Customer Reviews

Falling Stars & Broken Hearts

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

 

 

Fred is known for his great songwriting, and this album dosent dissapoint. It does, however, seem cultivated for radio play (heck the guy deserves that) the songs are easy to listen to. A few rock, like "Sugar Cane" and "I aint given in", some are traditional country " Dancing on the bar", and some are modern country like "Indian Motorcycle". Missing are some of the quirky story songs from past albums that I love so much, but still a great CD. (And I dont even really like country music) Go get em Fred!

This is a shift back to more country & western music. You will not find any real rockers here. The good news: great pedal steel work, some real good breakup songs, "Rev it Up" could be a Thunderbird's tune, and the final cut is great. Bad news: not a single train song, no Washboard Hank, and it's a little short. As a neon lit beer drinking albumn, it's pretty good, but don't expect anything like the last couple of albumns. It's head and shoulders better than what passes for country music currently.

Fred Eaglesmith is developing one of the most interesting body of works in the fringe country area. From Canada, he rocks like Texas. Delbert McClinton and Joe Ely are musical soulmates in this lunar landscape of falling stars and broken hearts. The top track is classic Fred, as good as "I Like Trains" or "105." Fred starts by downing a preacher's good intentions, a girlfriend's attentions and rocks out "I Ain't Ever Givin' In," and then moans, "anytime soon." Washboard percussion and keyboards that squeak like something from the Outer Limits sound off as Fred sings, "What's a pretty girl like you doing without me?" on the second track. A start & stop tempo punctuates "Indian Motorcycles," "Moonlight over the water, shadows on the proches, sniffing down the alleyway..." "Sugarcane" is great swamp rock. On country weeper, "Ordinary Guy," Fred sings, "A plain old shirt & a plain old tie" about a girl that left the guy and winds up, "doesn't even look a tiny bit like me." "Cumberland County" is a great workingman ballad about a snow plow operator, "She said she was tired of the same old story, tired of the sparks against the snow." "Rev It Up" is a rock out rave while "Soft on My Shoulder" is a slow tune with great electric bass. Pedal steel croons on "Dancin' On the Bar," "I'm not as happy as you are; and I'm just trying to get through to tomorrow." The grass is always greener on the other side in "I Wanna Buy Your Truck," "I'm really stuck in this life of mine." "Cold War" is a folk samba with parades and heroes. "Your Sister Cried" is a graceful stately homespun lament. "Marrianne," the hidden track, is way cool. Fred's world is the workingman's country. He rocks and moans on this outstanding collection.

My drummer dragged me kicking and screaming to see Fred here in St. Louis. I am not a big country music fan. But I went anyway. Wow... Fred is an amazing performer live. He connects with the audience in a way that few artists do. My attention was held for the entire show. I have since purchased most of his catelog.

Now Falling Stars and Broken Hearts is the disk that I just can't get out of my CD travel case! Some old "fredheads" are telling you that it's too commercial or that it's not true to his normal style... But this newby has completely fallen in love with this CD. It's true that it is more commercial musically than other works by Fred, but his great storytelling is exactly the same.

"Indian Motorcycles", "Cumberland County", "I Ain't Ever Givin' In", "Dancin' on the Bar", and "I Wanna Buy Your Truck" are just awesome tunes! Without hesitation, I would recommend this disk to anyone new to Fred's stuff. And if you have the chance to see him live, you must!

I read some reviews that were not too positive about this release before I had a chance to check it out. I thought that maybe Fred had come out with another mediocre effort, like his "50 Odd Dollars". Not a chance. This disc is excellent. He's managed to get back to some of his best songwriting in four years. Some tunes are just plain gorgeous, and the music is quite diverse. I'm glad I listened for myself. This guy's one of the few bright spots in today's music scene.

Solid top to bottom. No dead weight here. Roger Marin's pedal steel licks sweeten the arrangements. A must have!!!

Fred at his finest can't be beat, but this isn't Fred at his finest -- which still means it's good stuff. Still, at least half the record's songs aren't worth multiple listens, and it's hard not to crave the beauty of his older stuff, such as "Drive-In Movie" or the stunning "Things Is Changin."

Considering how much great work he's done, the songwriting here simply doesn't hold up with those other records. Let's hope Fred hasn't lost his touch, but Harold Wilson and I both miss the quiet mastery of his best songwriting.