Customer Reviews

This Magnificent Distance

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A fantastic, innovative album. Chris Robinson and Paul Stacey prove to be an extremely formidable songwriting tandem on This Magnificent Distance. The influences of predecessors from CSNY, The Allman Brothers, Dylan and circa '72 era Stones and acoustic Zeppelin, can be felt at different junctures throughout the album, but the material NEVER feels derivative or dated. Robinson's vocals are exceptionally soulful, matching the unequalled inspiration and introspection of his lyrics. This album is so full of vocal inspiration, layered instrumental nuances, and lyrical gems... that you lose track of the particularly inspired moments.

There is a great structure to the songs, and they fit together well conceptually as an album. A nice balance exists among the tracks between mellow ponderings and churning rockers, and Stacey's fingerprints are everywhere filling even the more somber tunes with some interesting leads. Between the themes, the phrasing of Robinson's vocals, the lyrical beauty, and the instrumental machinations... the album evolves into a poetic journey for the listener who values Robinson's insights.

Particularly noteworthy: Surgical Glove (sounds like a mix of Dylan and Exile era Stones); Train Robbers has been aptly described as a Spaghetti Western put to music; When the Cold Wind Blows... and Girl on the Mountain are both atmospheric treasures; and the trio of Surgical Glove, Sea of Love, Piece of Wind transition the album to a powerful conclusion.

I pre-ordered this disc and man, I am glad I did. I must have listened to it half dozen times already today. The band is tight and Chris' vocals (and lyrics) are right on. As mentioned in one of the other reviews, The New Earth Mud touches several genres of music here, while at the same time adding their own funky surrealistic flavor to make a style all their own (check out the song "Mother of Stone" ... awesome!). This Magnificent Distance seems like a natural evolution from Chris' days in the Black Crowes. And, as the first New Earth Mud cd demonstrated, Chris is staying true to himself by doing his own thing which makes it virtually impossible to place this music in a neat little box. And for that, I respect him and will continue to buy his music. I just wish they would have maybe thrown in a bonus version of "Sugaree" ... they do an INCREDIBLE version of that live! Oh well, maybe we'll see that on the live disc. Peace.

What an amazing disc, i just wish more of the music world knew about this disc. I think this could easily be the best disc of the last 2 years, and would r tell anyone they need to pic it up. Thier are so many jamming cuts on here 40 Days, Eagles on the Highway, If you See California, Never Empty Table, and Train Robbers are all stand out cuts. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

Chris Robinson is a unique personality among rock artists. His voice can lends a magic to whatever it is Chris is singing, and his energy and power seem to have no bounds.

The self titled New Earth Mud debut album was a great piece of work, with a blend of upbeat songs and mellow songs, songs that built to towering climaxes of screaming vocals and frenzied guitar; and minor, melodic songs that meandered along in a trippy haze.

This Magnificent Distance seems to have traded some of the rocking upbeat tunes for more mellow and sad-sounding ballads. In my opinion, the creativity and originality is still there, but this album seems to have lost some of the energy that made New Earth Mud so appealing to me.

That is not to say that this is a bad album, on the contrary, it is still a remarkable composition, but it differs from their previous work. If you like downbeat and sorrowful songs, this album is worth checking out.

The album does have some spectacular highlights, however. Notably, "Girl on the Mountain," and "When the Cold Wind Blows at the Dark End of Night," both characterized by Chris's wistful, soulful, crying choruses.

This is one of those albums that are so unique and so special, that you know it won't get the acclaim it deserves. In the best case scenario, people would discover it 30 years from now, like we discover forgotten albums from the 60's and the 70's.

And it can't be any other way.

This is not an album for the masses. Its not cheerful, its not comforting, and its not romantic. This is not "popular" music, but personal music at its best. Its Chris's personal mix of styles and inspirations, his personal lyrics and songs, and for those of us who fell in its magic, its our personal soundtrack. When someone asks me what is the sort of music that I love the most, I put This Magnificent Distance in the stereo.

From the crunching riffs of Forty Days, you know that you go on a journey, a personal journey through the music styles that defined Chris Robinson as an artist, as well as defined my taste of music. Then, the haunting magic of Girl On The Mountain, followed by the organic sound of Mother Of Stone, with its beautiful touch of percussions. Train Robbers offers a nostalgic look at one of the most romantic scenes of the "old times" - the train robbers (the original title of the song was "the last of the old time train robbers"), but the music is an evidence that the "old time", free-form rock is still alive. For many reasons, Chris Robinson IS the last of the old time train robbers: he is the last of the old-time musicians, sings from his soul and making real, uncompromisig and somewhat unpopular music. The song ends with a teriffic solo from Paul Stacey. The next song. Like A Tumbleweed In Eden, is a Dylanesque ballad. You can really feel Dylan's influence on this slow and haunting number. The next song, When The Cold Wind Blows At The Dark End Of Night, is the song that captures the feeling of a hollucionary drug in the best and most honest way. With its changing speeds, the painfully disharmonic bridge and its haunting lyrics. "You're coming down, you're never the same".
...If You See California offers a nice relaxation from Cold Wind Blows, and its a much needed rest. This is a beautiful number, simple and optimistic. It is clearly influenced and currespond with Dylan's Girl From The North Country, a song that Chris has covered many times with the Black Crowes. The Never Empty Table is a mid-tempo return to the 60's sound as well as state of mind, as Chris offers us all a place on his table. By opening your mind to this album, you accept the offer. Eagles On The Highway is the music of America: Its display of obvious Americana icons in the lyrics (Eagles, Highway) as well as musical fusion of Rock with touches of country, blues and soul. Surgical Glove is a small epic. Its got a riff that puts you in another place and another time. Sea Of Love is a dark hard rocker, perhaps the least accessible song on this album, but its got its dark magic, waiting to be discovered. The albums closes with the bluesy Piece Of Wind, with a great, long harmonica solo at the end.

This album is differt from the Black Crowes popular cuts, and can only be described as the next musical stage after 3 Snakes And One Charm (with songs like One Mirror Too Many, Bring On Bring On and How Much For Your Wings in mind). This album is certainly not for everyone, and will never appeal for the masses. But this is what makes it so good.

All I can say is that both this album and Chris' first are great, but cannot be fully appreciated until seeing the band live! I saw him twice in March of 2003 at the Troubadour in Hollywood (where I was fortunate enough to get to meet Kate Hudson!), and once in early 2004 in San Diego.

"Mother of Stone", although great in its stripped-down acoustic form on this album, was AMAZING and 10x better live...electric, distorted, and much faster than on the album. The band seems to cover several songs in concert..."Sugaree" by the Dead, "Tough Mama" by Bob Dylan (VERY underrated song!), and the Rolling Stones' "No Expectations", the 2nd song on "Beggars' Banquet", which I wasn't familiar with until the San Diego show and now have great respect for.

"40 Days" seems to be the obvious radio single if at all, and was great on Letterman last night.

Definitely looking forward to the next tour....

This is truly the masterpiece in Chris Robinson's glorious career. Once again, he proves that he has the most enchanting male voice in rock and roll, and that he is one of the most gifted lyricists of his generation. From the heartrending "Like A Tumbleweed in Eden" to the bluesy, raunchy lead track "40 Days," the songs on this album show Chris at his most soulful, edgy, and insightful.

The band, which features the brilliant Paul Stacey on guitar, is one of the tightest groups around today. Their live performances are incendiary and they are no less awe-inspiring on This Magnificent Distance.

This is a beautiful, sexy, and revelatory piece of work that shows once again that Chris is a consummate singer/songwriter.

Yeah you know him. He's comfortably familiar but with a new fire and a new purpose to keep his brand of Rock and Roll alive. This is a very solid piece of music from one of the greatest voices in rock. From rock to beautiful ballad to folk tinged alt country themes. Chris shows he can do it all. Chris has always surrounded himself with some of the best musicians in the business but proves he is a lyricist, musican and songwriter in his own right. It's been a long strange beautiful journey from the early 90's to now with Chris' music but he proves he is as viable in todays landscape of music as he ever was and that amazing soul drenched voice never falters.Bravo Chris!

While it appears I was one of the few people who actually enjoyed Chris' first solo album, this one is much better. This album has a better contextual feel and opens with a great track (40 days).
This release makes for good driving music, weaving in and out of blues and rock, refusing to be pushed into a certain musical box. The arrangement is good and there is a solid flow to the whole thing.
While I do enjoy this album, I still feel that Chris has more in him, that he still hasn't hit one completely out of the park yet. Now that he has gotten back together with Rich for a few shows in NY, it will be interesting to see what kind of effect that has on him and his writing.
One other note...the album cover could have been a lot better. But if that's the worst I can say about an album, that's pretty good.

If you have the true Crowes bug, you will love it. I was suprised to find out how much I actually like it. It is an alternative to a more calmer side of chris. Like the Crowes it will grow on you and than you won't be able to shake it. It is worth the buy.