Customer Reviews

Cost of Living

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Goddamn, he's good. Good as in, "awesome," and definitely not phoning it in... Here's yet another lively roots music set showcasing this veteran roadhouse pro at his very best, a soulful blues-based performer with feet planted equally firmly in old-school country's honkytonk tradition... This is a very strong set of original material, with highlights that include rollicking, humorous tunes like "Right To Be Wrong" and the lustful "I'll Change My Style," as well as the country-flavored "Two Step Too," which is as concise a description of McClinton's rock-country-R&B world view as we're ever likely to hear. It should be mentioned, though, that with the destruction of New Orleans earlier this month, an unintended sadness hangs over this album as well... The strolling Big Easy vibe of "One Of The Fortunate Few" and other songs are part of McClinton's long love of Louisiana music, and made me wonder what the blues world will do without its home... Hopefully, they'll keep making great records like this one, and if "Cost Of Living" is any indication, Delbert McClinton will be one of the artists there to lead the way to rebuild and revitalize the New Orleans soul we know and love so well. Anyway, this is a fine record... If you get it, you will not be disappointed.

Learned of Delbert from the Don Imus show and have been a major fan ever since. This album is another gem with some of the best Texas blues songs I have heard in years. To truly appreciate Delbert, you need to see him live. Extraordinary performer!

This was my first McClinton CD and now I am hooked! I have bought 2 more and they are all great.

Texas music is more than music from Texas. It's an alchemy of apparently disparate essences - blues, soul, rock'n'roll - and Delbert McClinton is a master chemist. Like his fellow Lone Star Staters Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Doug Sahm, McClinton's defiance of definition may have denied him a wider audience, but those who know him can consider themselves, to quote one of his songs, "one of the fortunate few". McClinton wrote most of the 13 songs here and anything he doesn't write he makes his own (I'll Change My Style, associated with Jimmy Reed, becomes wonderfully greasy swamp R&B). For tragic, noirish adventure with a femme fatale, try Down into Mexico ("Sherrie was a dancer / she was a schemer / we came up with a foolproof plan"). Those who have lost love will share the ache of Kiss Her Once For Me ("and there's a part of her life I won't be there to see / when you're holding her tonight, kiss her once for me"). McClinton just turned 65 and shows no sign of decline. Start here and work back to such gems as Genuine Cowhide (1976) and The Jealous Kind (1980). (This review appeared in The Age newspaper in Melbourne, Australia.)

I was really excited to hear this album was finally coming out. After catching a Delbert show with the current band, I thought this would be a smoking album. I am still absolutely floored by Rob McNelley's (guitar) solo album after almost two years, and figured he would have some influence on this album.. He does, but it still left me a little flat after a few plays.

Don't get me wrong, a flat album from Delbert beats a great album from most others. But sometimes you get to thinking that everything Delbert does is magical. If you have either of his last two albums (Nothing Personal or Room to Breathe), you know what I'm talking about. This one doesn't match up to those.

As I said earlier, it's still better than lots of 'great' albums. My personal taste runs more towards blues/soul/rock than country. Delbert seems to be exploring his country side on this disc. In my opinion he is where country music ought to be today, not pretty people who all sound like each other. But then, I'm not much of a fan of country music.

This disc starts off with "One of the fortunate few", which will probably confuse some people as this is the name of a fantastic album from a few years ago. This song introduces Rob McNelley's rich rhythm chops right away, and is a great intorduction to the album. "Right to be Wrong" follows, and I remember thinking this is going to be one of my favorites. It changes feel between straight time and a blues shuffle and really gets ripping towards the end. "The part I like best", "I'll change my style" and "Hammerhead Stew" are immediate classic Delbert tunes.

Then you get to "Your Memory, Me and the Blues". I found myself listening to the intro and thinking this sounds just like "Don't leave home without it" (from Room to Breathe). The changes are different, but the feel is very similar (play them back to back and you'll see what I mean). One more song ("Dead Wrong") to add to the Delbert classics list, then it starts to fall apart for me.

In "Down into Mexico", "Kiss her once for me", "I had a real good time", "Midnight Communion" and "Two Step Too", Delbert explores some serious country roots. As I said, if the country genre was more like this, I would probably listen to more of it. But as I'm into other things, these are the songs I would never consider in my favorites list.

He ends strong in "Allright by me", a nice little jazzy bluesy tune that has already left me wanting the next album. So, this disc starts strong, goes away a bit (for me at least), and finishes strong. Once again, a nice album, but will probably not make my top ten favorites from Delbert.

If you are shopping for Delbert, I highly recommend Room to Breathe, or even better is the Grammy winning Nothing Personal. Look for "Live from Austin" for a taste of a younger Delbert in concert, or "Live" for a more recent experience. I would recommend the Austin disc for the beginner - it's a single disc and therefore a bit cheaper. Also, I recommend "One of the fortunate few" (the album) from a few years back.

There are no great songs here but some pretty good ones; Right To Be Wrong is the best IMHO. The 1st song, One of The Fortunate Few, is the title of a great Delbert McClinton album that contains some of the best he has ever done. Cost of Living is well worth the price but look at and listen to Fortunate Few, Room To Breathe and Nothing Personal to find his best work over the last few years. Still, I'll take a less than wonderful Delbert CD over most other artists' best work.

Delbert is always Delbert, but he always offers something a little different too, which is what makes it great. This one is a little more country than most recent previous stuff, but very good. I personally think it ranks third among his most recent relases behind Nothing Personal (the best) and One of the Fortunate Few. However, I hate to rate it behind anything because it really stands on its own and is a great work. Down into Mexico, One of the Fortunate Few, Two Step Too, I Had a Real Good Time, Alright By Me, are all really good. I am surprised this one a Blues grammy. Not because it isn't good, but because it has only a few "blues" tracks on it. I'll Change My Style and Alright By Me are 2 really good blues tunes though. A lot of country feel but upbeat country to country-roadhouse, Delbert. Not a huge country fan but these are some of the better works on this. Two Step Too, and I Had A Real Good Time, fall into this category.

Definately worth adding to a collection and ALWAYS nice to hear new Delbert. Can't wait to see it live. Keep on Rockin, Bluesin, Country Roadhouse, Delberting, Delbert!

The tunes on "Cost of Living" demonstrate Delbert's willingness to stretch out and not be pigeon-holed as a "blues rocker." The textures and flavors on this piece come together for a spicy little gumbo, well deserving of its Grammy-winning status. I'm "One of the Fortunate Few" who saw my 65-year-old hero on stage last night. He does not dissappoint.

This album is not a terrible album, but I feel it sounds a little flat compared to Delbert's past two albums as well as the live double that was put out recently. I've listened to it about five times now and don't feel I need to hear it again for a while. It's more the songs than the performance.

This is one of his best! The music is down to earth and is music you can feel in your soul.The feelings and emotions are great and the music is the kind that gets you going!
A #1 CD!