Down the River of Golden Dreams

Okkervil River

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 2, 2003)
• Original Release Date: September 2, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Jagjaguwar
• ASIN: B0000B17RU
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #33,121 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars makes me think of the ocean on a foggy dawn, June 9, 2004

By	aloverofgreysilentdays (boston, ma) - See all my reviews

I must confess, it took me a few weeks to get into this album. I slowly waded into it - and waded is the right word, because this album, for me anyway, has a very distinct sea-influence, like the songs rose up from a foggy coastline - it's just thick with atmosphere, this album. The vocalist has a bit of a whiney sound sometime, but after repeated listen I really feel comfortable with his voice - he is passionate, and I prefer passion to stale vocals that don't take any risks. Acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo, and organs abound - very nice instrumentation - the quicker tempo tracks are very very good - I love the last song with its mandolin flourishes and sing along ending - I think this album deserves to be heard - any Wilco or Decemberists fan would probably dig this sound - check it out! Enjoy!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This album made me fall over with delight., October 4, 2003

By	James Field (Birmingham, West Midlands, UK) - See all my reviews

To the dark melancholy of 'Don't Fall In Love...', Okkervil River's brand new offering 'Down The River of Golden Dreams' is a ray of sunshine. Well, dark sunshine. Sunshine behind a cloud... with rain. 'Down the River of Golden Dreams' is that sunshine between rain, then. With lovely wind noises.
Decidedly more up-beat, this album drops the predominantly mandolin and thrashed acoustic guitar of it's predecessor in favour of wurlitzer in a sleeker, more refined and mature sound- still irrevocably that 'Okkervil River' sound, with no small thanks to Sheff's bitter-sweet and immensely distinctive, soulful vocals.
It is a glorious anthology of short stories, each one memorable, meaningful and double-edged- that is, an occasionally rusty, serrated edge- so if manufactured pop is your haunt- you have been warned.
Approach this with an open mind and you will be rewarded, enlightened and uplifted, for 'tis a beautiful creation, but fragile; so tip-toe towards it, lest it shatters.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best stomache ache you'll ever get, March 27, 2004

By A Customer

We all know amazon reviews are the most biased opinions you can get anywhere - every cd is apparently the best one in the world. I'd say in recent years there have been a lot of 4.5 star cd's out there, excellent, worth listening to for months straight, but not quite deadly. This cd is absolutely deadly.. i'm not much for the nu folk scene, and wilco isnt my cup of tea.. but theres somethign undeniable here. Buy this album. If you have a soul, it will thank you.