Customer Reviews

Like A Hurricane

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

 

 

I'd put off buying this album for a while, but shame on me, because this is really a nice acoustic rock record, the likes of which they just don't make anymore ... I've loved Chirs throughout his Byrds/Burritos/Manassas/SHF/Desert Rose/solo career, and this record was a canteen of cool, sweet spring water at the end of a long, dusty trail. One of the 10 albums I would insist on having if I were consigned to a desert island would be Chris' "Slippin' Away" album, and until that wonderful record is available on CD, "Like a Hurricane" fills the slot quite nicely. His writing and his voice haven't lost one bit of their energy and expression, unlike so many of his fellow travellers.

This record is easily as good as anything he's done. I mourn for all those Eagles freaks who have never heard Chris at his best .. They really don't know what they're missing. Some of this stuff sounds like Byrds, some like Desert Rose, some like his solo work and some really new stuff I've never heard from him before. The musicanship is as superb as we've all come to expect from this consummate pro, and his musical vision is as fresh as it was when we were all so much younger ... You've just gotta love Chris Hillman, and although I should probably be going into much more detail on a track-by-track basis for this review, I'm too busy riding a sonic magic carpet piloted by this wonderful musician/writer/singer to be bothered by such trvial concerns. Forget everybody else associated with California country rock .. This guy's the Thomas Edison of the entire genre. Get this record. Listen to it. Love it.

I've followed Chris and his music for over 30 years, and I can tell you this album is terrific. You hear all the influences, Burrito's, Byrds, Desert Rose Band even his work with Stephen Stills and his debut solo effort "Slippin Away". And remember folks he and Gram Parsons, along with Poco were there before the Eagles. The combination of styles like the title track along with songs like "Sooner or Later" and "Run Again" blend well with "Second Wind". If your over 45, BUY THIS CD!

Chris Hillman has always crafted great music - whether it be as a founder of the Byrds, or his pivotal role (along with the late Gram Parsons)in that band during the "Sweetheart of the Radio" period. Together with Parsons, Sneeky Pete Kleinow and Chris Ethridge, Hillman formed the sadly underrated Flying Burrito Brothers, bringing his friends Bernie Leadon, ex-Byrd Mike Clarke, and Rick Roberts (to replace Parsons). After the Burritos Hillman became "everybody's favorite second-in-command, with Stephen Stills in Manassass, where Hillman kept the band on its musical edge, through Souther-Hillman-Furay, and back again with old Byrds Roger McGuinn and Gene Clark. Then in the early 1980s Hillman and Herb Pedersen formed the Desert Rose Band, which kept the Country Rock promise betrayed by the Eagles and so many other second-rate bands. DRB lasted nearly a decade, with a string of great hit songs and fine albums. Now Hillman is back with a solo album that reflects his life and career. In "Like A Hurricane" Hillman explores relationships, survival, the present, past and future in a set of clear-voiced, non-cluttered songs - the 12-string jangle of "Back's Against The Wall" and the old Searcher's "When You Walk In The Room", the searing "Sooner Or Later" which beats Henley and Frey at their own game hands-down, "I'm Still Alive" Hillman's tribute to the tenacity of David Crosby, and the fine Folk-Country-Rock "Run Away" - reminsicent of DRB at it's best. If you're a Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, Desert Rose Band or just plain Chris Hillman fan - then grab this album! If you're not, then odds are you will be - for this album reflects the man and his legacy in Country Rock - past, present and future.

Every song on this CD is well written, well structured and performed with the heart of a pro musician. Reading the notes, this CD is a kind of retrospective of a long successful career... the last song is a lullaby to his wife, a song I had to learn. Every time I listen to the tracks I hear something new. This is a good example of quality of music produced by the "old pros" as they grow up and mature with the rest of us. No flash, no effects, just great music. This is one CD I will not sell!

Fine album from one of the very best. I saw Chris and a three-piece band in San Juan Capistrano in '97, just before this CD came out, the show was, flat-out, the best acoustic playing, along with the singing I had ever heard. The best before that? 1986 at McCabe's when the newly formed Desert Rose Band was making their debut. 'Nuff said. You'll enjoy this CD!

Great songs, outstanding playing, well sung, if there's a better country rock album I haven't heard it.

BUY IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Most readers probably recognize Chris Hillman's name because of his `60s gig as bass player for the Byrds, while others may remember his work with the Flying Burrito Brothers or perhaps the Desert Rose Band. In any event, this venerable musician has a recording out as a leader on the Sugar Hill label that is definitely worth a listen. With plenty of good support from some good musicians, Hillman plays guitar and handles the lion's share of the singing chores on Like a Hurricane, which crackles with good country-flavored rock seasoned with a little bluegrass. One cut, Jackie DeShannon's "When You Walk in the Room," which was a hit for the Searchers way back when, brings back memories of the Byrds ("we borrowed a lot from the Searchers back then," notes Hillman in the liner notes). Clean playing, clean singing, clean recording.

If you like acoustical music with a real edge this is a must buy. The lyrics are sterling -- "Living On The Edge" and "I'm Still Alive" are particular favorites. The music has energy, grit and will keep you playing it over and over. I'm not a country music fan, but to me Chris's music has always been an exception. He has not disappointed on this album. Welcome back, Chris!

At odds with those above, this is just not the Chris Hillman I prefer. I too have been a career fan, owning his solo albums, the complete set of DRB and even both SHF albums. I just didn't find the sound I enjoyed so much on the DRB albums..(Summer Wind..classic!) I can tell the other folks who reviewed this are true fans, they know his cataloge, seems to be an Eagles grudge out there though..I suppose it comes down too few songs that made Hillman a favorite of mine. I must have listened to this CD 20 times, and it just never clicked for me. His collaborations with Herb Pederson seem to be the continuation of his better work. I hate to say skip this one,(seems disloyal! is that odd or what) but if I did not know it was out there, for me, I would not have missed it. Sorry Chris, stick with Herb, even Lennon and McCartney were better together. BTW I know Pederson and Hillman do not write together..just chemistry or direction I guess.