Customer Reviews

Human Remains

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

 

 

When I first heard Terry Allen (beyond a brief song featured in David Byrne's "True Stories"), I really didn't know what to think. It was in Omaha, Nebraska at an art opening, and here was this guy ... this middle-aged man in dark glasses playing a keyboard and singing country ... Yes, I did have a beer in my hand, and yes, there were a few yee-haw's, but, all in all, it seemed different. There's a smartness to his lyrics most "crying in the beer bottle" country artists can't match. He's been writing clever songs about Texas since the members of Sun Volt were still in grade school, and this album, which I shortly purchased after the show, is his crowning achievement. Featuring musicians like Joe Ely and Lucinda Williams (and yes, David Byrne), Allen manages to capture a flavor that is missing from most "radio-friendly" country artists these days ... artistry. He can turn a simple ballad into a haunting song, the first true test of any ! musician. And he has a wit that's been missing since early Randy Newman. His music is a wide palette, too ... everything from country ditties to rock and roll to heavy metal ... this album is all over the map. So if you're in the mood for something different, try Terry Allen's brand of Texas flair. And cry in a beer and mean it.

This is just simply the best Terry Allen you will hear. Teamed with David Byrne and Lucinda williams and Loyde Maines, this is a true sample of Texas Music at its best. Terry Allen can put in words, feelings,thoughts and emotions things that others cant even think. Flatland Boogie "headlights are shining on all we ever need to know" sums it up. A must for any fan of Texas poets. With this one Robert Earl and Steve Earle must both be jealous.

If you are as tired as I am of the slick pop-country world of Nashville, but still want to hear some good ol country, Terry's the man. This is the best country album of the 90's.

It is hard to stop smiling while listening to Mr. Allen record his own work. As someone who is regrettably well into middle age, many of the cuts gently take one back to one's early teenage years.

This is excellent, gritty, witty country in the vein of newer Johnny Cash (Rick Rubin era). Buy this. Also, buy Human Remains' _Using Sickness as a Hero_. It'll show you the Pennsylvania side of grity, wit, and country masculinity.

IF STRANDED ON AN ISLAND AND I COULD ONLY TAKE 50 CD'S OUT OF MY THOUSANDS THAT I OWN, THIS WOULD BE ONE OF THEM. SOLID FROM OPENING SONG TO THE LAST. A TRUE MASTERPIECE THAT UNFORTUNATELY FLEW UNDER A LOT OF CRITICS RADAR.

Just heard it for the first time 1 week ago. All the songs are good, gone to Texas is the best.

I got to level with you. Terry Allen leaves me feeling like everybody's laughing but I'm not getting the joke. He has No Tunes - the excuses for tunes he uses are like grotesque parodies of what other people think country music is, as is his accent. He comes on like a guy with an attitude, and the attitude sounds interesting, but when you look further his songs just shuffle cliches around and go nowhere with them...And the leaden tempos he uses incessantly make me want to tear my hair...