Customer Reviews

Gift Horse

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

 

 

Before I begin this review, let me say that I'm not a fan of country music, not even by a long shot! Not even Garth or Shania will do for me! With that out of the way, let me begin by saying that "Gift Horse" is the best CD these guys have released (so far!). Again, the music is far more of the traditional country than of the new country (Garth, Shania, Faith, etc.). The reason why I started listening to these guys is because each member is from a group of their own: Mike Roe (The 77's), Derry Daugherty (The Choir), Terry Scott Taylor (Daniel Amos), and last, but not least, the late great Gene Eugene (Adam Again, R.I.P., Gene). Each band is of the Christian alternative genre, and I tend to follow the former two more than the latter two...

ANYWAYS, the CD is full of meaningful songs about the devastating consequences of gambling ("A Vegas Story"), marital infidelity ("If You Loved Here..."), humility ("Diamonds To Coal"), and unconditional love ("Loved And Forgiven") to name a few. The most outstanding on this fine CD, however, has to be "A Blessing In Disguise". The main chorus goes like this: "Hold fast the hope that's in you/Don't always trust your eyes/Sometimes it takes a long time to see it as/A Blessing in Disguise". In short, "Gift Horse" is yet another winner from the Lost Dogs. I plan on buying "Real Men Cry" when it comes out and seeing them live in concert here in Detroit on 10/31/2001!

Take four alternative music pioneers (Terry Taylor of Daniel Amos, Derri Daugherty of The Choir, Gene Eugene of Adam Again, and Mike Roe of 77s), throw them into a studio for a few weeks, shake gently, and out comes... a country album? Originally a side project, the Lost Dogs have released their fourth studio album, Gift Horse. While the intent of these albums has always been to hearken back to their musical roots, never has a Lost Dogs album been so country and western. Previous releases included 50s rock, bluegrass, alternative ballads, and even a novelty song but this album is unabashedly grounded in country. As always, the songs tell tales, such as "A Vegas Story" about a gambling addict selling his life for "free drinks and a dream" while "Rebecca Go Home" is a touching, sad song about innocence lost. "Diamonds to Coal" is a straight-ahead rocker while "If You Loved Here..." is an all-out hick hootenanny! "Loved and Forgiven" breaks from the general feel slightly with more of a Beach Boys/ 77's vibe in the chorus but overall, the album is much more cohesive in content and feel than previous albums.

Which is the main problem with this album. Yes, the songwriting is solid and yes, the vocal harmonies are amazing but while in past albums each "dog" brought a number of songs to the table, on this album Taylor wrote all the songs. All of them good songs, mind you, but it is the unique chemistry between these four fantastic artists that has been the real draw of Lost Dogs. Plus it's about the only time you get to hear one or two new songs from Gene Eugene, one of the best songwriters alive, since Adam Again has been on hiatus for the last half-decade... and this time there were no songs by Eugene. So yes, the songs are excellent, winning over even such an anti-country music people as myself and my brothers, but Lost Dogs raised the bar so high on previously albums that Gift Horse is more like a well groomed show pony than the Kentucky Derby winner fans have come to expect.

Until now, I had only owned 1 Lost Dogs CD (Little Red Ridinghood). That album has some great tunes. It took a couple of spins to get me hooked on Gift Horse. "Ditto" was the first song that caught my attention followed by "Blessing in Disguise". They do a great cover of the traditional song "Farther Along". After owning this for a few weeks, I now play "Vegas Story" and "Ghost Train" over and over. There are several songs I just can't get into but there are several great songs that make this CD worth adding to your collect.

The Lost Dogs cd Gift Horse is a timeless classic in the vein of the Byrd's Sweetheart of the Rodeo, or Graham Parson's Grevious Angel, only redeemed...Terry Scott Taylor is one of the finest poet songwriters today...period. These gentlemen are a virtual who's who of real alt Christian Rock. Tunes like Rebecca Go Home, A Vegas Story are timeless and haunting...Buy this cd. Buy two and give one to a friend, they will be blessed.

Let me start out by saying that I am NOT a country music fan. I am a Lost Dogs fan though, which is why I like this CD so much. The raw talent of these four musicians is phemominal, as demonstrated in their past projects. Gift Horse is a more refined production, but the results are the same-brilliant. Terry Taylor is one of the best song writers in the business, even though he has never been in the mainstream of music. Terry's lyrical artistry shines in this CD, from the clever lines of "If You Loved Here..." and "Ditto" to heart wrenching words in "A Blessing...." and "The Wall of Heaven". Gene Eugene's creative influence is evident in the music, and his recent death will leave a giant hole in future projects. Gift Horse is as good as any "country" CD, but will never get the recognition it deserves.

Okay, let me start this by saying that I am not a Christian, (I used to be) so I may view this a bit more critically than the other reviewers. I used to be a big 77's, DA, Undercover fan when I was a christian, so I figured I would give this a try since I am a big alt-country fan. Well, it is not the second coming of the Burrito Brothers, or a xtian version of the Jayhawks, but this disc does have some great songs. Terry Taylor has always been a good songwriter, and he does himself proud on most of the cuts. However, there are some BIG clunkers. "A Blessing in Disguise" and "The Wall of Heaven" are nothing short of trite and horrible.....but "A Vegas Story", "Diamonds to Coal", "Ditto" and "Farther Along" are so great that you think they should be on the next Golden Smog CD. As an aside, to the diehard Christian music fans...if you like this disc, and are not against secular music, pick up Golden Smogs last 2 discs...very simliar in theory and sound. Altogether, this is a soild disc that only requires the fast forward button a few times.