Customer Reviews

Braver Newer World

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I logged on intending to review a movie I'd just seen and a book I'd just finished, but found myself perusing reviews of Jimmie Dale Gilmore. I was absolutely stunned to see that this masterpiece was receiving only four-stars overall, brought down mainly by an inexplicable one-star and a two-star review. It is simply inconceivable to me that anyone with any degree of musical sensitivities could give this album a rating that low. I have no explanation. Perhaps they owned a previous Gilmore album and can accept nothing that departs from their very narrow expectations. Perhaps they are country traditionalists and will accept no variants on that. Perhaps they have tin ears. But these are marginal, aberrant opinions. This album is very widely regarded as one of Jimmie Dale Gilmore's finest albums, and possibly his best. For instance, Rolling Stone gave it a rare 4-stars when it came out while its readers have given it a 5-star rating. Allmusic.com's review concludes, "Arguably his finest work." These are much more typical of the critical and fan reaction to this fine album than these bizarre low ratings.

The album is buoyed throughout by Gilmore's typical likable, reflective, almost spiritual lyrics and sensibilities. It does represent a bit of a departure from his previous albums in that it features some sonic experimentation that is not typical of a Gilmore album (a possible source of the aberrant fan reviews found here). The producer is legend T-Bone Burnett, a man with many of the same sensibilities as Gilmore (Burnett is one of the most deliciously rowdy Christians I know) but with a wider sonic palette. No question he played a role in expanding Gilmore's sound. Nonetheless, the focus remains on Gilmore's delightful, warm, yearning tenor. It may not sound like previous Gilmore albums, but it still sounds entirely like Gilmore.

There really are no weak cuts on the album, but to a degree most of the songs are hurt by comparison with two utter masterpieces. "Braver New World" is about as beautiful as any song recorded in the past ten years. It opens with lovely instrumentation unexpectedly graced by a heavily distorted guitar and Jimmie singing on the first verse:

Tell me now that you know how
To greet the dawn each day.
Fearless and unfettered, stand
Before the sun and pray.
There's no controversy
Let silence judge your plea
For justice or for mercy.
They both will set you free.

His phrasing on the song is impeccable, giving many of the words unexpected breaks, sometimes intoning the words as if imitating a steel pedal guitar. This truly is as fine a song as any that Jimmie Dale Gilmore has ever sung, an absolutely stunning performance on every level. The miracle is that "Heading for a Fall" is every bit as good. The first time I heard the album, I almost didn't hear the rest for repeating this song. It is a wonderfully ironic number, with him singing to a woman he yearns for. He basically informs her that she is harboring unrealistic fantasies about her future and that he will be waiting for her when her expectations come crashing down. He sings to her:

Don't put your dreams way up there in the clouds
I don't think that's what It's all about
You can't get much higher when you're so above it all
I'll be waiting here when you hit bottom
I believe you're headed for a fall.

The irony comes from the fact that it is possible that he is the one that is fantasizing. Every word that he addresses to her could just as easily be addressed to him. So instead of a triumphant declaration of their future love together, the song is simultaneously a sad expression of a man's self-delusion. The double meaning of the song gives it a heartbreaking dimension belied by the surface meaning of the song. It is all in all a remarkable composition.

The only real problem with the Internet and reviewing sites is that people who really don't know what they are talking about get equal time with those who do. In this instance, I will assert that the very low reviews here should just be completely ignored. They do not represent established or widespread views about this album, which is almost universally agreed to be among Gilmore's very finest efforts. I would, in fact, place this among the top ten country albums of the past decade and would recommend it as a great starting place for learning about Jimmie Dale Gilmore.

Don't ordinarily care much for country; overworked licks, cliched lyrics, ersatz humanity with little real soul (bluegrass, now that's another story). But I got a kick out of watching JDG with the Flatlanders on Austin City Limits so not knowing which album to buy, I went with this because I loved T-Bone Burnett's production on the Roy Orbison Black and White concert and "Oh Brother" soundtrack, and, frankly, because it was so cheap. Boy did I get lucky! I haven't gotten goose flesh from a popular music CD in many years. The quirky instrumentation, the original lyrics, and that VOICE all come together to create a genuinely moving work of art. I suspect the negative reviews come from an expectation of a more standard country music experience. This transcends not only the country genre, it transcends the usual music listening experience.

a beautiful, ambitious album...it's too bad that some fans want their heros to crank out the same old same old...Jimmie takes us where he wants to go...it's just a matter of opening yourself up to something different and going along for the ride...5 Stars! Thanks Jimmie, I miss Texas...

Pure and sweet, clear and clean as country water, this is one of Gilmore's two best albums, the other, "Spinning Around the Sun," both marvelous examples of what country music is about. This guy's music takes me to high places, satisfying something deep. I've encouraged others to sit down an LISTEN, but most people don't have the time, it seems. Take time; it's good stuff.

BRAVER NEWER WORLD remains my favorite Jimmie Dale Gilmore album. I love them all, and it saddens me that this one has met with not only neglect but hostility from some of Gilmore's fans, apparently those who just want him to do AFTER AWHILE over and over. Oh well, their loss. On BRAVER NEWER WORLD Jimmie Dale ventures, as the title implies, into the most diverse forms of music he has ever recorded, and the furthest from his honky-tonk roots. T-Bone Burnette does a fantastic and creative job of production, adding the sort of Beatles-esque production that worked so well on MARTINIS & BIKINIS, the 1994 record he produced for his wife Sam Phillips.

The funny thing is, no matter how interesting it gets, Jimmie Dale still sounds just like Jimmie Dale. It seems to me that BRAVER NEWER WORLD taps the deepest into his spirituality, a continuation rather than a departure from AFTER AWHILE (1991) and SPINNING AROUND THE SUN (1993) -- these three albums can really be seen as a trilogy. His perspective is perfectly captured on the title track, which he wrote, and on "Borderland," which he co-wrote with David Hammond. Here's the chorus:

"So good to be home in the Borderland, where things are not what they seem. So good to be home in the Borderland, between the dawn and the dream."

BRAVER NEWER WORLD, like the first two in the trilogy, is not mainly a rocking album. However, it does have three up-tempo numbers, "There She Goes," "Black Snake Moan," the old Blind Lemon Jefferson tune, based on Ramblin' Jack Elliot's adaptation, and the closer, "Outside the Lines." The musicianship is superb -- Jim Keltner, certainly one of the all-time best, plays drums, Greg Leisz and Jon Brion are featured on guitars of all sorts, along with Gilmore, Burnette, Tony Gilkyson and Stephen Bruton, and three French horn players are credited for their contribution to the title track. If you like Jimmie Dale Gilmore's music and you don't already know for sure you don't like this album, do yourself a favor and check it out. Jimmie Dale is one of my favorite artists, and this is my favorite of his albums -- it just might turn out to be your favorite as well!

Vocals evoke a West, wiser than our imagination.Truly an American, maybe best described ala Leonard Cohen, but without the pretension or the "need to be in the know" allusions.

I am really into TW Zandt, John Prine, Jerry Jeff Walker, Uncle Tupelo, RE Keen, etc. Jimmie Dale G is right up there with those greats...this is the 1st time I have really heard Jimmie Dale and I am convinced he will be that ethereal, twangy, stoned Hall of Fame with Willie, Joe, Guy, and Townes.

You hear a certain piece of music for the first time at a particular spot in life and it hits you hard, harder than it would have at another time. Braver Newer World is one disk that I discovered at just the right time, so it will always stick with me in a special way, my thoughts endlessly creating an ally out of this soulful, spiritual, sad and encouraging cd.

Headed For a Fall is blissful, as is Come Fly Away and There She Goes, among others. Though you'll find this cd in the country music section and it does sound country-ish, it sounds that way while going at its own independent pace and will leave you thinking this is not, by categorical standards, country music. It's extremely spiritual and while reflective, it's also looking ahead, especailly on Outside the Lines, one of my favorites of Jimmie Dale Gilmore's. It's got a raucous beat, which surprises the listener to death because its speed is a total departure from the rest of the album. And due to it being the last track, it becomes clear that as healthy as it is to stay in tune with what's been, it's also good to keep on and look forward to what's ahead, and it just may be that you will have to create what it is that is ahead for you in life.

It's weird to think of this cd being recorded in a studio, where there are a lot of chords and technical equipment. The whole thing is so from the heart and spirit, and feels otherworldly, that when I think of the recording process, I can't help but imagine that the musicians brought all their equipment to wherever one of their favorite spots is, whether that be an oceanside beach resort, a plot of grass along a lonely West Texas highway, or on the street corner next to their favorite magazine store. Just wherever it is that such raw spiritual authenticity could be mustered up.

Highly recommended.

Braver and newer. A modern tapestry that blends it all. He should have continued in this direction. Great songs.

i had a dream last night. i dreamed that i lived in a world where toby keith, vince gill and garth brooks were anonymous individuals, perhaps working in construction, and that the most lauded and famous country music stars were fellas named "billy joe shaver," "buddy miller," and "jimmie dale gilmore." what a great dream. and when i awoke i was sad, because i remembered how the world really was. i just wanted to go back to sleep and dream some more.