Customer Reviews

End of the Summer

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yes, this is an amazing album, with sweet harmonies, intelligent and poetic lyrics, great storytelling, and some excellent production -- not too sweet or pop-oriented, but full and rich. Although those who have listened to Dar in the Northampton Folk scene on her rise to stardom often prefer her earlier, more raw works, I think this album represents, finally, the full blossom of her musicianship.

Some of Dar's best songs are here; the album contains gems all the way through, from the beautiful ballad "If I wrote you" with vocals added by Richand Shindell to radio favorites "What do you Hear in These Sounds" (also known as "the therapy song") and "Are You Out There." But the album is especially impressive because the whole THING bears repeated listening, over and over and over and over....don't miss the deep cuts: even the weakest songs here, like "Teenagers Kick our Butts," make for a fun romp; "My Friends" and "Party Generation" are amazing, too.

Rather than rehashing what other reviews have said, I leave it at this: Dar's voice takes some getting used to -- like Sarah McLachlan, Dar "breaks" funny when going for the high notes, so her voice can sound weak and feathery when lyrics might otherwise call for emphasis -- but like a fine wine, this is a taste worth getting used to. Buy this album for any reason -- if you've never heard Dar before, if someone recommended her to you, if one your friends told you this was her weakest album (they're wrong; it's just more subtle than many realize), or if you just plain like good music. You won't be disappointed.

The End of the Summer marks a change in Dar's music. While having some acoustic tracks ("The End of the Summer") this album focuses more upon working with the studios to produce a "different" sound that comes off a little uncharacteristic of Dar Williams. The thing is, it still works. The lyrics in this album are all-around phenomenal. "What do you hear in these sounds?" is a great song and anyone who's ever gone to therapy knows the simple truth she speaks. I have never been able to find another artist with lyrics quite so simple and yet meaningful. This album reaches closer to pop than the two previous albums (Mortal City and The Honesty Room) as well as the most recent (The Green World). I know she has been critsized for her deviation from the classic folk acoustic feel of her first albums that appears here, but i enjoy it. It's perhaps doesn't invoke the same impact as her acoustic songs...but it's very upbeat on the whole and fun to listen to. I recommend this CD highly...perhaps as a transition from pop to folk, but remember, The Green World and The Honesty Room are even better.

I was captivated by The Honesty Room, so I thought that I'd give End Of The Summer a try. I liked the intimacy of The Honesty Room: just Dar and I in a room with Dar singing to and for me alone. Makes one feel very special. End Of The Summer is as enchanting as The Honest Room, but for different reasons. Gone is the one-on-one rapport, the sparse "folk" atmosphere, and the "ain't she so cute" poetic lines. If artists knew how to stay amateurs and naive forever, they just might choose to do so. So far, I know of none (including Dar Williams) who have managed this feat.

End Of The Summer is not a one hundred eighty degree departure from coffee house folk, nor a total embrace of rock & roll and grand production - the progression is a matter of degree. `Are You Out There,' `What Do You Hear In These Sounds,' `Teenagers Kick Your Butts' and `Better Things' are instrumentally rich and musically dynamic bouncing folk-rockers. `Party Generation' may be a salute to carefree days past. I'm a bit dismayed with the `Ugly American' tone of `Bought And Sold,' but the song does contain an ounce or two of rational.

Despite its slick sheen, End Of The Summer contains enough solo acoustic folk to remind one that this is the work of a contemporay balladeer (If I Wrote You, The End Of The Summer, My Friends, It's A War In There). Dar has dropped all her "signature" lines? Certainly not: "Are you out there, can you hear this, Jimmy Olson, Johnny Memphis" (Are You Out There). Who, except Dar, has mentioned these names during the past thirty years of popular music. The line is simple but, as Dar's other compositions, unrivaled.

Artists such as Suzanne Vega, Christine Lavin, and Joni Mitchell have progressed beyond their initial debuts, and so has Dar Williams. Gee, this isn't Chrissie Hynde. It's still the same Dar: insightful, acidic and yea, cute.

I love this CD END OF SUMMER. I first caught Dar on Public TV in a show where she followed David Gray. In this CD, she seems in good company with Gray as kind of techno-folkies. Her love song to public radio "Are You Out There" was the song that brought me to this CD. But "What Do You Hear in these Sounds?" knocked me out, moved me. In this song, she said things about therapy that are pointed, poignant and thrilling. "But oh how I loved everybody else/ When I finally got to talk so much about myself." "Party Generation" is a catchy anthem. Hearing the CD made me sad that I had not discovered Dar Williams sooner. And sad that she has yet to reach the popularity of a Sarah McLachlan or David Gray. But give the girl a year or two!

Like all of Dar's work, this is a fantastic album. It's not my favorite of hers (that honor would have to go to her first one, The Honesty Room), but still, I will always treasure this album. When I was reading the reviews on this page, I was struck by how many different songs people loved (and disliked). One reviewer's "dreary, maudlin ballad" (The End Of The Summer) is another reviewer's favorite song (including mine). The moral of the story is, buy the album and decide for yourself. You'll certainly find several great songs, and you may find yourself falling in love with all of the songs from one of the best songwriters working and performing today.

Dar is troubled in many of the songs here. She believes her friend wouldn't write back to her once she revealed her true self, though I don't know why. I'd write back to her. The vacation and friendship she was looking forward to disappointed her in Road Buddy. The poor protagonist in It's A War In There is mentally unhealthy, the war being internal. Dar's concluding song, Better Things, puts on a happy face to reassure us of our great things to look forward to, and this in itself is sad as it assumes we need reassurance. The end of the summer represents a sad time, a time of endings, the end of good times. Actually I love the autumn, my favorite season, much happier than stifling summer. Bought And Sold is a right-on-target political statement about America, arms supplier to the troublemakers of the world. My Friends is the most beautiful and poignant gem on the record. But my favorite lines come from her visit to her shrink in What Do You Hear In These Sounds. "I am like East Berlin. I had this wall, and what I knew of the free world was that I could see their fireworks and I could hear their radio. And I thought that if we met, I would only start confessing, and they'd know that I was scared, they would know that I was guessing. But the wall came down, and there they stood before me, with their stumbling and their mumbling and their calling out just like me." We think we are the only imperfect ones, but all those we assume are so together are stumbling and mumbling. That is so cool.

I've seen Dar live several times and been mesmerized, and picked up this album hoping to enjoy some of the spirit and emotion of her performances. While there are some good songs (If I Wrote You being one of my recent favorites of ANY performer, not just Dar!), I find the songwriting quite uneven (thumbs down for Party Generation, Teenagers & 1 or 2 others). I guess the heavy production works in fits and spurts, but for me it really detracts from the nuances of Dar's vocals and lyrics. I'm genuinely surprised to have to give such a mixed review to a performer whose work (along with Lucy Kaplansky's) I enjoy...I'll chalk it up to a fluke, and look forward to the better work I know she is capable of.

This album was my first (and so far only) exposure to Dar Williams. Having read some of the other reviews of this album, I have to say that End of the Summer strikes me as the type of album you can't think about too much. It's better to just sit back, relax, and let the music come to you on a personal level. Sure, the lyrics to Teenagers Kick Our Butts are a bit inane on their own, but it's still a fun song to listen to. Intellectual commentary aside, the first track is very moving and it touches me in an indescribable way every time I listen to it. But that's probably just a personal experience.

Please excuse me for using this unusual title - but for the music listeners in Germany it is so important that there is more than the top-40-trash being distributed by radio. A friend of mine gave me the ("for Michael" -thanks, Dar) autographed CD of an artist I haven't heard of so far. The intelligent lyrics and the well-crafted songwriting made it a totally interesting experience listening to that album which I shared with students of songwriting. A very talented student of mine added "What do you hear in these sounds" to her repertoire and tries to broaden the minds of her listeners by pointing out the outstanding qualities of Dar Williams' songs. I'm thankful that there are records like these - both being autonomous in melodic form and rooted in crafted use of real instruments. A great record!

I picked up Dar William's latest album "The Green World" last week and I still think the 1977 "End of the Summer" is her best effort to date. The most striking thing about this album when compared to the others is the increased instrumentation, which might have something to do with the fact that this was the point when Williams first began touring with a full band. The "End of Summer" clearly marks the transition of Dar Williams from coffee house singer to the college auditorium crowd and that fosters some changes in the musical stylings.

This is best represented by the opening track "Are You Out There", "What Do You Hear In These Sounds?" and "Teenagers, Kick Our Butts" (which Williams was using as her first encores piece before closing with a quieter solo piece), all of which are hard driven songs for a "folk" artiste. Even some of the quieter songs on this album, such as "Bought and Sold" and "Party Generation" have more drive behind them, especially in the rhythm section. As always, Williams displays a range of styles, with the simple duet and elegant guitar of "If I Wrote You" and the plaintive solo of "The End of the Summer."

Taken as a whole the lyrical edge of these songs has more of a relational than social bent, but that has always been Williams' strength as a songwriter: the gentle prod over the call to arms from someone who can write about the human condition on a more personal level (e.g., "If I Wrote You) as well as global (e.g., "Bought and Sold"). One of the more interesting songs is "Are You Out There," which is sort of Williams' take on the discovery of female artists by FM radio--the Lilith Fair will never work school of thought--with its insistent reminder "I was out there listening all the time."

Overall, I like the musical direction she takes in this album, even if "The Green World" signals she is turning back more towards her roots. Reading other reviews of this album strongly suggests I am in the minority position here, but, well, so be it. It will be interesting to see which way she goes in the future. Final Note: "If I Wrote You" was one of two Dar Williams songs covered by Joan Baez on her last album, "Gone From Danger." In either version is it a very simple, very nice duet.