Fleeting Days

Dan Bern | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 11, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Messenger Records
• ASIN: B00008IAL5
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #204,697 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Summer Record, March 17, 2003

By 

Sean M Ward (New Milford, CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fleeting Days (Audio CD)

Just as reflective lyrically, yet more easy-going than Dan's previous full-length (the epic "New American Language"). The slightly poppier, countrified feeling does not take a shred of conviction and truth away from Dan's songwriting. Dan's wit is sharper than ever, with each song leading to the next like a story. The opener "Baby Bye Bye" brings you full-force into Dan's world, and puts a great smile on your face if you are alive. Other highlights include the distant love of "I Need You," the irrestibly catchy "Jane" and the rant against giving up one's dignity to make a few bucks "Crow." "Fly Away" chugs along with Dan drunk on wordplay, and annilihated by his senses. "Soul" ends the album with Dan putting to words what he always has proven in his art..."Are you gonna follow your soul/ Or just the style of the day?"...If only more songwriters, and people of all sorts, answered this the same way as Dan.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Fleeting Days" makes me hold onto my days a little tighter, May 4, 2003

By 

William J. Kampf (Eau Claire, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fleeting Days (Audio CD)

This latest offering from Dan Bern and the IJBC is a wonderful tapestry of witty pop, soul-country, airy-folk, and even some dirt-road blues. His usual combination of biting sarcasm and humor are displayed in the songs "Graceland" and "Crow", but Bern also appears to be venturing out into new ground. "Don't Make Me Leave" is a beautiful ballad that asks some of the same questions he was asking in "Turning Over" from 2001's "New American Language". But, like many of the songs on this new album, he's making his point faster and more poignantly--'I would like to live forever/With you and me as all the people/All the roles would be defined/Here's the church, here's the steeple'--. His slight nasal voice gets to the heart of these songs while his Martin Guitar is creating the backbone for his incredible lyrics to ride upon. Backing him, the brilliant, Wil Masisak produced, IJBC, finds their moments to truly shine on the songs "Fly Away"(possibly the best track on the CD), and "Baby Bye Bye". There aren't many artists today making music with this kind of spirit, soul and integrity.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This album shows Dan's versatility, August 3, 2005

By 

David Ledford (Oroville, Ca.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fleeting Days (Audio CD)

For diehard fans, at first listen you may scratch your head a bit with this album, as Dan takes a bit of a turn in the road, so to speak. Mostly gone from this offering are the tounge-in-cheek politics and pointed rants that we all love so much, but what we get in it's place is equally rewarding and speaks to his versatility as an artist. His lyrics on this album are more introspective and personal as a whole, and while I did miss Dan's wicked sense of humor here, I was impressed with his deceptively light and breezy depth and his surprisingly strong pop sensibilities. This is not his best album, but it's still better than 99% of the crap out there. The IJBC is tight and backs Dan with really awesome, if understated musicianship. I would recommend this album to anyone really, it probably has the broadest appeal and is more universally accessible than any of his other work. You will like this, and your grandmother probably would too. My real recommendation though, is that if you like Dan Bern, you MUST go see him perform live. It is an experience like no other, and I am constantly amazed that he is not one of the most famous and beloved performers in the world. I have been to literally hundreds of concerts over the years, and have seen many of the greats do their thing, and I would put Dan's live performances that I have been lucky enough to witness right at the very top. As much as I love his albums, there is nothing like just Dan and his acoustic guitar up on a stage. If you are just getting into Dan, I would recommend picking up "New American Language", "Dan Bern" or "Fifty Eggs" before getting this, but once you get reeled in by those and his many EP's, this album becomes essential in rounding out the spectrum of who Dan is musically and fleshes out the true extent of his copious musical powers.