Customer Reviews

Bringing Down The Horse

5 star:		(104)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Jakob Dylan and his band came back stronger and more committed after their first release and a long time on the road to serve up "Bringing Down The Horse," an outstanding recording that will be considered a classic at some time down the road, if it isn't already.

Anyone who thinks Jakob received this critical acclaim merely because he is the heir apparent to his father's talent, need think again. The younger Dylan and friends were able to turn out a masterful piece of work despite constant scrutiny and incredibly high expectations. Sure, his voice, especially on songs such as "Invisible City," sounds eerily like Bob's, but so what? Springsteen, Petty, and about a thousand other people have imitated the elder Dylan over the years. In Jakob's case, it's not imitation so much as heredity.

This album spawned a number of hits, including "The Difference", "6th Avenue Heartache", "Three Marlenas," and "One Headlight." Unlike many "hit" songs, these four tracks hold their respective edge, and lose none of their power even after being played to death. (For the record, "Headlight" was recently included on a list of the top 100 pop songs of the past 35 or so years, as compiled by Rolling Stone magazine and MTV, placing the Wallflowers in the company of the Beatles, the Stones, Petty, Springsteen, and Old Man Dylan. Take this with a grain of salt, though - there are also a lot of duds on that list.) No matter - "One Headlight" is musically tight and lyrically flawless, obviously deserving of mention on any list of great Rock songs.

Three Marlenas" is a wonderful ballad. "Heartache" is about as good a Rock and Roll song as has been released in the past decade, and "The Difference", with its big sound, strong backbeat, and the great line "Sometimes old men die with little boys' faces," is superb.

But wait - that's only the beginning. There are seven other tracks on this album, and all are excellent. It's a safe bet that you'll not once skip a song while listening to this disc. You're more likely to repeat one three or four times before moving on. "Josephine", "Laughing Out Loud", "God Don't Make Lonely Girls" and, my personal favorite, "Invisible City", all rival the four songs mentioned above.

Dylan's vocals are solid on the upbeat numbers, and especially moving on ballads ("Marlenas" and "City" are good examples). The backing band is strong, the production superior.

This is not a one - shot deal by the genetically gifted son of a Rock legend. It is a mature, elaborately crafted recording by a band that has been out there, paid its dues and is reaping its well - deserved praise.

For anyone who has lived in a vacuum for the past four years and hasn't heard this recording, go ahead and take advantage of the wonders of modern technology. Click on any song and listen to a 30 - second sample. That will be enough to hook you. I guarantee it.

Melodic and thoughtful songs make up the majority of this CD. The hits are not the only things worth listening to, it is just good rock and roll without any of the dramatics heard so often from other bands.

This album takes the cake for the best album in my collection. Each track has a unique sound and mindset that could make each and every one be a hit single, but they still come together extremely well for the overall dark, rich mood of the album. Songs such as "One Headlight," "Sixth Avenue Heartache," "Three Marlenas," and "The Difference" are, as they have well proven themselves to be, very radio friendly. These, along with lesser known "God Don't Make Lonely Girls," "Bleeders," and "Laughing Out Loud" have a relatively uplifting beat though they are definately not dance grooves. My favorite song is "Invisible City." All of Jakob's lyrics are deep, philosophical, and wonderful, but this song is the epitome of great lyrics. "In this invisible city/ where no one sees nothing/ we're touching faces in the dark/ feeling pretty is so hard." It's soft, dark, and slow with beautiful vocals and, as I've mentioned before, only the best of lyrics. "Josephine" is the main love song on the album with striking vocals by Jakob that are very exposed. It is a truly gorgeous song, well written and well sung. The album closes with "I Wish I Felt Nothing," which is another one with great lyrics (aren't they all though?). The placement of this song as last is perfect for the album, closing with a song that sums up the total dark feel of the album. Some may say the album is depressing but I say it is real and insightful, an album you can listen to straight from beginning to end over and over and over again. A must have!

The years of slugging it out on his own without brandishing his father's name everywhere eventually paid off beautifully for Jakob Dylan, a considerably talented artist in his own right. For a brief shining moment in the mid-1990s, Dylan and his Wallflowers ruled the rock and roll world. The younger Dylan writes sensitive songs with an old-fashioned touch, often sung with a female point of view. "Bringing Down the Horse" contains not one throwaway, each song is enjoyable. After the debut The Wallflowers disappeared without a trace, Dylan assembled a brand-new collection of musicians to work with, as well as talented outside help, which no doubt helped his cause.

Dylan sings with perspective and a gruff lonesomeness about day-to-day situations, no different than a simple storyteller. The mood is sometimes down-and-out and searching, yet The Wallflowers also possess the rugged feel of a Budweiser commercial at times. "One Headlight," "6th Avenue Heartbreak," and "The Difference" were played a jillion times on radio, yet never got stale. Adam Duritz of the Counting Crowes contributes his blustery vocals with Dylan's on "6th Avenue" for an amazingly tuneful combo. On "One Headlight," Dylan pleads, "Come on try a little, nothing is forever" with all the gusto he can muster, as if growing out of a stale phase. The mood on "One Headlight" sounds forlorn and desperate, while the bass line chugs onward, practically never-ending. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Dylan and his band are positively barren on songs like "Bleeders," "Three Marlenas," "Josephine" and "Invisible City," where the pace is almost mellow to a fault.

The opposite is true on barnburners like "The Difference," which comes off as The Wallflowers' version of moshing out. "God Don't Make Lonely Girls" practically screams out "This Bud's for you!" on a Budweiser commercial; it's a good-time rocker that these guys should put forth more often. "Angel on My Bike" is outstanding, and "I Wish I Felt Nothing" is country to the core, complete with "I just got dumped" lyrics. The album ends appropriately mellow.

Though "modern-rock" radio liked playing these guys extensively, there's truly nothing much modern-sounding about them. With a gifted but unpretentious lead singer, fluid organ work everywhere and a down-home, juiced-up rhythm to their songs, The Wallflowers don't strive to blow listeners away with a wall-of-sound noise or cutting-edge effects. This is simply hearty rock and roll that critics might claim lacks risk or is too milquetoast Americana. Still, Dylan paves his own way and does music on his own terms. With his cool and relaxed attitude, plus his unique integrity, Dylan deserves all of his success and more. Now, if he could only find some helpful connections within the music business...

I had never listened to The Wallflowers untill my brother was murdered in Jan. of this year. He loved the Bringing Down the Horse cd and we played "One Headlight" and "6th Ave. Heartache" at his funeral. Everytime I listen to those songs it makes feel close to my brother. I immediatly went and bought the cd, now my 7yo son loves it too. He wants them to come to Virginia Beach so we can see them in concert. We missed them last year. Jakob is an amazing songwriter. Keep them coming.

Jakob Dylan is not famous because he is Bob's son. Jakob is famous because this album was a milestone in the music world.

I purchased Bringing Down The Horse after the oft-overlooked first single, "The Difference" was released. Safe to say, I was one of the first people to own this album. I devoured it, even in my young age of 11.

This album was stolen from me around 8 years ago, and I picked up a used copy in a Hastings on a road trip. Even now, this entire album remains one of the main discs in rotation for me. I found that, with each song, I still remembered the words and, all of a sudden, I was 14 again (the year my copy got stolen, it was an album I got all my friends into around that time as well) and bouncing around my room to the poppy tracks, weeping with the sad songs and contemplating with the intensity that I used to analyze these songs with.

The album opens with "One Headlight," one of the more popular singles off of this album, and ends with "I Wish I Felt Nothing," an intense builder that opens into lush auditory landscapes that really paints a picture.

In between the bookends is the REALLY good stuff. Key tracks on this album include the popular-but-still-wonderful-after-all of these-years "Sixth Avenue Heartache," which is a beautiful duet with Adam Duritz on background vox; the slide guitar is amazing in this song; "Bleeders," an upbeat tune with great guitar sound and finally, my favorite: "Three Marlenas," which, yes, was a single, but still an amazing idea and musically flawless.

Dylan's vocals are shaky, not unlike his father, but it only adds character as a key instrument in The Wallflowers. His lyricism more than balances it with just the right mixture of metaphorical and literal meaning.

Sadly, however, this is the first and last great effort from the boys known as the Wallflowers. Five stars, still wonderful to this day. I will forever be in love with Bringing Down The Horse.

The Wallflowers massive hit album, Bringing Down the Horse is full of great and beautiful tracks. This album is a true winner, rich and sexy vocals from Jakob Dylan (son of legendary musician Bob Dylan) and honest and soulful lyrics. Standout tracks include: Josephine, 6th Avenue Heartache, Invisible City, One Headlight, Angel on my Bike, I Wish I Felt Nothing, Bleeders, and The Difference. The song Josephine is such a gorgeous song, "Josephine you're so good to me and I know it ain't easy, Josephine you're so sweet you must taste just like sugar and tangerines..." The Difference is a great pop song and still with a rock edge to it, "The only difference that I've seen that you are exactly the same as you used to be..." Of course the megga hit, One Headlight never gets boring or dull, "Man I haven't changed but I know I ain't the same..." Get this incredble album by The Wallflowers, all the songs are catchy and brilliant. I also recommend Red Letter Days by the band as well, enjoy!

Bringing Down the Horse is one of the essential recordings of the 90s, and destined to become a proven classic. Songs like the fantastic rock and roll hits "One Headlight" and "6th Avenue Heartache" prove that Jakob Dylan is much more than just "the son of Bob." He is a truly serious artist that should be honored in his own right. First of all, the music has a classic sound to it that is unlikely to sound dated when listened to 20-plus years from now (and definitely not to be thrown in the trash with the likes of NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys). The lyrics are very poetic and heartfelt, and have great melodies to go along with them. Also, unlike many recent recordings consisting of one or two pre-packaged hit singles and a lot of filler, BDTH is consistently strong throughout the album. In fact, some of the best songs are tracks that were never even released as singles, such as "Invisible City" and "Josephine." So if you are looking for a worthwhile listening experience, give Bringing Down the Horse a spin. You won't be disappointed!

Jakob Dylan has one hell of a voice, this album started my foray into 90's American rock with it's clever and deep lyrics and poetic hooks. This is really just a superb album, there are not many ways to fault it - apart from the fact that certain tracks feel a bit like filler tracks, but Josephine is probably the prettiest love song I've heard in some time - tender and subtle with a key change midway. Incredible...really it is

this is wonderful. jakob dylan has a great voice. i like to listen to this when i'm feeling depressed. it lets me cry out all my depressedness its also the kind of thing that when you listen to it, u feel the vibrations of the song in your head and heart. they totally engulf you. and when you want to go to sleep, you can listen to this and have beautiful, deep dreams. its a real experience