Customer Reviews

Carousel

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I cannot get this out of my cd player! It's almost like classic rock again and wow- does Will Hoge have a powerful and raspy voice. Rock hasn't seen someone like this in awhile. This is his first release on Atlantic Records. He's been compared to such others as Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, and Counting Crows. The cd is simply good rock that anybody can enjoy.

Will Hoge is by far one of the best performers that I have ever had the honor to see on stage. He is what is missing from rock music today. His cd's are just straight no-frills Rock and Roll in the vein of the Stones, Springsteen, Georgia Satellites and the Crowes.

This is an amazing cd. He keeps getting better with every release. This was the start to an amazing career. I just hope that he get's the recognition that he deserves.

If you can, see him live. You will never go to another show that lives up to this guy.

When asked to describe their sound, I come up with something that is at once complimentary and limiting: Elvis Costello meets Bruce Springsteen. Simply put, this album vibrates with great power-chord driven rock and roll, ironically compelling lyrics and pure musical talent.

These guys deliver on major promises. For example, take "Rock and Roll Star". You've got to have a set of big ones to call a song that. But Will's huge guitar(augmented in an impressively twangy fashion by the since-replaced Dan Baird of Georgia Satellites fame)and Kirk Yoquelet's driving, inventive drumbeat hook you and then the words and structure hold you. "Hey get a look at these cheekbones," Will sings at the top of his lungs as he and the band explode into the chorus.

The whole disc does that. It's one catchy, beatuifully developed, loose-feeling rock track after the next. And it's a well organized one at that. Most of the songs are about failed (or failing) relationships, distance, dysfunction, misguided hope for reconciliation. But it's never maudlin. It's amazing how many different ways a band can explore that territory but never repeat the same feel or fall into old traps. Play "Let Me Be Lonely" in the car and, if you don't drive off the road, you're sure to get a speeding ticket. "Heartbreak Avenue", meanwhile, will make you want to spend your time in a smokey roadhouse with a girl named Lucille. In "(Pretty Sure) I'm Over You", co-written by bassist Tres Sasser, Will and the boys are at their foot-tapping best. It's the second to last track, and as purposefully devoid of emotion that song is, Will ends on a title track that is all emotion.

At just over 33-minutes, you'll wish there was more. And more is coming as a new album is expected later this summer or early next fall. "Carousel" will give you a feel of what these guys are like in person. Do go and see them live if you can. They tour constantly, and their website is always being updated. They just wrapped up an extended national tour opening up for Midnight Oil, but you can expect that Will, Tres, Kirk and genuine guitar talent Brian Layson will be back at a concert venue near you in no time.

Calling all Elvis Costello fans! Tired of Elvis collaborating with Burt Bacharach? Longing for a return to the angry geek that scorched everything in sight in the late 70s and early 80s? Well, fear not, because a long lost Elvis Costello album from 1981 has been found! Oh, the name on the cover may say that this is Will Hoge's new album, released in 2001, but this album sound so much like vintage Costello that it's creepy. From the spit-on-the-mike voice to the off-the-beat stammering of the words. The good news is that Will Hoge does Elvis Costello quite well. The album bristles with energy and angst and simply explodes out of the speakers. No studio wizardry here, just 35 minutes of sweaty, pounding rock and roll. Hell, if Elvis won't do it, somebody has to!

I first hear Will Hoge when he opened for the Wallflowers at LA Teach. A very great singer and performer. I listen to the Cd everyday. If you like Tom Petty and music that doesn't depress you, you will love this. SO GO OUT AND GET THE CD

I just discovered Will Hoge, and they are amazing...It is good ole' rock and roll. Will voice is a mixture of Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and the Counting Crows. The lyrics are amazing. Their music will make the hair on your arms stand up. Once you listen to this cd you will never stop playing it. The band rocks. It put rock and roll back into the blood of today! check this cd out...you wont be disappointed!!!

Will Hoge's Carousel has to be one of the best examples of true American Rock and Roll. The dynamic that exists among the band members is incredible and is displayed prominently in this album. Their songs are true; they are about real, ordinary life situations, which are vividly expressed in their music. This is an album that must be heard!

think "august and everything after" crossed with "born to run."
amp up the enthusiasm and excitement...

or imagine if van morrison's american travels led him thru cbgb's & ashbury park......

EVERYONE should get this cd oh man it makes me cry.. His voice is amazing....especially Carousel just makes me die! If you like this cd I'm sure you will like anything by Jump, Little Children, John Mayer, and Pete Yorn. Have fun listening!
-Anna

This is my favorite discovery of the year. Will Hoge (Will, Brian, Tres and Kirk) ARE Rock and Roll. Comparisons do no justice: Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Counting Crows, etc. The songs are upbeat, yet poignant. The pain of relationships, surviving break ups, and even just surviving are all cataloged. This CD only begins to capture the power of their live shows.

Recently signed to Atlantic Records, the guys are touring the country and gathering new fans at each stop. DEFINATELY on my list of the top albums of the year. I can't wait for a new album. The song "Your Fool" has recently been released to radio, and others will hopefully be rocking the airways soon.

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