Customer Reviews

Hymns for the Hopless

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sometimes you stumble upon something that really shines and this is definately the case here...it's not very often that someone reveals so much through their voice, and William Wlliot Whitmore gives a lot to his performance. If you ever have the chance to see him live, do so!

William Elliot Whitmore is amazing. His voice is hauntingly raw and his lyrics are sincere. See him in concert if you get the chance, it's an incredible experience. He is a rare find.

The title of William Elliott Whitmore's debut album and the sound of his voice suit each other perfectly. There is a famous anecdote about Franz Kafka and his friend and literary executor Max Brod. After telling Brod of what little ground there is for we humans to have faith that God means things well for us Brod asked him, "What, is there no hope?" "Oh, there is hope, but not for us." That is exactly what Whitmore's voice and songs sound like. If you could take the spirituality of Casey, the lapsed preacher in Steinbeck's THE GRAPES OF WRATH, and cross it with the voice of Tom Waits and Dock Boggs, you get William Elliott Whitmore.

Whitmore is a young man. Hearing him on this album without seeing his photo first you would swear he was a 70-year-old man from Appalachia, his voice lashed by fifty years of drinking moonshine whiskey. Instead, he is several decades younger and a native of Iowa. But he sounds authentic. He sounds like someone singing from the end of their life instead of near the beginning. He is classed as a neotraditionalist and that label fits, but it doesn't prepare you for the grittiness of his voice, the almost gothic eeriness. Add to this a great set of songs and you have a first-rate album indeed. The themes are the ones that you would expect: death, the struggle of living, loss, resignation, a yearning for redemption, and the fear that no redemption is to be had (keep in mind Kafka's "There is hope, but not for us"). The songs are intensely religious though any deity is absent. They contain the experiences that make us yearn for God without God actually being present. Like with bluesman Robert Johnson, the devil spends more time in these songs than Jesus. The tone of the entire album is caught by the title of the first track: "Cold and Dead."

I think this is both the best introduction to Whitmore and his best album. A couple of reviewers prefer his later albums, but I like this more than the two that came later, ASHES TO DUST and SONG OF THE BLACKBIRD. This one is rawer, less polished, and, I think, more original. The two successor albums are both quite excellent and I definitely recommend both of them, but they are very much continuations of this one.

I bought this and "Ashes" on the same day, listening to them by DOR. "Hymns" is terrific. I agree that this is an important new voice, and it really is hard to get _past_ the voice proper. However, I actually find WEW's first album to be a bit too, well, studied (bordering on derivative in a few places) to bookend it with the best of Richard Thompson, Robert Pete Williams, Gillian Welch, or what have you. "Hymns" doesn't find a consistency beyond the vocals, IMO: acapella here, pickup band there, and the arrangements themselves really don't get past a devotion to influences. The sole exception makes this point: "Lord Only Knows" has a terrific slide/mandolin arrangement with lyrics that slip between the concrete and the abstract--a really simple, gorgeous song. I guess I ultimately feel that when you have that voice, it lends a past-ness to whatever you do, freeing you up to be fully creative/contemporary with the content and accompaniments. I'd maybe go four stars, but "Ashes" is such a powerhouse that I'm not embarrassed providing a solid three for a rookie attempt.

William E. Whitmore is a new and authentic voice that all the world should hear. An almost mystical austerity permeates his work. Amazing.

"Hymns for the Hopeless," though stylistically similar, affected me much more than the following albums. "Ashes to Dust" explored more lyrical themes than his first album, and "Songs for the Blackbird" expanded upon Whitmore's musical styles. However, the strength in "Hymns for the Hopeless" is its lack of variety: its sparseness, its steadfastness, its despair.

Though you wouldn't tell from each listen, on most of the songs Whitmore sings from the perspective of someone who has just lost his wife. He grapples with guilt on "Does Me No Good," grief on "Pine Box," and reconciliation/acceptance on "Lord Only Knows." His lines roll on in a steadfast ABCB style, and he uses this form to surprise. The album begins with "Cold and Dead," a kind of overture comprised of only Whitmore's voice. He sings "Oh, sing with me a hymn / For the body that's grown weary / For the voice that's forever still / And my lips will utter praise / Until the end of days / For the space that cannot be filled." The song resembles a hymn in its simple structure. The theme's consistency and uniformity reminds me of the life of a down-trodden farmer. Musically, the songs are still varied, for there are a couple of upbeat songs ("Our Paths Will Cross Again" resembles a foot stompin' version of "Man of Constant Sorrow"). In any case, this album is one of my favorites, while his following releases are just not as special.

It's not very often you can find music this good. I find all the tracks very emotional, but "does me no good" has to be my favorite.

The first time I saw William play live I almost cried, the way that he bares his soul in his music is truly beautiful. His live performance is emotionally moving and it translates very well on to record. If you like honest good songwriting this album is for you.