Customer Reviews

In the Gloaming

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

 

 

this is a superb album and fans of hootie should give this a shot,you will not be disappointed. the benchmark of a five star album is one by which you don't skip any tracks, this is just amazing stuff. john crook offers a great grainy voice and he is accompanied by musicians the standard of counting crows talents, if you only by one album this year buy "Lit", if you buy two buy jolene too.

I bought this album on the basis of the fact I heard
Pensacola on the radio here in charlotte and then I went to a show.
I was blown away by the talent coming out of these guys at a live show. The song "begin 1000" taps into something rare and
much needed in today's music. Chemistry. The songs are liltful,
ripe for the ears and any discerning music critic would have
to search long and hard to find fault from this album.
The songs overall comes from John's ability to sing with just the

right amount of enthusiasm and woefulness at given right intervals. This is story rock at it best. Using the right amount of balance, tamed guitars and quiet melodies they cut through the
the mold of what rock music should be and form their own opinions
on the matter. When you get inside the heads of these men you can
hear the influence of REM with the right amount George Jones and
find yourself lost in a world of sound, structure and purpose.
But if Jolene is taking you there, who wants to leave?

Often referred to as the hardest working band in the Southeast, Jolene finally gets some recognition from this release. For those of you familiar with the first album, "Hell's Half Acre" it may be important to note that the pedal steel guitar country-esque sound is downplayed in favor of a more mysterious, sharper rock flavor. As always, John Crooke's lyrics are fantastic with maybe a hint of an e.e. cummings approach to songwriting. Refer also to the work of R.E.M., Vic Chesnutt, Uncle Tupelo, Nanci Griffith, and Big Star. They are well known on the local scenes with connections to Kim Richey, Cowboy Mouth, Blue Mountain, and the Continental Drifters. This effort is a step closer to getting the national recognition that Jolene has earned, even if the radio stations are afraid of it.

This might be the best release of 1998 that you've never heard. People like to compare these guys to early REM, but really they are more of a guitar band, not as sparce sounding as REM was back in the 80's. This album is very guitar heavy and extremely loud, yet it still has a very innocent feel, mainly do to the country influence that creeps into just about all the songs. Lyrically they remind me of Tori Amos, in that you are lucky if you can make sense of two to three lines in each song, yet those lines set the tone for the entire song. The lyrics certainly make the songs all the more interesting. Singer John Crooke sounds like he's been around and experienced a lot in life. "Life" is pretty much what these songs are about. Take a listen to "Pensacola" and you will be hooked on Jolene for sure. Also, the production on this album is top notch. It has a very glossy feel to it, yet it never loses intensity.

'In The Gloaming' is a true masterpiece, it is rare that you find an album that has both instant appeal and simply gets better every time you listen to it. John Crookes haunting lyrics combined with soaring guitars make for an album that begs to be listened to again and again. The only thing that betters this album is the spectacle of experiencing Jolene live.

Hard Soul Poets has long since left the stage, to be replaced by one of the best Country Rock bands of the '90s. In the past life as HSPs this band blazed a trail through the small bars of the Southeast in the '80s. Now as the new (several years now) incarnation as Jolene, they only get better. Buy this album. It is one of the best you will ever buy. See Jolene live. It is one of the best live shows you will ever see.

If you have hearty appetite for catchy cotton-pickin, root 'n' tootin', grainy voiced, country rock that sounds somewhat like Counting Crows on an off day, then delay no longer and submit your credit card details immediately, for you will not be dissapointed. You have the Mr Beard seal of approval, and should you be even slightly unimpressed, then I suggest you write a strong letter to either Mr Ramm or Jon (the other two reviewers) as they gave it more stars than me. Enjoy.