Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Juarez, June 16, 2004
Terry Allen is one of the most interesting, wry, gifted songwriters on the contemporary music scene. Anyone who claims to love music but hasn't listened to Terry Allen's views on Texas, love and getting wise should go sit in the peanut gallery. Not only does he write lyrics that make you think, his music and musicianship are top of the line. Be warned, tho', if you listen to Juarez it will make you want to run out and buy the whole collection of his works. Try Lubbock, too.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant, November 2, 2005
Terry Allen is a gifted story teller who unfortunately never earned much acclaim outside the Lubbock scene, already an outsider's scene itself. This was no doubt due, at least in part, to challenging albums like "Juarez."
This is not the sort of album that becomes an instant favorite. It is compelling but unsettling, and you keep coming back to it, though you aren't sure why. For me, it took at least five listens to really get into and still five more to really get it. But now I am hooked; this is easily one of my Top 10 albums.
Allen outlines the story with a spoken word track and then embellishes with song. "Cortez Sail," which opens the album proper, begins with a lilting piano tune that descends into a dark account of Cortez, before lilting away again. This is followed by "Border Palace," a foot-stomping romp about dive bars and easy women. And in a juxtaposition only Allen would think of, this is followed by "Dogwood," a haunting song about the burdens we bear.
If the beginning is made up of hopeful longing, then the album's midpoint, a trio of dark tunes, is the realization of hopelessness. "Writing on Rocks Across the USA" and "The Radio... And Real Life" reveal the darker side of our characters, with "There Ought to be a Law Against Sunny Southern California" revealing the dark side of their origins.
But the dark story ends on an upbeat, in Mexico. "Cantina Carlotta," successfully evokes the spirit and energy of a Mexican cantina, as does "La Despidida," which makes me want to grab the closest senorita and waltz. The El Camino tracks leaves the listener certain that the preceding tale was an exceedingly happy one, with a happy ending to boot. It's a challenge to remember that a double homicide was perpetrated just minutes before.
"Juarez" is a dark album that requires an effort on the part of the listener. You have to give the characters a chance and hear their story before the complexities of this wonderful album will truly unfold. Beleive me, it's worth the time.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing , April 2, 2008
I heard "Cortez sail" on a local community radio station, well actually the radio station is in St. Louis and I live a few hundred miles away and as such, isn't internet radio grand? I immediately went home and downloaded the album from itunes. This album is now definitely one of my favorite albums of all time. The songs are so beautifully written and even though some people may not like Terry Allen's voice, which at times reminds me of Leon Russell and at other times Jerry Lee Lewis I find it hard to stop listening to the album. Lines like "see how the lightning makes tracks in your air, tearing the clouds and then closing the tear" remind me what an artist Mr Allen is. I listen to this album and I wish someone would make the album into a movie complete with all the songs.
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by Terry Allen 
