Emerald City

John Vanderslice

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 24, 2007)
• Original Release Date: July 24, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Barsuk
• ASIN: B000RGSOS2
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #78,481 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
With the album title referring to the Green Zone in Baghdad, the latest from John Vanderslice is rife with fractious circumstances on a grand scale. His writing was fueled not only by inescapable global realities, but also an ultimately futile process to obtain a visa for his French girlfriend. The contrast of small personal details against a backdrop of larger sociopolitical events is what makes such riveting characters come to life in his songs. Eschewing broad specifics and flat reportage, his poetic bearing makes the slivered glimpses of lives in flux feel as resonant as a next-door neighbor or a family member further afield, but connected by phone. All of these lyrical aims would fall flat without Vanderslice's consummate compositional skills. These are first and foremost hook-filled songs, and it is upon repeated listenings (which they can't help but draw a listener into) that more complex matters of darkness, grief, love, hope, and death begin to emerge. --David Greenberger

Product Description
Vanderslice recorded this album in the midst of anguishing legal limbo after a visa application for his French girlfriend was rejected by US immigration. The album takes its title from a reference to the "Green Zone" in Iraq, but its themes are broad.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional As Always, October 1, 2007

By	Mark Abrahamsen "Eliott" (Desolation Row) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

JV has an exellent track record regarding his records, and Emerald City in no different. Anybody who's a fan of his music knows his music is way better than almost anything that plays on the radio. I have almost all his records, and this is among his best, though the exceptional Cellar Door is by far the best of his career, thus far. What struck me about Emerald City is it's exceptional melodic structure, incompairably beautiful harmonies, and poetic lyrics (all of which are staples of JV's unique style). It's not as immediately accessible as Pixel Revolt (thus the negitive reviews), but if you give it some time, you'll grow it love it just as much. Basicly, anybody who's a fan of JV's music should definately buy it, but someone who's not very filmiliar with his music should probably get Pixel Revolt first.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It all comes together, beautifully, June 21, 2008

By	B "B" (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews

I discovered John Vanderslice at a record store listening station. I fell in love with the song "You were my Fiji" from "Time Travel is Lonely." I back filled my collection with his other albums which were a mixed bag of either over-experimentation or lack of inspiration but all with a consistent refreshing off-beat style. On "Emerald City" he combines the best of what he has learned along the way. The songs have a slightly more pop feel (more accessible)than previous efforts but do not lose his quirky songwriting, folksy voice, or minimalist guitar/piano approach. "Teaspoon of Codeine" and "Numbered Lithograph" add just the right touch of elecrtronica. Just a delightful album to listen to from the first to the last track.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars lush apocalypse, December 9, 2007

By	John Neumann (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Love it, especially the first track "Kookaburra", which seems to wrap together the seemingly opposite qualities of goosebump-inducing beauty and destruction. Of course, I've always felt that danger and beauty go together.

I'm not sure why the background instruments on "White Dove" are distorted, but it's a cool song too.

Best CD I've bought in a long time.