Customer Reviews

Live City Sounds

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Before Lilith, the over-marketization of "women in rock" and just before Etheridge and Chapman broke...there was Mary Lou Lord. This record takes me back to a place in my life. Her voice would call to me from the caverns of Park St. Station. Her voice, soft and yearning, would find me...buzzed, weary, wandering...inching my way to the last train of the night.

Her music would flow through me. Songs of quiet jealousy, forlorn love, and hope. Those two songs before the train came were all I needed to get me to the next morning.

This record does a fantastic job of taking me back to that place. Listen closely and you will hear the trains. It captures the essence of Mary Lou Lord. Mostly folksy, bluesy, post or alt country songs. A great cover of Springsteen's "Thunder Road" which gives it a "You Can Sleep While I Drive" quality. I was sad to see that Dire Straits' "Romeo and Juliet" was left off.

Lord has achieved more "polish" over the years but her signature strum at the end of each song is still there. The applause between songs is a bit of a distraction for me...only because I dont remember any applause at two in the morning.

A great snapshot of Mary Lou Lord.

i feel pretty confident in saying that anyone who knows who mary lou lord is knows that from time to time, she can be found playing in "her spot" on the mta's green line. this recording of some of her time spent there is awesome. it's a lot of covers, which are all fantastic, but i think the best thing about it is hearing the snippets of conversation and the occasional train running by... because that really adds to the essence of mary lou lord. its just great. yes. great. wooooo!

Mary Lou Lord has a great ear for music and consistently chooses the best songs (albeit some eclectic) to cover. This self-recorded live disc captures MLL in her element -- busking in the Boston subway. The passersby and passing trains only add to the ambiance, especially with MLL tackling a variety of excellent tunes.

There's the Magnetic Fields' "I Don't Want To Get Over You," Richard Thompson's "Vincent Black Lightning," Big Star's awesome "Thirteen," Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road" and more.

This disc is surprisingly intimate and marks a real return for MLL to her busking roots. She sounds comfortable and at home, which she is. I love this disc.

This is an excellent MLL CD. Anyone who has seen her live knows this is where MLL shines. To educate Wolfbone: In Boston, or a sidewalk in Seattle, MLL was a musician long before she was a recording artist.
Thunder Road is worth the price of admission.

If you ask me, there's nothing more magical than hearing Mary Lou Lord busk. That's how she got her start and I believe, even today, is where she feels most comfortable. No matter how many times Mary Lou sings any given song (and with some of these, it's got to be thousands!), she puts her all into it. I love all her albums, but this one has a special charm and certainly showcases her ability to make her favorite songs her own. Drawing from such disparate artists as Richard Thompson to Bruce Springsteen, Shawn Colvin, the Magnetic Fields, Bob Dylan, and more, she sings these songs with a vulnerability and tenderness that's both haunting and tender.

On "Ricochet in Time," she plucks the strings of her guitar to emphasize certain lines. This album was recorded, as the title says, live, and what it lacks in studio precision is exactly what makes it perfect and oh so Mary Lou. It showcases a range of songs, from cute and quirky to tragic and lovelorn. You can hear every sigh, every caught breath, every emotion she brings to these lines, and I'm pretty sure that if these songs aren't like old friends now, once you listen to this album, they will be. I must also say that over my years of being a Mary Lou Lord fan, she has introduced me to so many great musicians and songs, many of which are recorded here. If you're new to her music, Live City Sounds is a wonderful introduction to a talented musician using the simple instruments of a tender voice, an acoustic guitar, a good ear and a love of good songs that tell beautiful stories.

i love this girl and have been itching for a new album. with nothing out there, this was the only recorded work which i did not have at the time. the songs are good as always, and the live recording really makes you feel like you're at a small venue, drinking a beer, listening to our favorite female singer songwriter. i wish there were a few more songs, but i really shouldn't complain about the 16. i like it better than the mary lou lord/sha na na album...it's more of what you'd expect from this talent. a great piece for a mary lou lord fan.

A street corner. A guitar. A recorder. Her talent. That's it for this first rate work. Great cover of Thunder Road. If there is a better one, I have not heard it. The coda, Speeding Motorcyle seems at first like just a chick song but it is not---a tough heart bouncing back from heartache. A universal song. Loved the cinematic quality of 1952 Vincent Black Lightning, of a young tough, a cool red head and a vintage motorbike. She deserves a wider audience.