Customer Reviews

Fugitives

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

 

 

Vance Gilbert has "The voice of an angel, the wit of a devil and the guitar of a god." These words are not mine. They were written by a reviewer at the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, but they sum it up well. Personally, I love to hear Vance live - he could have been a stand-up comic. But when I see him in person, I'm usually too busy laughing at his jokes, listening to the qualities in his voice, and watching how much he's enjoying his work, to focus fully on his lyrics. So I'm very glad that I have this album on a tape in my car. That's where I really listen to the words, which tell his thought provoking stories so touchingly and beautifully. I find myself playing some of them over and over again, and wanting more when the tape is through. His tales tell of a childhood friendship lost to AIDS (Johnny), of leaving two children after the breakup of a relationship (Times Two), of a search for answers following a murder (Just The Way That It Was). This last, as well as others of his songs, deals with still unresolved racial issues in our society. Vance is a man who observes the world keenly, writes about it eloquently, and delivers his stories with an amazing voice. I highly recommend his work.

My take on the album was that it fairly summed up the landscape of American life in the beginning of the century. Not a perfect world but the music is very fitting. If someone said it was cheesy or sentimental, I could understand, but it is not "eh". The people in the songs, truckers, teenagers, hopeless romantics, are real, flawed, damaged by loneliness, desperate and beautiful. Untethered in this world and yet coming back, saying "I'm still alive". That is worth it. Long ago, songs did not care if they were not cool, unembarrassed by the excess of their cry of love. Vance carries on that tradition. It's about realizing that you had something and then you lost it but you keep it alive with the yearning.

Best Tracks: Pound of Prevention, Jenny and the Tower, Just The Way That It Was

This was my second purchase of a Vance Gilbert album. His voice and style still shine on this album, but it left me saying 'ehh'. It's not terrible, it's just not his best effort. It, for the most part, just didn't speak to me.

Maybe it's just where I am, or where Vance was...

Maybe 2 and a half stars