Customer Reviews

Iowa Waltz

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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If you are from the Midwest and don't have this cd, do yourself a favor and get it. After moving away from ol Iowa, the music of this cd moved me so much that I could almost smell the humidity, see the lawns of fireflies, hear the approaching thunder storms, taste the sweet corn - needless to say - very vivid!

Most of Greg Brown's albums are in my all time favorites list as well. This is the album that got me hooked on Greg Brown. When I heard him sing in "Daughters" that he'd have more daughters if he made more money, I thought "This is not your typical folk schmaltz, you're not supposed to admit to such practical considerations. Cool." Brown's songs can be fun and dark at the same time. This album is mostly fun.

Seven years ago, stuck in traffic on a Seattle freeway, I heard "Daughers" on a college station...and suddenly there were tears! Within two hours, I bought the CD. Although I'm no expert - I'd say that this was truely a sweet CD to start with....from there he's gotten deliciously spicier and perhaps a little more wry - at least in the order I obtained his recordings! - but I love him (and his musical creations) even more because of it! I've taken great pleasure from of introducing Greg's music to friends - I highly recommend this one. This recording is so organic. That might sound funny, but really - it's home-grown, beautiful, pure, good for you and miraculous in it's complex simplicity. Lordy - I sound a bit cheesy... Sigh. Greg's the Dreamiest! (Although not quite appropriate for a ernest review, I write that last comment with the mushiest of crushes I've ever suffered!)

It's a tough call between this Red House offering and"One More Goodnight Kiss", but this record remains my favorite Greg Brown album and one of my All-Time Favorites (mind you, most of Greg's albums appear on that ATF list!). Each song takes you through the country, no matter wh'er you live there or not. If you've ever sweated in a growing season or you've walked a gravel road, this album's for you...

I've never been to Iowa, but after listening to this great cd, it felt like I was born there. You can just picture yourself sitting on the back porch, staring at the cornfields. Laid back folk music at it's best. This music moves you without fanfare. A must for any roots and folk fan.

The Iowa Waltz is my favorite Greg Brown album. If you grew up in an Iowa small town, you may think it the best album ever made. When the record first came out, there was an attempt to make the title song the Iowa state anthem. It never succeeded, alas. If I could vote, I would pick "Out in the Country" a lovely meandering groove of a song that makes rural Iowa in the summer seem like a dreamy corner of heaven.

No matter if it's midnight or 35 below, listening to "Out in the Country" you can just see the heat mirages, see the corn and wheat and chikens peckin'. Smell the warmth of the day. And see the gravel roads ramblin' all around. Anyone who grew up in the country can relate. Perhaps those who haven't. The rest is stellar too, but this song is my nirvana and a top 10 favorite of all time. If you're wondering which of Greg's album to buy, you can't go wrong here.

I've lived in Iowa for four decades. Greg Brown also lives and records much of his music here. Writers are advised to "write about what you know." Greg Brown knows Iowa. Honestly, I think I'd rather live in the mountains of Costa Rica. But this place does have its charms, and Greg Brown documents them.

This is one of Brown's early albums. Stylistically it is different from his latest work, though virtually all of Brown's albums are in the modern folk tradition. You'll hear echoes of Leon Redbone's old-timey jazz, Bob Dylan's talking blues, and a stereotypical bluegrass sound, like the Alison Krauss band without Krauss.

In terms of subject matter, Greg focuses on the serenity, family, community, humor, and cultural continuity of Iowa rural life. Plus there is the ever-present theme of agriculture -- the state motto is "A Place to Grow." In other words, pigs, cows, chickens, corn, beans, and so on.

Many of these selections have a simplicity and naturalness that make them sound like classic songs from 100 years ago. The recording quality is only mediocre, and I think the arrangements are a bit on the busy side. Having fewer players might have improved things overall. The soloists are good, but not great -- you won't hear any instrumental virtuosity or profundity.

That said, this is one of Brown's classic records. Listen to this, and you can almost smell Grandma's cooking, hear the corn creaking as it grows, and feel the squish of the cowpie you just stepped in. Hey, it ain't all roses! But this music celebrates midwestern ways like a fond Garrison Keiler remembrance.

This is probably as good an introduction to Greg Brown's music as any, and I recommend it.

I honestly bought this album because I was born in Iowa and was interested in any good artists from the state. And oh what a beautiful album I found!

Iowa Waltz feels so authentic in its music. It resonates with the Iowa dirt where Greg Brown is from.

Greg Brown writes some poetic great songs that are very true to Iowa - and the Midwest in general.

This was a tremendous debut from our modern times' greatest folk artist. The sound recording sounds average but adds to the rural feel of it.

What a treasure - even if you're not from Iowa!

A beautiful thoughtful work. I can listen to Out in the Country a hundred times over. And the "Daughters" track is how I broke the news to my husband that we were expecting our second little girl. He loved it.