Customer Reviews

Killers & Stars

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

 

 

Every once in awhile a singer or a band releases a diamond in the rough. That's the case with Patterson Hood's Killers & Stars. You might know Hood as the venerable leader of the very cool Drive By Truckers, one of the best bands out there today.

Hood recorded Killers in 2001 at his dining room table during a low point in his life personally and professionally. The band was in limbo and he was in the process of a divorce. The result is a CD that's low fi and dark, but brilliant nonetheless.

With the songs consisting just of Hood's voice and acoustic guitar, there's a certain rawness here. And that's a good thing, because Killer's songs are just that - raw. Hardship, uncertainty, frustration, melancholy and resignation are all in evidence.

The songs are all great, but I especially like Pay No Attention to Alice, a cover of a song written by country great Tom T. Hall about a friend of his whose wife was an alcoholic. And Frances Farmer is another great song. Farmer, of course, is the tragic actress that went off the deep end in the '40s. Back then they called it manic-depressive psychosis. Today the neat term for it is bipolar. Maybe Hood understood how Farmer must have felt when she was carted away to a nut house against her will and given shock treatment. Anyhow, that's a glammed up Farmer you see on the cover.

Enough about that. Buy this CD right now.

this album is absolutely insanely beautiful. what a release like this could do for patterson's career and popularity is amazing...if it were to be heard by the masses.
these are the songs neil young wishes he wrote. the lo-fi sound and atmosphere is brilliant and i don't think that a slickly-produced version of this album would be nearly as captivating. this is a must buy for anyone who thinks he knows what real, heart-felt music is.

First of all, I admit that I don't own a single Drive By Truckers CD--something I plan on taking care of. I bought this CD on a whim after listening to clips of "Uncle Disney" and "Rising Son" and being very impressed. When I was able to listen to the complete CD, I immediatly fell in love.

This CD could have easily been cleaned up but, thankfully, it remains beautifully lo-fi and raw. From creaking chairs to string noise to the occasional off-key lyric, KILLERS AND STARS is a brutally honest recording even if you choose to ignore the intelligent songwriting. Hood's voice embodies each song like a backporch storyteller revealing more character with each note.

This is a real folk album done right. I wouldn't change a thing.

this is the first album that i bought by patterson hood. i am a very big fan of the acoustic guitar and this is a perfect example of how its supposed to be done. i also think that he has a great voice.

It took Patterson years to finally record and release this album...and while most musicians would succumb to the urge to "over-polish" older material, Patterson did not. The songs are raw and masterfully played as if all of those memories were fresh in his mind. Patterson is truly one of the greats, not only of his genre, but in all music.

Patterson Hood is amazing. You can hear the love, the pain, the strength in his voice through all the songs. This album is purely captivating and should be enjoyed by all singer-songwriter fans. Buy it now!

I am a huge fan of this album. It is very raw and a very honest feel to it. Both the music and lyrics are very engaging and grow on me with each listen.

Singer-Songwriters like Patterson Hood are few and far between.Folks, this is Southern Gothic music at it's best,not a dull moment on the record.It's all acoustic which makes it that much more special.I'd like to encourage all Drive-By Trucker fans and fans of great music in general to buy this.Patterson is fantastic singing and playing guitar for the DBT but hearing him in a different format is a privilege. I hope he records more solos in the future.