Customer Reviews

Five Dollar Bill

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
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Corb Lund brings us country with a unique flavour. If you ever get the chance to see him live, you'd understand exactly what he can give to the audience. This stripped down album captures Corb's sound perfectly. Nothing interferes with his voice and guitar, the production of the album allows Corb's true musicality to shine through. "Five Dollar Bill" is a fun album; a great album to drive, drink, party, relax, (hopefully not at the same time). Corb captues Alberta and the prairies like no other artist can. You know he's well aqainted to the big sky of the prairies, the open roads, and the partying spirit we all cherish. This album is probably one of the best country albums I have had the pleasure to listen to. I highly recommend this addictive album to anybody, especially if you're not a country fan. You just might find yourself hooked to Corb's wonderfully catchy voice, and his simple, strong songs.

One of a very few original, contemporary cowboy songwriters, Corb Lund's "Five Dollar Bill" is well-worth twenty bucks Canadian to anyone who can appreciate hands-on humor and imaginative musical scores. His lyrics are not laments about how things used to be, nor twenty-gallon rhymes for the Nashville scene, but upbeat and clever perspectives from the wide-open and semi-tamed spaces of Alberta that work just as well south of the Canadian border. Halter in hand, his ode to a hard-to-catch mare, "She Won't Come To Me," is a jewel while "Roughest Neck Around" walks the politically incorrect edge of the oilfields with due respect. Corb has an unusual way of incorporating introspection and humor that celebrates life, and he can put together fun songs like "Time To Switch To Whiskey","(Gonna) Shine Up My Boots" and "Buckin' Horse Rider" that never get boring. I've packed this CD in the pickup for ten months straight and continue to marvel at its originality that seems to fit any ranch landscape.

What's extraordinary with country music, is that owing to its large diversity, it allows us to discover bands like the Corb Lund Band. This Canadian band around Corb Lund is really surprising, their compositions are varied and original, telling a world they know well : the ranchers. Sheer bliss! That's the country music we like, sometimes influenced by whiskey with the splendid "Time To Switch To Whiskey" or the Canadan prairies with "Short Native Grass". 13 songs likely to give you a nice change of surroundings and really cheer you up for good. It's a piece of his soul that Corb Lund offers in this album, well, four generations of rodeo riders have left their marks. The Honky-Tonk influence is undisputable, but it is hard to classify this album where bluegrass stands next to more modern country tunes. That will keep a lot of people satisfied.This album is to listen to with one's ears as much as with one's heart. A real treat!
FACM ( French Association of Country Music - http://facm.free.fr)

First let me say, I like blue grass, folk, ethnic music, but "modern" country leaves me absolutely cold.

That said, to categorize Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans as mere country is to do both them and you a disservice, for fear you'd miss something special by casually lumping them in with the mass market pablum country.

Modern country seems to be pretty boys and gals one heartbeat away from Pop.

Corb Lund's country breathes horses, open prairies, love of family, the occasional bad habit, and down to earth humor.

The tunes are catchy, hummable, and each one tells a story of some kind. Corb is an intelligent lyricist and a great tunesmith. His bare bones singing style suits his creations as no one else could do.

Favorites on this album include Five Dollar Bill, Gonna Shine Up My Boots, Time to Switch to Whiskey, and the very odd Heavy & Leaving, which is one of those songs which will come up to haunt you days after you've listened to it. There's no bad cuts on the album, no temptation for that old fast-forward finger syndrome.

The guys in the band have been together for years, and are well knit, which shows in their live and their recorded performances. All are talented musicians.

If you like catchy, talented unique music, this band is in a class by themselves.

This CD was ordered for a Christmas gift and arrived in just a short time and in plenty of time for the Holiday! Great service! I'd definitely order from this vendor again without hesitation. I don't know about the CD myself, but the recipient was very happy to get it. It was a starred item on his list, and he loves it! Thanks!

Corb Lund is a breath of fresh Canadian air for those who feel that Country Music here in the States has left them behind. His songs are charged with emotion and charm and harken from Bob Wills to Johnny Cash.

There are two cuts on this album that make me turn up the volume to Full Blast, the first being "Five Dollar Bill" the title cut and the other "The Roughest Neck Around." Maybe I love these songs because they tell tales of the West, sure, Canada has a West just like the US, and I can relate to the story lines. Maybe I love these songs because they rock my soul. Take your pick.