Customer Reviews

Drum Hat Buddha

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4 star:		(1)
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Over the last several months, five folk music fans, as well as Amazon and CDNow's Best of 2001 lists, have told me that this is one of best albums of this year. Finally, I decided to listen. And upon finishing my first listen of this album, I only had one question for myself: "What the heck took you so long?"

I'm going to put this plain and simple: BUY THIS CD. There is not a track to be skipped on this album, and even if one doesn't find all the songs pleasing the first time, eventually he will. DRUM HAT BUDDHA represents everything that all music should be--Dave's music and lyrics and the harmonious combination of the two's voices make this an album not to be missed. From the phenomenal opening track "Ordinary Town" to the uplifting "236-6132," to the hypnotizing "Love, the Magician," each song possesses a unique charm and pleasing quality all its own. This CD is a true musical journey--you will be enthralled by the haunting "Tillman County," moved by the gorgeous "Gentle Arms of Eden," and if you don't at least tap your toes during "Highway 80 (she's a mighty good road)," you might want to check your pulse because you might be dead. Every song on this album is an absolute gem.

However, the most important thing to keep in mind about this album is that one must not be mislead by the folk genre--this album is so unbelievable that anyone who doesn't find at least one thing they like about it, regardless of what kind of music they like, needs to have his head examined. DRUM HAT BUDDHA is surely one of the best of 2001 and is not to be missed!

In some ways today's Folk Scene has never been healthier; however, few modern folkies come close to approaching the kind of literary heights that Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer offer in their music. Although seemingly complex, Carter and Grammer's recipe is simple: Combine one part stellar mandolin picking, one part intuitive fiddle playing with the almost prescient harmony of two voices, throw in the Yin and Yang of Carter's lyrics, and you have one of the most original folk duos to come along in years.

In contrast with their first release, the mystically sparse "When I Go", and the Alt/Pop/Country of last year's "Tanglewood Tree", "Drum Hat Buddha" has an almost Beatlesque feel to it in that in places it is reminiscent of the Beatles "Norwegian Wood" with its delicately frenzied finger picking and Lennon-McCartney harmonies. In contrast with previous offerings, that only dance around the edges of the spiritual, this disk carries with it an almost evangelical shammanistic flavor that is as Christian, as it is Pagan, as it is Buddhist. In this CD, Carter sees the mystical in all things and sets out on an exploration of life with the Yin and its dark side, and the Yang of its light side.

On the CD's opening track, "Ordinary Town", Grammer sings of the troubles of a small town visionary and the limits such a life imposes on the desire to be artful. "Tillman County" with its images of fire and brimstone, spins a tale of Biblical proportions of living at the mercy of Mother Nature. "Gentle Arms of Eden" becomes a joyful lesson in evolutionary biology in which we are reminded to make the best of this "only sacred ground we have ever known" and of the importance of putting our fate in the gentle arms of a higher power.

Carter's singing with its charming Texas twang has always conveyed a sense of wonderment - he sings as though he is seeing the world for the first time - and Grammer's playing and singing has never been better or more confident. With music that has the feel of timeless old time folk with a modern sensiblity, this is truly a disk that will stand out as one of the more original releases of the year from a group that is one of the most original of the new millennium. This disk is a must have for folkies and lovers of the mystical alike.

What can I say, from hearing Crocodile Man a few times on a 'sampler disk', I was so impressed that I bought this CD and also Tanglewood Tree (which has the Crocodile recording).

These songs are full of soul and you cannot miss the virtousity of the musicians - the strings ache and bring tears to your eyes in places. If there was a single theme here it would be that all of the songs tell stories - some of them contain familiar legends, others are a new viewpoint on the familiar or rather humourous/sad observations of modern rural life.

I highly recommend this and Tanglewood Tree. If you are looking for traditional folk or country, look elsewhere - this has an entirely different feeling though it shares from those forms. The songs are original and fresh even though many speak of times long past.

I make it easy for you: listen to the MP3 "Ordinary Town". Most people are hooked right there but if you need more check out their web site. Some of the best song writting since Dylan picked up a pen, played with passion and soul by two great artist. It's the best mix of country, folk, and a little bluegrass. Each of their CDs is brilliant.

Dave Carter passed away in July of 2002 just shy of 50, the victim of a heart attack. I know that one day he will be remembered as one of the great musicians of our time. Yeah, he's that good. Tracy Grammer is making certain the music lives on, but if you want to hear what the two of them could do... well this is about as good a place to start as any.

You'll buy the rest of the CDs soon enough.

Roy Kasten (Amazon.com review) has it ALL wrong when he writes about Dave Carter's "clumsy exertion" and "faux Shakespearean syntax" - It is EXACTLY those moments when Carter is playing with language that make all three of his and Tracy Grammer's CDs pulse with life. You can be listening to a song for the 20th time and all of a sudden a phrase like "they would...dip and spin and skate the wind like feathers" (Annie's Lover - W.I.G) or "the sand in your teeth grindin' tiny white diamonds to moments of loss that you cannot explain" (41 Thunderer) hits you and you find yourself with a lump in your throat. And there are a hundred more where those came from. In addition, even beyond the sound of the language, and his deft use of alliteration and onomatopoeia, Carter intentionally merges the sacred with both natural images and profane ones (Gentle Soldier of My Soul/Farewell to Saint Dolores [T.T]), or the mythical with the literal (Merlin's Lament/Lancelot [W.I.G]. I am on my third copy of this CD because I keep wearing it out (and When I Go and Tanglewood Tree are getting just as worn - they are the three CDs that never come out of my car's player). If you love the sound of language, love to play with it and twist and shape it in new ways, then Dave Carter is your man. And kudos to his brave partner, Tracy Grammer, for carrying on his legacy!

My whole family first fell in love with the music of Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer a year and a half ago, with their first album. Six months ago, they performed live locally, this time introducing to us several new songs.

Fragments ran through my head for six months before I finally received a pre-release copy of the newest CD. Lyrics such as, Shine the merlin moonbeam eye/set my dancin feet to fly/o'er the dark and dervish sky/I go like the raven wandered through my head, frustrating me with the fact that I couldn't remember all the words.

One song in particular, "Gentle Arms of Eden", grabbed my soul and held onto it for six solid months. The song has a jubilant, joyful, Peter-Paul-and-Mary-at-their-giddiest flavor, with a deep passion that lends it an anthem-like quality. This could be the theme song for planet Earth... on some virgin beach head, one lonesome critter crawled/ and he looked about and shouted out in his most astonished drawl/ This is my home, this is my only home/ this is the only sacred ground that I have ever known/ and if I stray in the dark night alone/ rock me goddess in the gentle arms of Eden. Dave calls the song his "contribution to country music's eco-spiritualism genre." If country music didn't have one before, it does now. Dave Carter has a genius for capturing vulnerability in poetry and making it beautiful and strong. He then takes that poetry and blends it with music that draws from country-western, folk, bluegrass and a variety of other roots in a way that not only works, but appeals to a broader range of people than the original stock ever could. Tracy Grammer adds her substantial talent with instruments and voice in a way which is synergistic. Without Dave, Tracy would be an excellent musician, and without Tracy, Dave would be an excellent songwriter, but when you combine the two of them, the result is magic.

When I say magic, I mean it... I'm talking knights-in-rusting-armor, maidens-in-pensive-thought, magicians-in-the-cave magic. Yes, there are truck driving songs and gator songs and lost love and card playing and murder in the repertoire, and they're amazing, too. When you get right down to it, Dave may be a country singer at heart-but he's also extremely well-read and intelligent and it pops out in his music in the quirkiest and most delightful ways.

What is the music like? At the heart you have Dave, with his Texas twang and either a guitar or banjo, and Tracy, with her darkly sweet and nuanced voice and a fiddle, mandolin or guitar. It used to be that Dave did more of the singing and Tracy sang the harmonies and played fiddle. Then Dave started writing for her voice, and now it is pretty balanced between the two of them. Both of them are delightful singers, him for the character of his voice and her for the shining beauty of hers, but the best part is when they sing together in harmony. Somehow they always seem to achieve the perfect blend--they are both humble enough to step back and let the other shine. It's either folk with a country flavor or country with folk flavor.

Clearly Dave and Tracy have a deep love for what they do, and this shows in the music. They are both refreshingly humble, delightfully down-to-earth people, just some of the nicest, most gracious performers I've ever met. Their dedication shows in the amazing quality of both their live performances and studio recordings. This is my favorite music to date, not "in spite of", but in part, because of the down-home quality his twang lends the music. If all country music was this intelligent, I'd probably listen to a lot more of it. In hundreds of listenings, Dave's twang has never bothered me, and I've never considered myself a country fan.

Why is this CD called Drum Hat Buddha? My guess is that the title pays homage to the three driving moods behind the album--the drumbeat of dancing feet, the cowboy tradition, and the spirituality that continues to deepen in each successive album. Or maybe it's the other way around... the spirit drums and the cowboy dance with the peaceful Zen that hums through it all. Dave is a pagan cowboy mathematician poet, and he's obviously found the key to keeping his muse happy. From the first upbeat chords of "Ordinary Town" to the almost psychedelic "41 Thunderer", the first half of the CD just doesn't let you go. Then in quick succession the energy builds with "Gentle Arms of Eden", "I Go Like the Raven" and the truck-drivin' "Highway 80". The last three songs are quieter and slower, but at the same time subtle and evocative. The imagery of "Love, the Magician" is exquisite in a deceptively simple song. "Merlin's Lament" is heart-breakingly beautiful. The last song on the album, the quietest, with a drumbeat like a peaceful heart, is "Gentle Soldier of my Soul"-a love song with a profoundly spiritual root.

I strongly recommend Drum Hat Buddha (as well as Tanglewood Tree and When I Go) as well-worth the $$. At the last performance, they previewed a song that will be on a yet-to-be-released album. If it is any indication of things to come, Dave and Tracy will just keep getting better. It's almost scary. My only complaint is that I've got "Dark Womb" (a song from their *next* album) stuck in my head, and I'm afraid it will be at least a year before it gets onto a CD... Whenever it comes out, I'll be the first in line. For now, I have Drum Hat Buddha following me through my day in four different CD players. It's that good.

Pure Magic - That's the only way to describe the way Dave Carter's lyrics circle and entwine, mystify and delight, dance and mourn while his partner, Tracy Grammer, navigates through furious fiddling and then sings in the most simple, sweet, honey tones. Each of Dave and Tracy's three albums was a progressive improvement upon the one before, as their experience and resources expanded. Drum Hat Buddha is a rich, intricate expression and resonates long after the last song ends. The songs and arrangements are too varied and complex to be called merely "folk" or "roots". The world lost a beautiful and unparalleled songwriter when Dave Carter passed this year, but we must be thankful that he left us this music before he went. None of their albums (see also "When I Go", "Tanglewood Tree") should be missed, but you can't miss if you buy only this album. Notable tracks (if you really have to choose a few): Ordinary Town, Tillman County, Disappearing Man, I Go Like the Raven, Gentle Soldier of My Soul...oh, heck--they're all really, really good. Just buy it. You'll like it.

There is something special about Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer. It's evident in songs like "Gentle Arms of Eden," which may be the best love song about evolution ever written, and "Highway 80 (she's a mighty good road)," a high-energy truck-drivin' singalong. You can hear it in "The Disappearing Man," with its haunting, echoey refrain, and in "236-6132," which you will be singing for days. Dave Carter's songs sound like Lyle Lovett channeling Joseph Campbell, or like a more pagan Richard Shindell; and what would the songs be without Tracy Grammer's soaring violin and sly vocals? This is beautiful music, people, and silly too. Dave & Tracy don't take themselves too seriously. It's folk music, yeah, and it's cosmic American postmodern mythic cowboy country music. This is something special, and I count myself lucky to have come across it.

This one's it. What can you say about a collection that includes "Gentle Arms of Eden" which was chosen as a Unitarian hymn, to "41 Thunderer" an anthem to a Colt repeater. It's eclectic, it's amazing, and it's beautiful. Give this CD a listen, but you might as well buy the other two Dave and Tracy CDs along with this one. I guarantee you will be hooked.

An article I once read called them "earwigs"..musical hooks that burrow so deep into your subconscious that, like it or not, you can't ignore them and you can't help but hum them. It's rare when you can muster one of these: 3 is unheard of.

That's exactly what happens on this CD. "236-6132" is the catchiest musical phone number since "867-5309", "41 Thunderer" fires double-barrel into your cerebrum, and resignation to misfortune becomes chipper in "Tillman Co.".

This would be enough to purchase this CD, but in between these are songs of quieter grace that slowly settle in upon repeated listens, like the medieval imaginings of "Merlin's Lament" and the hometown hero who fails to set Nashville alight in "The Power and Glory". There really are no drastic miscues on the CD, but my least favourite is "I Go Like the Raven". The lyrics paint marvelous word pictures, but it's all a bit too Elizabethan for my taste. Those fonder of very traditional folk will beg to differ I'm sure...it's all set to a jig so carefree that it almost overcome my objection.

BOTTOM LINE:
Music lover, meet Tracy and Dave..Tracy and Dave meet music lover. Buy this.