Customer Reviews

Long Walk Back

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

 

 

I must take exception to the reviews complaining about Junior breaking away from "what he does best". What he does best is combine a fistful of traditional guitar/music styles in a most non-traditional way. His originality is such that he even had to invent the Guit-Steel to perform this soaring, poignant, blistering brew of licks in real time. It is an amazing thing to behold in a live performance.

Although Junior has a fine sense of humor in his songs, his "short, concise & humorous" tunes are my least favorite. In fact, I would venture to say that he uses these vehicles to get himself in the door of recording companies & into the tighter-than-Dwight's-jeans confines of modern country radio.

I say let the man do his thing & let us sit back & enjoy his genius. By the way, I would have paid $15.00 for "Stupid Blues" alone. Ever since I saw him perform it live, I knew I had to have it.

I understand that this CD encompasses more musical styles than previous Junior Brown CDs, but that's the joy of listening to Junior. He is musically diverse, inventive, original, and hugely talented. Nobody does Texas honky-tonk music this well these days. And as for the rest of the songs, nobody even comes close. This is actually my favorite Junior Brown CD, and yes, I have seen him live as well. If you truly are a music lover and can appreciate innovation and different types and styles of music, then you shouldn't have any problem with this CD. Junior's love for the same is apparent.

Picture a businesswoman in a record store with headphones on smiling and that's the image of me listening to my first Junior Brown CD, Long Walk Back. Country is not my favorite category usually, but I am partial to old time country and this fits the bill, with a unique twist. I love his voice and listening to the music reminded me of my dad's Bob Wills records. This is a great addition to any eclectic collection.

I bought this CD when it first came out following Brown's highly successful Semi-Crazy and was hoping for more of the same. Well, I didn't get it. It took me some time to get into the eclectic selections offered on Long Walk Back, but I am finally to the point of appreciating it for what it is rather than what I wanted it to be.
Junior's great voice is still here and his inimitable playing style is still here but he seems to stray further from his country roots with each successive album. That is not necessarily disastrous but on this CD there is precious little country at all except for the title cut and the buckle-polishing Just A Little Love. And hard country is still where Brown's greatest strength lies.
That's not to say some of the other songs aren't good. Brown's writing is sometimes clever, sometimes corny and his wordplay is often brilliant. The best Brown compositions in addition to the two already mentioned are The Better Half, Keepin' Up With You, I'm All Fired Up, and the extended blues workout Stupid Blues. His songs will have you smiling, laughing, and occasionally grimacing.
The worst songs are the maudlin Read 'Em and Weep and the cheesy novelty song Rock-A-Hula Baby. The presence of those two dogs and Brown's increasing tendency for playing ten notes where three or four will do shaves a star off of what is otherwise another strong effort by the master of the guit-steel.

When it comes to "country" music I am far more likely to listen to Hank Williams Sr. or Patsy Cline than any of the current chart toppers whom I won't name here. I stumbled across Junior Brown by accident listening to an eclectic program on NPR, the song was "My Wife Think's You're Dead". I loved the song, and within a few days owned every Junior Brown album. It's hard to describe a country picker who shows more influence from Jimi Hendrix than Roy Clark. Long Walk Back is my favorite of his albums, although it's a tough choice. The title track is a traditional sounding number aided by Junior's clear booming baritone. A voice somewhere between Hoyt Axton and the Big Bopper, a refreshing change of pace from the strangling sound of false tenors. His voice works better on hot numbers than on ballads but he holds his own on the slow songs. "Rock-A-Hula Baby" is a fun rockabilly number, "Lookin' For Love" has a 50's rock & roll sound. "Freedom Machine" and "I'm All Fired Up" have that boogie-country sound similar to the classic "Highway Patrol". This album also features an instrumental, "Peelin' Taters" which the title says it all, I think. The album ends with "Stupid Blues", a nearly 9-minute run which is anything but stupid where Junior runs the whole cycle on the guit-steel and ends with a boogie flurry. I highly recommend this album or "Guit With It" as "Guit Aquanted" albums for Junior Brown.

I own every piece of music Junior has produced and consider him to be one of the finest musicians around today. I have had the opportunity to marvel at his guitar work from three feet away. Contrary to Billboard and other rag reviews I feel this is the worst Junior has to offer. I would not reccomned this to anyone.

I had seen Junior on a local commerical and then on Late Night. I bought Long Walk after listening to him on Late Night. When the CD arrived (from Amazon.com), I played it over and over for a week. Just a wonderful album. No song stands out as they are all excellent and really listenable. As a child of the 50's, it was nice to hear Junior's verison of Rock A Hula Baby. The King would be proud. Play the title song cranked up. This is not rock, not country, but a guitar album with laid back vocals. Junior is fun

Junior is an amazing musician. I enjoy his uniqueness and musical talent. He can not be truly appreciated until you have seen a live performance. He is probably one of the biggest secrets in country music when it comes to non commercial country. All he needs is commercial air play to become a much bigger name. See or hear him once and you'll be hooked also. LONG WALK BACK has been worth the wait. I did miss not having more covers of country classics, but his original stuff is a nice susrprise. STUPID BLUES really grows on you.FREEDOM MACHINE has a great hook also. More great JUNION BROWN talent. Don't miss it. If you are not a fan, you will be.

A good but very average release from Mr. Brown. Not great, but not bad either, and certainly not one of his best. Would have given this one an extra half star for "stupid blues" which almost manages to pick this CD up to above average material. Almost. I'm however not regretting buying this CD by no means.

Junior Brown makes his amazing musicianship seem matter-of-fact when you see him live.This album fails to capture the essence of a live Jr. Brown performance. To make it come as close as possible to what Jr. does best it should be listened to over a good stereo rather than the small speakers that come with your computer. Still, were the album mixed a little less strong on vocals and more on the music side the final product could have been more pleasing. I would recommend you see him play his stuff in some live concert venue, before you listen to the album. It is then easier to appreciate the true miracle of his musicianship. What the heck... buy the thing. Tell somebody else to buy it. Anybody this good deserves the royalties.