Customer Reviews

Exploration

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

 

 

Wow! , what a discovery.
This wonderful album sounds like a cross between seventies era Fleetwood Mac and "tommorow the green grass" jayhawks period. Sarah lee sounds like a combination of stevie nicks and bobbie gentry.
The album was produced by jayhawks genius gary louris and the musicians are Alt-country fan's heaven. You hear louris touch in every aspect of this album , the production is open and airy and the harmonies are just wonderful (think Gram/Emmylou), The songs are all excellent, songwriting of the highest order.
If your'e a fan of high quality music similiar in the spirit to the jayhawks than you owe yourself this album.
Simply wonderful.

I can be a bit of a track jumper when I don't feel a whole album is on the same musical level, but this album is just so well crafted that I can put down my finger and listen to the whole thing. It is inventive and interesting with some of the best vocals I've heard in any genre lately. This album is interesting enough that you don't need to a roots music lover or a folk lover just a lover of good lyrics and strong vocals. This album is just so well crafted and fun it is worth the money to take a chance on it!

As the daughter of legendary Arlo Guthrie you would expect the storytelling to be great, but remember this album is a joint collaboration between Sarah and her husband Jeremy Irons who wrote most of the album. Although the storytelling is not up to par with Arlo's, the musicianship on this album makes it one to grasp onto and listen to, at first I didn't grasp the subtle influences that flowed within the songs but something always brought me back to this album and with mixed emotions I listened to it again and found myself lost within the harmonies on it. This album has found a place in the rotation of the music I enjoy, and with that I give it three stars for being an album that somehow mystifies me and haunts me with the knowledge of what can become one of the great husband/wife teams in music.

I know what I like and I liked this album the first time I heard it. The duet thing hasn't been done better than this, and I just took George Jones-Tammy Wynette out of the player.
I will say that I enjoy the laid back, easy going songs and sounds from these two (In Lieu of Flowers, Kindness, Swing of Things) the most but, sample sample sample and prepare to be impressed.
I borrowed another SLG CD and threw it back. "Exploration" is a keeper. Highly recommended.

I agree with Amazon: this is one of the year's best and probably THE 2005 revelation in roots rock (if we must confine this album to a genre). Yet, I didn't give them much credit at first, because I had never heard of them and the fact that she is the granddaughter of Woody Guthrie doesn't imply that she can sing or play. Fortunately, I overcame my initial skepticism.

The album strength lies in its variety; you have a rock number where electric guitars and harmonica dominate (Gervais), but also an Appalachian-style dirge (Georgia Pine), a catchy folk-pop song (Holdin' Back) and a romantic track typical of country duets (The Swing of Things). Singer-songwriter material just consisting of harmonies and acoustic guitars is also there (Mixed Blessings), together with a committed social commentary in the wake of 60's political folk (Dr King).
The track penned by Pete Seeger is actually one of my favourites; it can be naïve ("They were singin' in marches, even singing in jail / Songs gave them the courage to believe they would not fail"), but it nonetheless gives me hope in the future every time I listen to it, thanks also to the final strophe connecting the events in 1955 Alabama with today situation. In passing, I believe this final addition must be the work of Irion and Guthrie, not of Seeger.
The closing track adds one more dimension to the CD variety, with the whirling duet of banjo and fiddle verging on bluegrass territory.

Yet for all its diversity, the album winning formula is how graciously Sarah and Johnny sing together. Their voices aren't remarkable on their own, but they blend perfectly together. It is an example of how the union can be more than the sum of the parts. To see how this "vocal" chemistry works a good starting point is "The Swings of Things", available here for download.

The accompanying band is also in top form; their discreet backing lets Johnny and Sarah's voices shine. Still, their contribution is evident throughout the album. Just listen to the pedal steel in the "In Lieu of Flowers" opening or the piano in the "Swing of Things" refrain to convince yourself.

In summary, if you like roots rock as it was done in the 70s or the duets of Gram & Emmylou, who Johnny and Sarah often remind me of, give this CD a try. Don't be skeptic as I was!

Great sounding music a cross between Bluegrass and old time country with a little of the hip new sounds mixed in.