Meadow

Richard Buckner

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 12, 2006)
• Original Release Date: September 12, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Merge Records
• ASIN: B000H8RV2A
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #105,727 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
If such categories mean anything in regard to Richard Buckner, Meadow sounds more like indie rock (or occasionally classic rock) than alt-country. While Buckner's smoky vocals and elliptical lyrics continue to convey as much through sound as sense, here he reunites with producer/bassist J.D. Foster (who helmed Buckner's standout Devotion + Doubt) for a song cycle that has more powerful and propulsive arrangements than is often the case with the artist. Teaming with Foster in the rhythm section is Steven Goulding (from the Mekons and Graham Parker's Rumour), while Guided by Voices alumni Doug Gillard and Kevin March provide the front-line firepower. The melodic lilt and guitar shimmer of "Canyon" and the brooding balladry of "Numbered" (all song titles but the last are inscrutably one word) highlight a set without a throwaway track. As with Son Volt's equally terse Jay Farrar, Buckner's laconic diffidence conveys yearning, conviction, and considerable expressive subtlety. --Don McLeese

Product Description
Buckner's eighth full-length soars and swells around his signature trifecta of enigmatic poetics, swirling melodies, and that voice - a soothing drawl that's somehow road weary and buoyant all at once. The melodies are fleshed out by an all-star band: Doug Gillard (Guided By Voices, Cobra Verde), Kevin March (GBV, Those Bastard Souls, Dambuilders), J.D. Foster, and Steven Goulding (Mekons, Graham Parker, Waco Brothers). Fresh and evocative, poignant and real, it documents "the modern age wrapped up in the frustrations and sympathies of a wanderer" - Austin Chronicle.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nothing to write home about, November 20, 2006

By	Transistor International (Illinois) - See all my reviews

Don't let the presence of Doug Gillard fool you. There are no irresistible riffs or monster power-chord moments here. This is another album in Buckner's trademark style, an inscrutable blend of folk and country-rock with language-poet lyrics (`elliptical' is the standard-issue description.) It's as good as his last, but this isn't to say it's a really satisfying album.

The problem lies in its familiarity. With Devotion and Doubt, Buckner discovered his voice, and though he's varied his arrangements and accompaniment since then, melodically and lyrically he's continued the same course. When style becomes as habitual as this, it's time to move on or risk getting stuck in a rut.

What this artist could use is a producer who really challenges him and forces him to re-think his approach: make him change the tempo, transpose songs into different keys, compose on new instruments, re-write his lyrics, in general shake things up--- you get the idea. The last time Buckner sounded truly different from his usual sound, he was writing songs for another poet's words. I think he thrives on that outside influence, and at this stage in his career, he probably needs it. Otherwise he might as well join Jay Farrar in the ranks of artists in a state of premature rigor mortis.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars richard buckner changed my life..., May 31, 2007

By	B. Krnc (cleveland, ohio United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

i must have been living under a rock or something because i never heard this guy before i saw him play live with my friends the six parts seven at the beachland taverne. that show totally blew me away and that night my life changed forever. it's hard to explain that, but everyone who was there that day should understand what i mean, i'm sure everyone felt it...with that said, this record paints a small corner of a picture of what happened that night in cleveland. it's not the same backing band but it is CLOSE to what i heard that night, and to me, that is worth it. every once in a while i think i've heard it all, and then someone like richard buckner finds his way into my brain and then all i can do is sit back and shake my head, because it just opens up so many more things...get this and i'm sure you will agree. definately one of the most gifted humans of all time. why aren't musicians like this getting more recognition?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars in-effin-credible, January 17, 2007

By	Laura J. Walker "Fantasy Librarian" (Humboldt County, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Transistor International, below, may have a point, in the case of experienced Buckner fans; but i am new to him, and as an introduction, Meadow has completely blown me over. Out of ten tracks, at least five are songs i cannot believe i lived without just a week ago. I love the mood of the entire album, and it has not left my 3-disc player since i got it. I ordered Devotion and Doubt a few days after getting Meadow; and find it similar, but not quite as powerfully magnetic as Meadow. So while maybe any introduction to Richard Buckner might impress more than exposure to further material (that thrill of discovery of fresh talent), i am willing to say that Meadow could easily be the highlight of an astounding songwriting/performing career.