Human Emotions/Spectrum VII

David Allan Coe

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 2, 1995)
• Original Release Date: 1995
• Label: Bear Family
• ASIN: B000001B3B
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #54,258 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING!!!!!!! ONE AWESOME DISK!!!!!, February 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Human Emotions/Spectrum VII (Audio CD)

If there is one true country musician out there, it is DAC. He's one awesome singer AND songwriter, and this album is a prime example of David at his best! The high point of this double album has got to be the two songs "Human Emotions" and "She's Finally Crossed Over (Love's Cheating Line). It is totally killer the way the first song kicks in to the other. It'll make you thirst for a stiff drink every time! This is a "must have" for all true hardcore country fans!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Outlaw Commits Su-i-side and goes island, August 19, 2003

By	"injin_outlaw" (New Mexico) - See all my reviews

The Human Emotions/ Spectrum 7 CD contains two distinct styles of records that David Allan Coe put out in '78 and '79 respectively. The Human Emotions record is steeped in brooding lyrics along with a few classic country rounds to take a just a bit of the edge off. The final track of this particular album, "Suicide", is perhaps one of the darkest and most violent songs DAC has ever written. Fueled by a rock n roll flavor it stands out as a coup de gras for the album, painting vivid imagery that is torn asunder with emotion. The various songs leading up to this final track build up to it quite well, recounting weaknesses in "Whiskey and Women" while blending smoothly into "Jack Daniels, If You Please". The "Tomorrow Is Another Day" track also gives an "island" taste of what is to follow in the Spectrum 7 part of the CD. Another noteworthy element of the Human Emotions part is that all of the songs are written by DAC, which almost invariably lend themselves to a far better sound when he sings them than those which he has not written.

The Spectrum 7 part of the CD is primarily composed of an "island" sound which is fresh and different but not quite as satisfying as the darker themed "outlaw" sound which comprises the majority of DAC's songs. The Human Emotions theme does bleed into the first part of Spectrum 7 with the tacks "Rollin With The Punches" and "On My Feet Again". "Rollin With The Punches" is easily the best track in Spectrum 7 with its sharp poetic lyrics. The "Seven Mile Bridge" track stands out as the best of the "island" themed songs with its mournful ballad style.

Bear Family Records has done another excellent job with this two fer CD by including a nice fat booklet that contains all of the lyrics to the songs along with the original album cover art and the insert photos from the Human Emotions album. If your like me and can't get enough of this outlaw's music, buy this CD, it will be an excellent addition to your other DAC CDs. For any new listeners out there, you might do better checking out Longhaired Redneck/ Rides Again (another two fer by Bear Family records) first as that CD contains the best of DAC's material.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two great seventies albums of traditional country music, August 1, 2003

By	Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

According to the letter included in the liner notes, David recorded the first five songs for the album Human emotions (the first half of this twofer) before his wife left him and the remaining five after she left him. So the first five songs have an optimistic, happy feel to them while the next five show him in a very different mood, ending with the song Suicide. Fortunately, he did not carry out that particular threat.

The best-known song on Human emotions is the first track - a re-recording of his classic song, Would you lay with me in a field of stone. He wrote the song, which became a country hit for Tanya Tucker before David had his own recording contract. David recorded his own solo version in 1974, but the version here features the brilliant but often forgotten Barbara Fairchild. Officially credited as background vocalist, she is more prominent than that would suggest. Of the other songs on Human Emotions, Jack Daniels if you please, one of the sad songs, is the best known.

Spectrum VII, the second half of this album, shows that David was beginning to get over the departure of his wife. You can tell this by some of the song titles - Rolling with the punches, On my feet again and Fairytale morning among them. Sudden death sounds like a return to the depths of despair, but that particular title is misleading. None of his own songs here are famous, but the album ends with a cover of Please come to Boston, a classic song that has been covered by many American singers. Sadly, the song never became a hit for anybody in Britain, perhaps because of all the American cities mentioned, but I am one Brit who never tires of hearing this song.

These are both interesting albums, though David's biggest and most famous hits are to be found elsewhere. Anybody unfamiliar with David's music should begin with a hits compilation, though Barbara Fairchild's die-hard fans may want this for the opening track.