The Black Dirt Sessions

Deer Tick | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 8, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Partisan Records
• ASIN: B003G7DSGC
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,964 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Deer Tick's front man, John McCauley got an early start as a teenage singer-songwriter in Providence, a scene known for genre-busting noise music. But it's country rock he's plowed his old soul into, and on his band's flat-out great forthcoming album, The Black Dirt Sessions, you hear not just heartbreak ('Christ Jesus' alone constitutes an album's worth) but a hint of the tumbling-down noise of his hometown's sound much of it in his aching, ripped-to-shreds voice. Live, the band delivers hellfire --New York Magazine

Product Description

Deer Tick is the songwriting project or band (depending on how you look at it) of John McCauley, a singer/songwriter based out of Providence, Rhode Island. Thanks to the help of Brendon "Viking Moses" Massei, McCauley has been ferociously zig-zagging across the United States, hitting all the sparsely attended basement shows, smoky bars, upscale joints, small to medium size festivals, and everything in between, since April of 2005.

McCauley takes his cues from legendary songwriters such as Townes Van Zant, Neil Young and Ritchie Valens, and big stage personalities like Sammy Davis Jr., and Tony Bennett. Like Tony Bennett, McCauley loves the art of vocal projection and will often perform without the aid of microphones, but for his whole set. His influences are something that set his live shows apart from most other acts. The Deer Tick experience is something that can be fun and heart wrenching at the same time. The performance is usually riddled with jokes, but always with a genuine and serious message that is delivered sincerely to the listener.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an underrated, and often under appreciated album, July 9, 2010

By 

M. Slack - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Black Dirt Sessions (Audio CD)

I have been a long time Deer Tick fan, and about 1 out of 3 people I show them too are not terribly impressed. Maybe its John's harsh unconventional voice, or country pickin', or they are turned off because a new and well respected band is doing little to nothing to be "hip". After this initial dislike, I play Deer Tick around them enough, they always seem to come around. There is just an honestly, and infectious nature to John's songwriting and singing that is undeniable. They may not give a darn about their image, or if anything try to counteract this falseness that seems to loom around even some of the best bands, and get back to what was so great about early rock and roll. The Black Dirt Sessions keeps this trueness so to speak, and is my favorite of their album's to date. Something that "Black Dirt" has that neither War Elephant or Born on Flag Day is a cohesiveness and seriousness that was needed for the boys from RI, to fully mature as a band. Its not nearly as rambunctious as their previous albums, and certainly not as much as their Ep - More fuel for the Fire. But thats okay. It is a beautiful demonstration that they are capable of a variety of song types, and should not be disregarded in those respects. Mr. McCauley writes from a much more personal place, and lets us see a whole new side of Deer Tick.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Different pace, but still amazing!, August 17, 2010

By 

R. Dotson (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Black Dirt Sessions (Vinyl)

The Music: If you're familiar with Deer Tick's previous two albums, you might be surprised to find how laid back and mellow this album is. At first I was a bit disappointed because I was expecting some fast-paced songs, but I've gotten over that and really love this album. My favorite song is Goodby, Dear Friend (nearly brings me to tears). I'm not going to go into the pros and cons of every song, because that's different for everyone. But, I definitely recommend this album. It's nice to have some Deer Tick that's an acceptable pace for first thing in the morning listening. Amazing work!

The Medium: Vinyl quality was a bit dissappointing, especially compared to the pressings of their previous two albums. Although it's pressed on 180gm vinyl, it doesn't have the quietest noise floor. Quite a few pops and static. I have mid-range equipment (Rega, Jolida, etc) and take extremely good care of my records, so I was surprised at how much noise there was. I even cleaned this with my record cleaning machine. It's not so bad that you shouldn't purchase it, just a little frustrating. It's possible that my copy was defective, too. I was happy to see that an mp3 download card was included (this wasn't mentioned in the item description).

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars too melancholy, June 11, 2010

By 

MusicFan "MusicFan" (Boston) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Black Dirt Sessions (MP3 Download)

Since I loved "Born on Flag Day" I picked this up when i saw it on promotion. Sadness permeates this release but it does have some good songs, it's just a tougher listen. IF BOFD wore it's influences on it's sleeve, this effort shows a maturity that demonstrates those influences have been synthesized and turned into a voice that stands on it's own. This voice is the equivalent of a charcoal drawing, it can be beautiful but it can also make you wonder what a splash of color would have brought to it.