolstered by five bonus tracks, including a live acoustic duet with Bruce Springsteen on the Boss’s "Wreck of the Highway."

"Awake" boasts a higher-tech and more electronically-influenced sound than some of his earlier releases, but his songs remain as melodic and catchy as ever. Studio versions of concert favorites like "Window Seat," "Miss Fortune," "Burn," and "Something to Write Home About" are among the highlights, full of Harding’s trademark wordplay and wit. "I’m Staying Here (And I’m Not Buying a Gun") is a defiant declaration of pacifism by the transplanted Englishman, who had the misfortune of moving to Brooklyn from Seattle right around the time of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks.

The CD also has plenty of tender movements, including a quiet version of Springsteen’s "Jackson Cage" and the exhausted, troubled love songs "Sweat Blood Tears and Come" "Poor Heart," and the self-flagellating "It’s All My Fault."

Although Harding performs on a wide array of instruments here, including guitars, percussion, synthesizer, and keyboards, he also receives sympathetic contributions from the ubiquitous Robert Lloyd (keyboards), alt.country solo artist Chuck Prophet (electric guitar), and the album’s co-producer, power-pop maven Chris von Sneidern (bass, backing vocals) and members of Seattle’s Young Fresh Fellows.

Balancing sincerity and sarcasm is a Harding trademark well-showcased on "Awake: The New Edition." It’s great to have this CD back in circulation again.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars His best yet, November 12, 2002

By 

Bt "Cat." (Parts unknown) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Awake (Audio CD)

I've always been more inclined to like Wes's "folkie" music. So it surprises me to say that this is his best release. A full blown effort of smart pop/rock, lovely ballads, and his trademark folk music. The new release; with the extra tracks, is a must buy. Some of the extra tracks like "Wooden Overcoat" and Springsteen's "Jackson Cage" are just two of the many highlights this spectacular disc.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Fatherless Son Finds His Own Voice, February 20, 2002

By 

Timothy P. Young (Rawlins, WY, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Awake (Audio CD)

John Wesley Harding suffered in his early career from comparisons to Elvis Costello and swipes from Dylanphiles for "stealing" his name from Dylan's classic album. Not for nothing did he sing on his first release "Bob Dylan is my father/Joan Baez is my mother/And I'm their bastard son." Happily, on Awake, JWH leaves behind the musical similarities to Costello (all he got from his "father" is his name) and finds his own voice.

Awake finds him in true folk-pop mode, with generous references to 60's pop ("I Just Woke Up") and 70's glam ("Song I Wrote Myself In The Future"). At times it seems that JWH took a cue from Barenaked Ladies...with a heavier sense of irony and a more biting sense of humor. He covers disillusionment, both of himself and institutions ("Burn", "I'm Staying Here"), and perceived failure ("It's All My Fault") with equal aplomb, musically keeping the listener above ground and sometimes smiling while never sinking into the folk-pop mush that recently covered Shawn Colvin's fine songs on Whole New You.

Through it all, Harding holds his songs and his voice up with clear irony and self-deprecating dignity ("Make sure it's me up on the funeral pyre/Make sure the house band's playing 'Light My Fire'", from "Burn"). Sure, there's a clunker or two (the ballad "Poor Heart"...not bad, but well below the standard we've come to expect), but all in all, this is a fine, serious album that has absolutely no business being fun, which it often is.

The reissue contains a few bonus tracks, all of which are up to the standards of the rest of the record. Rest assured, these tracks aren't filler added on to make fans buy the album twice.

Fine folk-pop, aided and abetted by members of Seattle's Young Fresh Fellows, among others. More than worth your time.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of Wes' best, August 25, 2004

By 

M. O'Grady (Astoria, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Awake (Audio CD)

The first 5 tracks plus live fave (and soon to be published book) Miss Fortune make this album a MUST HAVE for fans. Stands up with New Deal and Adam's Apple at the top of the list.