Customer Reviews

Citation

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

 

 

I love the attitude of this record. There were signs of it in Thus Always To Tyrants and Upside Downside, but Citation drives it home. From the opening notes of "Freedom Was A Stranger", this CD pulls you in. Scott uses dynamics in this record to help drive home all the important points. In a day and age when artists are out there protesting everything from the President to Colonel Sanders, it was refreshing to hear a real protest. A protest of the people who have fed you full of s**t all your life, from your best friend who steals your girl while you are deployed overseas (listen to "Jody") to the halls of congress who slings enough bulls**t to power a big engine designed to run on it (listen to "8 Miles A Gallon"). Perhaps the best protest is the album itself which seems to protest getting older. 5 Stars was the easy part for me. Taking the CD out of my player has proven to be the hard part.

Scott Miller writes and plays like a seasoned veteran in what is an extremely complex presentation of heart, soul, and sweat. Smokin' hot. I see dead people when I hear `The Only Road...' homage to the Minor Chord so full of angst, despair, longing and a generations' lost innocence that I find myself practically in mourning after each spin. That one's a single with attitude. My bourgeois favorite has to be 'Eight Miles a Gallon' and its no-nonsense rock and roll, but I found a much deeper appreciation of `Still People Are Moving,' the tribute to American hero Sam Houston (`Say Ho'), 'Wild Things,' 'On a Roll,' and 'Long Goodnight.' Stunning and powerful.

When something resonates on a simple, level, but shows depth with time, it is a treat. Scott Miller has grown. This is great music -- so basic, simple and accessible at first glance, but with complex flavors that continue to reveal themselves with time. It can keep pleasing you in different ways and refreshing itself. Miller is so seamless in his mixing of styles that you might miss the richness. His gifts with language are well honed, and the things he chooses to share with us are worth engaging. Beyond that, the pacing and spacing of the songs and flavors is just plain tasty. This stuff is sooooo deeply good - and Miller makes it look so easy that you might miss it if you don't take the time to notice what's going on. There's an artist at Work -- don't miss out.

Stripped down, drinking, driving classic Scott Miller. More literary than past releases- a tad more understated. Stays with you for that very reason.

I would give it five stars but I have to save that rating for Willie and Family live- and scott's next record.