Customer Reviews

Lucky Day

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

 

 

I've listened to Jonathan Edwards for over 30 years, and this is his Absolute Best album. Every song is made to get you to sing along. I just saw him in an outdoor concert with 3 other headliners that were supposedly "Bigger" than him. Truth is, he stole the audience with every note he sang. If you want to experience him at his finest with a live audience, buy this puppy now, it'll be your Lucky Day!!!

If you like Jonathan Edwards' music, you have to hear this cd!
I've been a big fan of Jonathan Edwards for many years and this is still my favorite.
They finally got it recorded onto cd and I can't stop playing it.
Really fun (live) sounds of times gone by !!!
Check this cd out, you won't be disappointed.

Postscript : I went to see Jonathan Edwards with a bunch of friends at a club and we somehow managed to sneak downstairs to meet him, what a super nice guy.

I just saw Jonathan Edwards, probably for the sixth or seventh time, in Fairfield, CT, at a wonderful venue, and he put on a memorable show with his beautiful songs, piano and guitar playing, and strong, impassioned singing. He is a true artist - underrated, I think - and deserving of a wider audience, but he has a strong, loyal following. This live album captures his artistry perfectly. Every song is superb, and, some, like his classic, "Sometimes," are given impeccable treatment. After the concert in Fairfield, my girlfriend and I put on one of his CD's from the 1970's and were struck by the fact that his voice sounds exactly the same today, perhaps stronger, and certainly more emotional. So many of his songs are classics, not just the ones he covers, but his own compositions.
Check out "Nova Scotia," "Lucky Day," and "Sometimes," to name just three songs from this CD and you will be introduced to three of the finest songs you have ever heard. Some bands and performers do not sound that impressive live - and some live albums are disappointments in terms of the song arrangements and vocals. This is different! This is one of THE best live albums - ever. A classic. You will be singing along, joyfully, to a first class artist, who is still making beautiful music - and doing it better than ever.

I love ALL the tracks on this CD! That's pretty rare. Mr. Edwards' voice is husky yet sweet, true, and just athletic enough and his song choices are poetic or poignant or rowdy (depending). This 'album' brings me back in time. Love it.

I'm so happy to see this album finally released on CD......this is one of the best live albums I've ever heard (and I'm generally not a fan of live albums). I've owned the album since it was released and had given up hope that it would ever appear in CD format. He is supported by a wonderful backup group, Orphan, whose instrumentation and harmonies make these tunes far superior versions than those that are on the original studio recordings. It's a no brainer....buy it!

Over the past several years I have spent some time working around the idea of why certain folk revival performers of the early 1960s, or later folk rock artists either never made it big and stayed big (relatively) as with the obvious case of the staying power of Bob Dylan, or were more one-hit wonders who faded from the scene quickly, if not quietly. I have mentioned names like Tom Paxton, Dave Van Ronk, Tom Rush and Jesse Winchester who made their names in that era. Singer/songwriters of immense talent yet except among the ever dwindling core of aficionados have faded from any spotlight. With the artist under review, Jonathan Edwards, who came a little later and can be more rightly classified under the folk rock genre, I find myself asking the same question.

Now in this case I am not asking merely an academic question. I recently attended a performance of the very much alive Mr. Edwards at a local folk club in Cambridge, Ma and came away from the very up tempo performance of his, mainly, older work scratching my head. The man and his band (including a couple of his old band members on this CD, Bill Elliot and Start Schulman) have, if anything, more energy that in the old days and certainly more stage presence. The versions of the tunes played were perhaps more clearly done in bluegrass/country tempo which always helps. But that does not solve the question. Of course sometimes one personal life, for good or evil, sets you on a different path. Or one gets tired of the road. Or one runs out of musical energy and thoughts but I am still, nevertheless, scratching my head on this one.

That said, in his prime Jonathan Edwards had a number of minor classics of the folk rock genre, all of which he played at that local club. The highlight, as to be expected, is the song some of whose lyrics form part of the headline of this entry, "Shanty". Others include "Give Us A Song", "Sunshine" (a variation), "Have You Seen Her" and the title track, "Lucky Day". Not performed at the club is a nice cover of the country classic "Today I Started Loving You Again" that shows a certain country influence in his work, especially his later work.