Customer Reviews

Better Day

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While I was much impressed with Vermilion, and the self-titled debut was above average, both were spotty, with some songs that were pure gold and others that I'd just as soon skip over (though not many). Better Days is a much better overall effort. The writing is much more consistent, and the arrangements (ranging from r&b to solid rock and roll to digging-deep-into-the-heart introspective knock outs)are superb. What impresses me the most is the overall writing on the recording. What really impresses me even more is the light years that Susan Cowsill's contributions have improved - I suppose wrenching personal loss is always an artistic jumpstart. Her Peaceful Wakings is easily the best single cut on any of their albums (excuse me - CDs). Having said that, this makes for a welcome advance from a band that probably won't sell monster amounts of numbers, but if it touches you . . . it will touch you deeply. Get it.

I am not a music critic, but this album stands out in my collection as a masterful weaving of thoughtful songwriting conveyed with genuine emotion. The album's break-up songs play against each other in a way that paints the hope that was with the disillusionment that is against the cautious expectation of what is to come. The topic sentence for this album may be the first lines of Vicky Peterson's "Na NA" (also the first song) "This is the story of my life / Somebody's little girl to someone else's wife / And what happened in between / Is the dying of a dream". In a real autobiographical way, Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" can't help but come to mind when you experience this album.

A New Orleans band that's not really from New Orleans...that's a hard thing for New Orleanians to accept. (It's just the way we are.) But in New Orleans, the Drifters are big favorites. Here's why...they pretend to be nothing more than what they are. They dish up home-spun rock and heart-felt ballads, accented by subtle accordians and banjos that bring a smile to those of us who really don't care that much for accordians and banjos. These are real people making real music, and it's amazing to me that I never even knew of them til I heard this CD. If I have any criticism it's that the mix seems just a bit muddy, but it makes the CD sound like a live recording, and maybe that's just what the band wanted.

The Continental Drifters have done it again. Not seeing the need to duplicate the wonderful "Vermilion", they have crafted "Better Day", a brilliant, and totally different, CD of 12 original songs that speak of joy, sorrow, life, love, missed chances and lost innocence. From the first track, Vicki Peterson's snappy "Na Na", to the last, Peter Holsapple's brilliantly bluesy "Where Did the Time Go?", this disk serves up a diverse series of songs that will keep you coming back for more. You'll be left wondering how it all fits together so seamlessly since these guys touch on an incredible variety of song styles, from rock to pop to country to blues and everything in between. But it does. Boy, does it ever! There are songs here that belong on Top-40 radio, the aforementioned Peterson-penned "Na Na", Susan Cowsill's shimmering "Someday", and Holsapple's horn-filled nugget "Live on Love" that stirs up memories of the '70's. (Of course, since they are smart, well-crafted songs, don't ever expect to hear them there). Mark Walton, the only founding member still with the band, makes his lead vocal debut on "Tomorrow's Gonna Be", an accordion and organ-laced tune that reminds you that no matter how bad it seems, things can, and will, get better (the lyrics to this song also provided the album's title). Peterson's country-tinged "That Much a Fool", featuring Holsapple's accordion and Robert Mache's sparkling mandolin, tells the story of a love that happened too late, while Cowsill's "Cousin" tells one of an innocent love from a more innocent time. There's "(Down by the) Great Mistake", a 60's-tinged he said-she said between Holsapple and Peterson that will make you chuckle, or shake your head, probably because you've been there before. "Snow", a heartfelt ballad of one's lost childhood and the innocence that went with it, features Susan Cowsill's expressive, impressive vocals wrapped around powerful, moving lyrics. The wonderful "Na Na" is an out and out rocker and, in Peterson's own words, "a raspberry" to those who would hold us back and keep us down. "Too Little, Too Late" is a rocking tale of missed opportunities, mainly due to arrogance, not pride. Once again, a horn section kicks this song into another realm. The ballad "Peaceful Waking", a collaboration between Cowsill and drummer Russ Broussard, touches close to the heart of anyone who can't seem to let go, even though they know they must. Lyrically, it reminds me of Fleetwood Mac's stripped down "Songbird." Peterson's "Long Journey Home" sounds like it would be a forlorn tale, instead it's got an upbeat, finger-snapping tempo topped with a jangly piano. It could also be the only pop song ever recorded to feature, and successfully rhyme, the word "guillotine." It all ends with Holsapple's "Where Did the Time Go?", a bluesy tune so evocative you can almost see the smokey dive filled with broken-hearted lovers crying in their drinks. This disk is the perfect accompaniment to the Continental Drifters previous efforts, another collection of 12 wonderfully crafted songs by 5 incredibly talented musicians who really seem to enjoy what they're doing. This is the Drifters at their very best. The only thing better than their recorded works is seeing them do it all live.

Yet again the Drifters deliver some of the best music that can be heard today. The songwriting, harmonies... everything brings you in and won't let you go. Take a break from bubble-gum pop, and listen to music with feeling, intelligence and emotion.