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Track Listings
| 1. Hymn #76 |
| 2. Those Thankless Years |
| 3. The Great Despiser |
| 4. A Gentle Few |
| 5. Ours |
| 6. Silver Harps And Violins |
| 7. Stronger Than The World |
| 8. One Of Many |
| 9. Neither Do I Need A Witness |
| 10. The Servant's Ace |
| 11. Deep Dark Wells |
Editorial Reviews
The Great Despiser, the new album from celebrated singer-songwriter Joe Pug, is the follow-up to Pug's critically acclaimed full-length debut, Messenger, and his wildly popular word-of-mouth EP, Nation of Heat. The 11-track was recorded in Chicago with producer Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine, Califone, etc). In addition to Pug, the album features various acclaimed musicians, including Sam Kassirer (Josh Ritter, Langhorne Slim) on piano, organ and marimba as well as backing vocals form The Hold Steady's Craig Finn on the album's title track. Pug has toured alongside Steve Earle, M. Ward and Josh Ritter and has recently performed at both Lollapalooza and the Newport Folk Festival.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By C. Goggin
Format:Audio CD
I'll admit, I'm a huge fan of Joe Pug and therefore my review here may be a bit biased. That said, I do truly believe that this album is great and that if you are a fan of Joe or just a fan of that off-center version of folk music that he's so great at; you will love this album too.
1/ Hymn #76 - As an opening song, this one starts us off much different than on Joe's last effort. This song is somber, reflective, and powerful. The poetry weaved here astounded me as a fellow lyrics writer, and the sparse instrumentation is just as important to the overall sound of this one. Great song.
2/ Those Thankless Years - This song's narrator has been through some tough places and made it through to pass along his wisdom. Song's like this can be dangerous, especially when coming from someone as young as Joe Pug is. Somehow though, he manages to keep it honest. Another great one.
3/ The Great Despiser - This is the title track of the album, and it is also my personal favorite. This song is fun to listen to and interesting to think about. Anyone could find a bit of themselves in this song. Again, my favorite.
4/ A Gentle Few - This song is perfectly written. Beautiful. However, I previously heard a live version of this song with a mellow mood and less instrumentation, and the live version is far better than the album version. This one was sadly produced the wrong way for the song that it is. Still, a wonderful song.
5/ Ours - At fist glimpse, this song doesn't sound like a Joe Pug song. The very way that it starts is different from anything he's released before. But, once he starts singing, it becomes obvious who wrote this song. Personally, I like this song. However, I think the drawn out "Ouuuuuurrrrssss" lines will probably send some fingers to the skip button.
6/ Silver Harps and Violins - This song comes across as being rather autobiographical in nature. Like an artist who never quite made it. Strange, considering Joe is doing pretty well for himself and is still young. I really like this song as well, and it probably ranks up there with The Great Despiser on my list.
7/ Stronger Than The World - A few other reviews online mentioned this one as being the weakest of the album. I totally disagree with that notion. I've had this song stuck in my head since the fist listen, and I'm glad to have it there. This is definitely my second favorite of the entire album.
8/ One of Many - This song is all about the poetry. This song is simply beautiful to listen too. Every line sucks you in, and leaves you pondering your own life from top to bottom. A great song, all around.
9/ Neither Do I Need A Witness - This song is another one that suffers from weird production. The vocals are clouded far too much under overly loud guitars and drums that blare out the song. This is very unfortunate too, because if you do manage to listen to the words and melody, it's a remarkable song.
10/ The Servants Ace - This is the weakest song on the album, in my opinion. It's not a bad song, but it's troubles lie in it's heavy similarity to other songs by Joe that were actually much better than this one. The only weak song, really.
11/ Deep Dark Wells - Joe didn't write this one himself, but you would never know it. He takes a very well written poem/song and changes it to his own style here, and makes a great closing piece for the album.
"As long as you're not finished, you can start all over again."
1/ Hymn #76 - As an opening song, this one starts us off much different than on Joe's last effort. This song is somber, reflective, and powerful. The poetry weaved here astounded me as a fellow lyrics writer, and the sparse instrumentation is just as important to the overall sound of this one. Great song.
2/ Those Thankless Years - This song's narrator has been through some tough places and made it through to pass along his wisdom. Song's like this can be dangerous, especially when coming from someone as young as Joe Pug is. Somehow though, he manages to keep it honest. Another great one.
3/ The Great Despiser - This is the title track of the album, and it is also my personal favorite. This song is fun to listen to and interesting to think about. Anyone could find a bit of themselves in this song. Again, my favorite.
4/ A Gentle Few - This song is perfectly written. Beautiful. However, I previously heard a live version of this song with a mellow mood and less instrumentation, and the live version is far better than the album version. This one was sadly produced the wrong way for the song that it is. Still, a wonderful song.
5/ Ours - At fist glimpse, this song doesn't sound like a Joe Pug song. The very way that it starts is different from anything he's released before. But, once he starts singing, it becomes obvious who wrote this song. Personally, I like this song. However, I think the drawn out "Ouuuuuurrrrssss" lines will probably send some fingers to the skip button.
6/ Silver Harps and Violins - This song comes across as being rather autobiographical in nature. Like an artist who never quite made it. Strange, considering Joe is doing pretty well for himself and is still young. I really like this song as well, and it probably ranks up there with The Great Despiser on my list.
7/ Stronger Than The World - A few other reviews online mentioned this one as being the weakest of the album. I totally disagree with that notion. I've had this song stuck in my head since the fist listen, and I'm glad to have it there. This is definitely my second favorite of the entire album.
8/ One of Many - This song is all about the poetry. This song is simply beautiful to listen too. Every line sucks you in, and leaves you pondering your own life from top to bottom. A great song, all around.
9/ Neither Do I Need A Witness - This song is another one that suffers from weird production. The vocals are clouded far too much under overly loud guitars and drums that blare out the song. This is very unfortunate too, because if you do manage to listen to the words and melody, it's a remarkable song.
10/ The Servants Ace - This is the weakest song on the album, in my opinion. It's not a bad song, but it's troubles lie in it's heavy similarity to other songs by Joe that were actually much better than this one. The only weak song, really.
11/ Deep Dark Wells - Joe didn't write this one himself, but you would never know it. He takes a very well written poem/song and changes it to his own style here, and makes a great closing piece for the album.
"As long as you're not finished, you can start all over again."
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By kathy2crows
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Another fantastic offering from one of this generations finest song writers. There is so much here to enjoy. The lyrics are pure and true, with honest glimpses into our humanness. Musically not over complicated and jumbled so the message gets buried beneath alot of noise. A great price for so much! Unfortunately the CD length is only 37 or so min. Some of the songs are a sellout, being overly produced. I sure hope Joe stays with his roots and doesn't start to sound like everyone else. And for a woman of my age, I have heard too many whom have gone the way of commercialism and died a musical death because of that. Joe if you are reading this.....stay true ! The true you is the best you!
By Margaux
Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase
Joe Pug's music is folky and warm, but his lyrics are piercing. They'll stay with you. If a song grabs me, I have a habit of playing it on repeat until I know it by heart. Nearly this whole album gave me that experience.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Joe
I like Nation of Heat the best. Sounds more raw and passionate. This was pretty good though. Knowing is half the battle.
Published 1 month ago by Seth Burgess
5.0 out of 5 stars
Joe Pug
Saw Joe Pug 4 0r 5 years ago and have been following him ever since. He is an awesome singer/songwriter! and is only getting better. Must buy! Read more
Published 2 months ago by Carrie Pinkham
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is what you've been looking for.
I just saw him live less than an hour ago. I'm buying the CD right now. I started listening to Joe Pug a few weeks ago on Spotify and really liked it. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Brett
5.0 out of 5 stars
Consistently Good
I won't reiterate what others have already written, but I must chime in with my wholehearted approval of this album, as well as Joe Pug's previous efforts. Read more
Published 8 months ago by A. Pacheco
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb from start to finish
From the first listen there's a sense of familiarity from these songs, it's not that they sound similar to other songs, it's Joe Pug's amazing ability to write songs that feel like... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Greg Keen
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Music: Poor Sound Qualigty
The CD has Joe's usual meaningful lyrics, but because the sound quality if so poor is difficult for me to concentrate on the words on some songs. This may be my 64 year old ears! Read more
Published 12 months ago by luther w. dixon
