Customer Reviews

East Nashville Skyline

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As the previous reviewer stated, Todd Snider has had a long battle with substance abuse, with a particularly bad stretch just last year. It's probably explained why his previous two studio efforts, "Happy To Be Here" and "New Connection" were disappointments to me. But the man is back in high form with his latest release "East Nashville Skyline".

The CD is fairly short (I didn't check the total time, but it probably isn't much over 40 minutes), but there is a lot of wallop in these 12 songs. There's slow songs, very fast tempo songs, humorous songs and songs that will make you think, which kind of sums up my thoughts on Todd's first CD, "Songs for the Daily Planet" which I believe is his best effort.

Personal favorites on ENS are "Alcohol and Pills", which is actually one of the few songs that Todd has recorded that he didn't write, but his performance on this song about Hank Williams aand Elvis Presley is a definite highlight. I also enjoyed the "Ballad of the Kingsmen", which Todd tells the story of how easy it is for people to blame rock and roll for life's difficut events. And "Tillamook County Jail" is Todd Snider in full humor (the passage about the "Tillamook County lie detector test" had me laughing so hard I almost crashed my car). And the last song "Enjoy Yourself" just simply lets you know to just have fun.

I also am happy that Todd has finally committed to CD the classic "Iron Mike" song about Mike Tyson, which I first heard on the radio about 8 years ago. It's still funny today although Iron Mike isnt quite as invincible as we was when the song was originally written.

All in all, a great effort by Todd Snider. I hope he stays clean and gets rid of his demons because the guy is a terrific talent and a great performer (see a live show if you can).

Hearing Todd Snider's East Nashville Skyline is like listening to a bit of vintage vinyl. Everything from the warm analog production to the length of the album harkens back to the days when a dusty old pile of records was a good evening's entertainment. Instead of overproduction and heavily doctored music that many of its contemporaries rely upon, the record possesses instead a unique vibe that fits Snider perfectly.

For children of the 70s, the record is quite a ride. For fans of Snider's beer-guzzling party anthems this album a bit of a departure despite having its share of clever, twisting lyrics and even a rowdy sing-along. East Nashville Skyline, a tribute to both Bob Dylan and Snider's own neighborhood, is ultimately much more than witty one-liners: it is a deeply personal set of songs that obviously comes from the soul of the talented, yet troubled troubador.

The album leads off with a witty recollection of the journey that has been Todd's musical career called "Age Like Wine" including references to the inevitable comparison of his "old stuff" to his "new stuff." The album rolls along with "Play a Train Song" which is arranged like a classic Johnny Cash tune and stands as a testament to Snider's road manager, friend, and one-time self-proclaimed mayor of East Nashville, Skip Litz. A cover of Fred Eaglesmith's "Alcohol and Pills" is one of the better cuts on the album with a heartfelt rendition from Snider, whose well-known substance abuse problems lends a sense of sincerity to the song. "The Ballad of the Kingsmen" exudes incredible California vibe and serves as a wry indictment of placing blame upon rock music for societal problems. Classic Snider sarcasm peeks out from "Conservative Christian, Right Wing, Republican, Straight White American Males" which despite being a protest song is a throwback to classic country music with buckets of twang. Snider goes on to praise pianist Jason D. Williams, rowdy Texan Jack Ingram, and some aspects of his current hometown on a rolling tune aptly titled "Nashville."

The real highlight of the album is the surprisingly honest "Sunshine." The song is moody and hopeful at the same time, chronicling via a hypothetical third-party Snider's own bouts of depression. Heartbreakingly matter-of-fact it does not paint suicide as a dramatic cry for attention but rather focuses on the very real resignation for some victims that it is simply a decision to end the despair. Despite focusing on such a tragic topic, the song ends on an upbeat note giving hope to both the listener and Todd himself. The song is unlike any Todd has written--nearly spoken with a bright, yet haunting backdrop of hollow accompaniment. Further, fans who know his own struggles will find this a very open look into the normally private battle.

At various points in the album, you'll find flashbacks to some of the artists that influence Todd: the confessional lyrics of John Prine; the folksy harmonica and sweet guitar of Neil Young and Dylan; the narrative stylings of Tom Petty and to an extent Lou Reed. Amazingly it all is blended in a distinctive style that is Todd's alone--albeit with help from co-producer and obscenely talented Will Kimbrough who plays just about everything on this record. Together they have created what may be the seminal Todd Snider sound via an album sure to impress.

I'm new to Todd Snider, and thanks to this album, I'm a committed fan. I heard the side-splittingly funny "Conservative, Christian, Right-Wing, Republican, Straight White American Males" on the radio and the next day I trucked right out and bought the album. I have to say, it is a relief when you buy an album based on one song, only to find that they are all as good as the first!

Snider has a wonderful musical range. He shifts from the twangy "Conservative..." to the playfully intimate "Enjoy Yourself" to the harder and darker cover of "Alcohol and Pills", pulling off all these styles with aplomb. The recording has a lovely ragged, dirty analog edge, which gives it real warmth. Snider also has a great sly sense of humor, which shows up right from the get go in "Age Like Wine" and continues right through the last chord of "Enjoy Yourself".

My favorite tracks are "Conservative...", an uproarious look at the political divide in our country today; "Age Like Wine", where Snider shows his amazement at still even being here playing; "Enjoy Yourself", a gentle and funny encouragement to stop working so hard and worrying so much; "Good News Blues", a silly bluesy takeoff....well heck, I really like *every* song on the album. If you like music that will get your feet tapping, or that will get your brain working, or that will tickle your funny bone, or just something great to groove to as you roll down your windows and barrel down the country roads, this is it. Highly recommended!

Finally, with East Nasville Skyline, Todd Snider has made the studio recording that reflect his true heart and soul (of which there apparently is plenty). It is fluid. It is Todd Snider. It is what every fan of Todd Snider knew he could do. This cd is one that should be on your list of "Five cd's that I would want to be stranded on an island with."

This recording gives the listener insight to life and times of Todd Snider. It comes across as deeply personal, giving insight into Todd's battles with addiction and his views of life on the road, politics and organized religion. He is a master observer of himself and others. It is simultaneously funny and thought provoking. Buy one for yourself and surprise a friend who has never heard of Todd Snider.

Every time I listen to this cd, I find a new layer that I didn't hear on the prior listen. It will blow you away on the first listen, and continue to just amaze you thereafter. You will not tire of this cd. And, of course, go see Todd Snider live when he comes to your town.

"I have never once tried to figure out what people wanted to hear" proclaims Snider on the first page of liner notes. However, I think that East Nashville Skyline is the type of music that people want to hear. Snider has a country / folk / rock sound on this album that is accessible and addicting. His music is simple; his lyrics are poignant, funny but serious. You find yourself laughing, but then listening to the song again to make sure that you did not miss something important lyrically while you were laughing.

The highlight of this album for me is "Play Me A Train Song". A song in tribute to the free-spirited friend Skip. Still with his cigarette in his mouth and southern comfort in his hand. "The Ballad of the Kingsmen" is a song about the escapism that exists in society by pointing the blame to everything kids do on music. Other reviews have already talked about "Conservative Christian ..." but it is worth mentioning that Snider really captures what many liberal people are thinking in this world. The whole album is filled with great songs.

Do yourself a favor and if you stumbled across this album while searching for alt.country or other music, give it a serious consideration for purchase. I do not think you will be disappointed.

I love Todd Snider, and I want you to love him too.

But don't take my word for it, or even Gale Sayer's word for it. Check out this album, Snider's most accessible, and relatable, in several years, and see for yourself.

While I love Todd Snider, I'm not so starry-eyed about his artistry that I can't be critical of some of his efforts. However, I can't really find any fault with East Nashville Skyline. Maybe it's the producer's influence of the great Will Kimbrough, or maybe it's Kimbrough's guitar sensibilities binding threads together all over the album, or maybe it's Todd's wise choice to add some covers to balance and complement his own great songs, but whatever it is that makes this album so complete, the careful listener is rewarded bountifully on this studio masterpiece.

One thing I appreciate about this record is Todd's decision to come out of the political closet again after many years, and several albums, of not preaching to his choir. In fact, Todd's more

"East Nashville Skyline" is at least as good, overall, as "Happy to Be Here" and "New Connections." This third studio production for "Oh Boy" records (there's also a live release) still falls short of the brilliance of his debut disc "Songs for the Daily Planet" but for a change, flashes of THAT Todd Snider do appear here. There is more accompaniment and production on the new album, and it is welcome. There are more uptempo songs, and they, too are welcome. Although I suspect that "Happy" and "Connections" may have more profound lyrics overall, any Todd fan should like "East Nashville Skyline" just fine. It's a bit more fun than the other two recent efforts, even though its subject matter is also mostly dark. Perhaps credit for that goes to producer Will Kimbrough, or to Todd's recently acquired sobriety, or to his also recently added maturity. As a long-time fan who was in the small audience in Lubbock in 2001, witnessing one of his shortest and least-satisfying concerts, I am glad to have evidence that Todd has not given up, given in, or given ground to either his personal demons or to the pressure to become more shallowly commercial. I predicted in a review of another CD of his that he might not reach his peak until his forties, but he had a chance to keep his fans for the rest of his life. I hope I'm right, and that his life is long and prosperous. Buy this disc, and help out a guy who has a quirky but unique talent. And then buy his older stuff, too. I might be one of his oldest fans, at age 60, but I've heard a heck of a lot of singer/songwriters over the decades, and he has something rare in his soul that has not yet fully surfaced, but is strongly foreshadowed by "East Nashville Skyline."

Todd Sniders been on a lot of roads between Portland and San Marcos and midtown-Memphis and East Nashville.... still under 40, the guy's gonna walk a hell of a lot more if he just keeps strummin' that guitar and singin' what he feels.... this album has a lot of soul, a lot of humor, lot've truth though he doesn't pretend to know anything... it's to Todd Snider what 'Bruised Orange' was to John Prine, or what 'Blood on the Tracks' was to Dylan, what 'Kerouaks Last Dream' was to Ramblin Jack Elliott -- in so far as, 40 years from now, it will be considered neither his early stuff nor his later stuff but, rather, perhaps that one album right there in the middle that was just genius...
Every Todd Snider album is different.. i can't compare this one to any other.... it stands to me as his best studio album, but i understand those who feel 'Songs for the Daily Planet'or another is his best studio album....

The sincere irony or `Alcohol And Pills', the Red State vs Blue State anthem, `Conservative Christian, Right-Wing, Republican, Straight White American Males', the breezy fun of `Enjoy Yourself', the hilarious [if somewhat dated] `Iron Mike's Main Man's Last Request' [yes, that Iron Mike], the life-affirming aesthetic of `Play Me A Train Song', his tribute to his dear friend, the Dylan homage of the title...the revelations go on. This is a troubled-he-knows-it self-destructive troubadour at the top of his game - more Merle Haggard or Johnny Cash than, say, Steve Earle - proud 'tree-hugging, peace-loving, pot-smoking, porn-watching lazy-ass' blames no one for his debauchery or his nostaliga - he's just a brilliant melodist, clever lyricist, dark, deeply complex. Somewhere, John Prine is a-smilin'. My grade: A

I was only recently introduced to the music of Todd Snider. I received a compilation CD that included a track off of this album.

After hearing that single song (Ballad of the Kingsmen), I decided to buy this CD. I would rank this album as my best musical discovery of 2004.

So much of the country music we hear on the airwaves today is warmed over, cliche ridden, formula driven garbage. It is so refreshing to hear an artist who taps into the real working class roots of country music in the tradition of Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and others, but at the same time manages to add something new and vibrant to the music.

My favorite songs are "Conservative Christian, Right-Wing Republican, Straight, White, America", "Enjoy Yourself" and "Good News Blues".