Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The definitive Hold Steady album, October 4, 2006
How could they possibly top Separation Sunday, you're thinking. I'm not sure how they did it, either, but it's true: The Hold Steady's latest, Boys and Girls in America, is their magnum opus and hopefully the shiny silver platter that propels them to the success they so deserve. Craig Finn's poetic lyrics are as good as ever here as he recounts romancing gamblers ("Chips Ahoy"), near death experiences at druggy music festivals("Chillout Tent," with excellent guest vocals by Dave Pirner), slick alibis for mall altercations ("Hot Soft Light), and more. Old characters return, and the music has never sounded better: crunchy guitars, tinkling keyboards, and that filthy, real, barroom feel. An outstanding effort. They'll be hard-pressed to top this one, but won't it be fun to be along for the ride as they try?
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's always entertaining...., October 9, 2006
Being an Eastsider a stone's throw from Sweet Payne Ave., I am once again thrilled to know solidarity with a (at one time local) band that makes room for a lot of life in their music--not just romantic idealism and not just defeatist nihilism--they tend to capture pieces of life's dialectic nature, which is nice, nice: Hope/Despair, Progress/Setback, Connection/Isolation--life that always ends in death, but death that has at least lost its sting. The Hold Steady continue to be who they are, you may or may not like them, but it is hard to judge or dismiss something this unapologetically unique. The more you demand likeability from music the less you'll probably like The Holdsteady--not because they aren't likeable, but because you'd be missing the point. This album is good alone and better when put in its narrative context (following Almost Killed Me and Sep. Sunday). I was pleased to get an update on the messed up teenage lives of Holly et al. And was especially glad to hear something resembling a ballad or two (First Night, Citrus, Arms and Hearts), Crucifixion Cruise got me wanting more of that. If you're not into or can't meet the demands of the recorded poetic/talk lyrics of an Ivy League grad, then I beseech you to see The Hold Steady in concert--I've been three times and can testify that what might be lacking in a snapshot recording is made up in the storytelling energy of the moment--stories are meant to be told not recorded after all.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Hold Steady: Dividing America's Boys and Girls, October 6, 2006
Here's the deal: Craig Finn doesn't sing like most rock frontmen. That's the Mason-Dixon Line of the people who listen to The Hold steady. You love him or hate him. He is nasily, somewhat monotone, and rants more than harmonizes. On the other hand, he is a brilliant story-teller, clever phrase turner, and uses references as diverse as The Beastie Boys.
I personally love him, but I understand that he is not everyone's cup of chai. The music is reminiscent of early Bruce Springsteen or Joe Jackson and of course The Band. Standouts are "Chips Ahoy" and "You can make Him like You." Try it. You might like it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific
Urgent, lost, ecstatic, and weary, the Hold Steady's music holds nothing back. If this CD is, in its lyrics, a bleak ride, it is certainly an exhilarating one, and in that,...
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Published on September 8, 2007 by James Carragher
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