Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incredible, August 21, 2004
There is simply no way to describe the raw emotion and passion that GP has in his music. Has there ever been so large a talent that has gone unrecognized in his lifetime ? Maybe Van Gogh is the only one. GP and the Rumour (the tightest back-up band this side of E-Street) rock out like their lives are on the line, with total commitment and a beat that won't quit. If you like Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen or Elvis Costello you'll love this. An Incredible CD.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An awesome follow up to Howlin Wind, June 25, 2000
If you have Howlin Wind, Stick to Me (which you may be able to find used) and this one, you have collected some of the best rock and roll of the last 30 years.This one is not QUITE as good as Howlin Wind in my opinion, but that was a damn hard album to top. GP came pretty close here. The songs here, especially Pourin It All Out, Thats What They All Say, Black Honey, and Fools Gold are truly GP at his most eloquent. The Rumour truly rock and are one of the most soulful bands I have ever heard. They will knock you down. The man is an underrated genius who has spent the last 23 years trying to sell albums to people other than rock critics. Why don't people buy his music? I have no idea... but you should. If you like rock and roll, lyrics with an edge and music with soul (which is something music seems to lack these days) - then you will like Graham Parker.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Barely Dated Hybrid, October 23, 2005
4+, that is. Many call this classic rock 'n' roll. If they're comparing it with Boston, Dave Matthews, or other such over-blowns/watered-downs, I see their point. However, I hear a delightful hybrid, the sort of merging more likely when most of the sources are faraway (as with the Beatles and black "girl groups," producing something derivative while different). Elvis Presley or Johnny Burnette & the Rock 'n' Roll trio, who in their day had never heard of Otis Redding, could still kick the Rumour's ass at bare-boned ROCK AND ROLL. But who cares? This is great stuff. Back when it came out, and my friends & I were 20-something, it revealed a mature yet fresh approach to what would later come to be called Alternative Rock, Rock - let's not start that whole argument again. While stages were being dominated by a bunch of boys, or boyish personas(the Ramones, Sex Pistols, et al) Parker & his cohorts, like distorted reincarnations of Frank Sinatra or Louis Jourdan, jumped up and said, "Wait a minute - we can play - and we have experience!" - very sexy. My girlfriends & I consistently helped pack sweaty dance floors at Parker's U.S. tours. Think we'd have trouble relating to the viewpoint of "Hotel Chambermaid"? The song, which is written & played in a wonderfully circular/resolving fashion, is so convincingly joyful as to transcend such considerations. Along with "Turned Up Too Late," "Back Door Love," "That's What They All Say," & a handful from Howlin' Wind & Stick to Me, it's a timeless reminder of the innocence, hope & raw oomph that lived before AIDS & a host of other plagues drained some of the roll out of rock. As to why Parker didn't make it "bigger," he was able to ride the New Wave's coattails but his aforementioned maturity (& lack of standout physical appeal - he was already going bald, for instance) placed the band in a relatively unmarketable nether zone. Elvis Costello was no handsomer but got lumped in with the New Wave and benefited from Stiff's dead-on marketing. Dave Edmunds had been around longer but was cuter and able to go in a more Pop direction. It didn't help that Parker was sometimes confused with Costello. Years later, I think Parker's music has aged better. And I'm certainly less sick of it - one of the benefits of lack of extended airplay?
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Graham Parker shares his favorite music with Amazon customers. See all artists' picks on our Music You Should Hear page.
~ Graham Parker
~ Graham Parker
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by Graham Parker & The Rumour 
