Customer Reviews

Border Town: The Very Best of J.D. Souther

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

 

 

JD Souther has long been known to afficionados of West Coast music as the writer of a string of hits for others, and as a superb performer in his own right.

Hits written or co-written by Souther include several Eagles tracks ('New Kid in Town', 'Best of My Love', 'Heartache Tonight', 'Victim of Love') and others recorded by artists as diverse as Linda Ronstadt, George Strait, Glenn Campbell and James Taylor. The enduring appeal of Souther's compositions is underscored by the Eagles' choice of a Souther song for the first single off their new album.

This compilation of his own recordings, together with an excellent new EP ("Possible Weather") and a forthcoming new album (his first since 1984), should give his music the higher profile that it so richly deserves.

The tracks on this album have be taken fairly equally from Souther's four solo albums, with two tracks from each (of two) outings with the Souther Hillman Furay band. Inevitably, as with any compilation, some fans will find some surprising ommissions but, in Souther's case, this is largely a reflection of the sheer quality of his back catalogue - this could so easily have been a double CD.

Given Souther's reputation as a song writer, it should be stressed to any potential purchaser of this CD that he is also an outstanding performer, as anyone fortunate enough to have taken in his 2007 UK tour will attest.

This album can be very strongly recommended. If you enjoy it, your next purchase should be 'Black Rose', a superb solo effort released in 1976.

This is a terrific album by an excellent and very much under-rated artist. I don't believe there is one poor track on this album. I regularly listen to it particularly whilst driving and have not tired of the smooth vocals and terrific lyrics. Do yourself a favour and buy this one.

This is a pretty good collection of Souther's songs, although a number of good ones are missing, including Prisoner In Disguise, Out To Sea, Simple Man Simple Dream and others. Till The Bars Burn Down should not have been included in my opinion. Still better than his new album. And Amazon Dot Com, the lead track is called White Wing, not White King.

I agree with 3-stars. Too many choice tracks missing. I could have done a better job with this compilation. And hey, WHEN is he and Linda gonna do a true DUET album?!? Their voices were made for each other and it's time they did an entire project.

JD is one of a few of what my husband and I call "obscure great" singer-song writers out there. Gene Clark and Jesse Winchester are two others. They all lean a little to Folk and County Rock.
This CD contains most of JD's great songs Silver Blue, Faithless Love, Only Lonely and more obscure "All I Want" which is one truly great love song. Also a couple cuts with Linda; Hillman and Furay with beautiful harmonies.
JD like Gene Clark and Jesse Winchester if you go thru all their music you will find some undeniably incredible gems and a few stinkers but the gems makes it all worth while.

J D Souther is an awesome songwriter and vocalist- he has co-written some of the biggest hits in history, and has a beautiful clear singing voice. However, this is an annoyingly lopsided best of collection that omits a bunch of his very best songs in favour of weaker ones. Where is White Rythm and Blues? Where is All for You? And what about his 1981 hit duet with James Taylor, Her Town Too? Start with JD's 1976 album 'Black Rose' instead, you'll soon be picking up each individual album anyway!

This is pretty much all the music JD Souther became famous performing from his early career to the stage of his career that he is noted for. If you want even better John David Souther musis, pick up the CDs where he looks older and more aged. I feel that age has made Souther a better performer. His minimalist musical surroundings of horn and performance is the best he has done to date.

I'll keep this brief. JD Souther is an incredible songwriter from the Jackson Browne/James Taylor mold, but his desire to be a loner has kept him from greater commercial success as a performer. He just cashes the stack of checks he gets from his work for The Eagles and Linda Ronstadt and makes records every 20 years or so. This collection is terrific, but I would have preferred some other choices, in a couple of cases. This, along with Souther's new record of old songs " Natural History" make a concise collection that show his brilliance and his wonderful voice. Start with these two, and you'll eventually want everything he has recorded.

John David Souther's songs touch me. There is an ache in the soul, whether for lost love or disappointment in what did or did not arrive. Any anthology is going to have some omissions for a fan. My favorite song of his is "Out to Sea" from his first Asylum album, which is not here. But his sound on great songs like "Jesus in 3/4 Time" and "Silver Blue" melts my heart away. He can also rock out like the opener "White Wing" & "Trouble in Paradise." "Black Rose" builds into a haunting melody with those classic harmonies bolstering J.D.'s strong vocals, "It's as cold as ice and as dark as your deepest dream." "Border Town" is a great overview of this wonderful musician's career. Enjoy!

Allright - finally a best of ... from the "sixth" Eagle: J.D.Souther.
BUT I just rate this item 3 stars because someone has missed out quite a few gems.
Where is: Kite Woman, Prisoner in Disguise, Doors Swing Open,Simple Man,
The Last In Love, White Rhythm & Blues, Night, Step by Step, etc..etc..!
A volume 2 on the way ?
He's got a new EP out these days, great songs.
Looking forward to his new album - out next year.