Customer Reviews

East Side of Town

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

 

 

I found this jewel in the bargain bin of a local used CD store. I liked it so much I immediately bought another new copy to give as a present.
This is a wonderful collection of well-written and performed tunes from a sincere and talented guy. Godfrey sings in a soulful, world weary voice that at times sounds eerily like Tom Waits. His songs are original and personal though, especially the heart-felt tunes "Danielle", "She's Too Far Gone & the achingly beautiful "It's All Part Of The Story". Norton Buffalo contributes fabulous harmonica.
I have thousands of CD's, but I'm sure I'll still be spinning this one many years from now. I hope to hear more from this artist in the future.

Let's not mince words . . . to the person who rated this album one star due to mistaken identity, shame on you. Why would you penalize this artist for what was, at best, your own profound carelessness? I can assure you "Arthur Godfrey" is this artist's born name, so what would you have him do, change it for your benefit? Most importantly, does the fact that you were confused make the album unworthy?

So let's make it clear from the get-go: This guy's music is a far, far cry from your grandma's "Arthur Godfrey," the long-dead ukelele strummin' "Old Redhead" of radio and early TV fame whose recording career was notable for its emphasis on novelty tunes. THIS Arthur Godfrey delivers gritty, heartfelt stories of love and death in the mean streets and grungy hotel rooms of the soul. For those of you looking for honest, high-quality songs from a performing songwriter firmly grounded in American roots music (blues, folk, rock) in an idiosyncratic style that fuses influences like Dylan, Waits, Springsteen, Neil Young, Jimmy Reed and others into something all his own, look no further.

THIS Arthur Godfrey was born and raised a fireman's son in blue-collar Boston, and - like John Prine - worked for the US Postal Service. Fifty-something and now Nashville-based, he was a grand prize winner of the John Lennon songwriting contest, and counts among his fans the likes of actor/director Sean Penn. "East Side of Town" was Godfrey's first studio album, and anyone interested in the artists mentioned above will, I believe, be rather pleasantly surprised by what you hear. Beyond the songs, the musicianship is top-notch, the performances spare. Arthur's vocals are coarse and strong, yet can be sweet when required ("Danielle"); he is likewise an excellent acoustic guitarist.

Once again - take care not to confuse this Arthur Godfrey with his once famous namesake, as they are as different as Charlie Bukowski is from Charlie Brown.

I ordered this CD hoping to hear the sounds of the original Arthur Godfrey of the 1950's. Instead it is a rock band named Arthur Godfrey. Nothing against this band, but the name is a little misleading. Don't make the same mistake I did if you want to hear the original Arthur Godfrey.