Land of Milk and Honey

Eliza Gilkyson

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 23, 2004)
• Original Release Date: March 23, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Red House
• ASIN: B0001CNQFI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,298 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Though written in the early 1950s and never previously recorded, Woody Guthrie's "Peace Call" provides a timely conclusion to this collection of politically pointed material. Trading verses with Texas troubadour Eliza Gilkyson on the pacifist anthem are kindred spirits Patty Griffin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Iris DeMent. Much of the rest of the album finds Gilkyson applying her vocal warmth and buoyant melodies to lyrics that probe the darker recesses of the human condition, from the terrorism evoked within the luminous "Tender Mercies" (with Gilkyson's son and daughter joining in harmony) to the revenge by a lifelong abuse victim in "Ballad of Yvonne Johnson" to the Shaker-style hymn of mankind's folly, "Milk and Honey." While Gilkyson brings a light touch to the album's weighty social concerns, the pop buoyancy of "Wonderland" and the rock & roller's ballad "Dark Side of Town" (with its Band-like horn arrangement) extend the album's range beyond topical broadsides. --Don McLeese

Product Description
An important new release with infectious and thought-provoking tracks and guest vocal appearances by PATTI GRIFFIN, MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER, IRIS DEMENT and SLAID CLEAVES!

"Land of Milk and Honey" is a collection of songs that are decidedly socio/political in nature. From the wake-up call to awareness of the current agenda of the "neo-cons" in "Hiway 9" to the "bugle call of peace" in Woody Guthrie's previously unrecorded and timely anti-war song "Peace Call", Eliza Gilkyson spares no punches. This is music for a generation that does not want to stand idly by while losing their dream for a quality of life they hold dear.

Gilkyson once again uses a sparse, edgy organic production, with her longtime teammates, producer Mark Hallman and a cast of some of the best players Austin has to offer, to convey her firm convictions and insight into today's world. Cameos include an enthusiastic Slaid Cleaves on "Hiway 9", and Jon Dee Graham and Stephen Bruton on the soulful "Dark Side of Town", an ode to their old friend and head of Eliza's production company, Al Ragle.

Especially touching is the mother's prayer, "Tender Mercies", with background harmonies by Eliza's son Cisco and daughter Delia. Gilkyson's lush and passionate voice wraps itself around the major themes of her generation, with topics ranging from the anti war movement, abusive relationships ("Ballad of Yvonne Johnson"), personal relationships ("Separated"), and coming to terms with the folly of man ("Milk and Honey"). There is even an old song written by her late father, folksinger Terry Gilkyson, that addresses the "great food chain of life" as Eliza puts it. But through all these weighty topics, Eliza never loses sight of her sense of wonder ("Wonderland") and her hopes for humanity.

The closing song, Guthrie's "Peace Call", was discovered in an old out-of-print songbook from the Guthrie archives while Eliza was on the road with the Woody Guthrie tribute tour last summer. Rendered by a team of like-minded songstresses Patty Griffin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Iris Dement, the song shows a solidarity of intention that truly conveys Guthrie's message of peace in times of war.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She Keeps Getting Better, February 25, 2005

By	Music fan (Norfolk, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Eliza Gilkyson spent some of last year touring with a Woody Guthrie tribute ensemble put together by Jimmy LaFave and it seems to have rubbed off in all the best ways. "Milk and Honey" is her most political and most thought-provoking album. It's also the third in a series of fine discs that show her songwriting reaching a higher level.

She opens with "Hiway 9," a sarcastic indictment of the leaders, including a "white man hidden in a black man's skin," who danced with the "devil of our own design" and got caught sleeping at the sentry post that ought to show up as one of Moveon.org's theme songs. Opening lyrics: "Well, the white god said to the little man. We're going to fulfill Scripture in the Holy Land. Between the Tigris and the Euphrates it's a lot like hell. Gonna liberate people and the O I L."

"Tender Mercies," the disc's centerpiece, is a heartbreaking ballad contrasting a teen suicide bomber deprived of basic childhood love -- "every mother's prayer" -- and a mother across the world who safely tucks in her children that could have fit easily on Springsteen's "The Rising."

If Gilkyson had found her "Richmond Boy" on her last album, she's lost him on this one. But "Not Lonely," a poignant examination of reaching middle age and finding your way alone, shows she's not unhappy. "Wonderland" is a pop tune about lowering expectations in a relationship. And she pays tribute to a hard-living friend with the New Orleans dirge of "Dark Side of Town:" I'm gonna be a midnight rider. Gonna burn my candle down. Following that driving beat to the dark side of town."

Fittingly, the album concludes with "Peace Call," an unrecorded Guthrie tune beautifully rendered by Gilkyson and pals Patty Griffin, Iris Dement and Mary Chapin Carpenter. Woody would be pleased.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A voice of smoke and honey, July 26, 2005

By	Matt Duane Griffin "--M. D. Griffin" (MA United States) - See all my reviews

Heard this one on the radio -- oddly, the track was "Ballad of Yvonne Johnson", and knew immediately I had to have it. It had all this aspects that are just what draws me in to a record -- it was rootsy, it was political, it told a story that had to be true (I totally "felt" Yvonne Johnson by the end), told fearlessly and unflinchingly, and it had this amazing, distinctive, absolutely perfect woman's voice. The CD is full of great songs, the standouts for me being "Hiway 9" "Dark Side Of Town" and "Wonderland", but I love everything here.

My tastes are eclectic -- just check out what I have reviewed to this point -- and I do enjoy good singer songwriter stuff. But my standard is Dylan, Townes, Guy Clark, stuff with some meat to it, stuff that has well - chosen words and, frankly, a bit of attitude. This record meets the standard. It also has that wonderful voice.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God bless the world, May 31, 2005

By	G. Lagerberg "George," (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As simple as this sentence looks, it's an amazing change of view for all americans; as a European living in the States I always wondered who would bless the rest of the world if God only blesses America. I found the answer.
As simple as this, the music of Eliza is too: straight and clear. I have loved this CD and a live performance as well.