Customer Reviews

Merriment

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

 

 

Of course, like all of Vic's CD's, Merriment requires 20+ listens to form even the most elementary of impressions. Shades of Abbey road esp. in 'Sunny Pasture'. Feather is moving and doesn't yield easily. Highlight is perhaps 'DNA', which provides an interesting take on the prison of genetic determinitism. In a sense this song returns to the themes earlier expressed in 'Naughty Fatalist' on the debauched 'Drunk' album. The moral- we need not accept the prescription... Perhaps not as successful as Salesman and Bernadette, but this does stand as another of Vic's interesting experiments in collaboration.

I would consider myself a huge Vic chesnutt fan, and I must say that this album is a huge disappointment. Drenched in Daniel Lanois-esque reverb, the texture and production is blaaaaaa. But, the blame may not lay solely on Vic's shoulders. I think the Keneipp's are responsible for some of this mess.

The lyrics are muddled and embarrassing, the tunes are rambling (it pains me to write this, I love ALL of his previous albums).

The album is not without its highlights--"Fissle" is great, and "Sunny Pasture" and "Haiku" are classic Vic ...

... but avoid this album. If you are looking to discover the wonders of Mr. Chesnutt, check out "West of Rome" or "The Salesman and Bernadette." There is absolutely great great Vic Chesnutt out there. This just doesn't happen to be it.

'merriment' and 'mighty monkey' are instantly classic vic songs. those who already like vic will enjoy this album, it's one of the better ones, very subdued vic, very piano, very mellow, sometimes very sad. some great vic melodies herein, even some beatles sounding background harmonies. great stuff, the one disappointment being that it's ten songs and only thirty minutes long. other than that, it's near perfect vic. another golden chesnutt if i may say.

The image of Vic Chesnutt emblazoned on the cover of his album 'About to Choke' gives us the Vic Chesnutt in the minds of his fans. A lone man in a wheelchair holding a guitar and pushing his broken voice to the limits. He seemed to be an emblem of pre-packaged vulnerability. Yet his words and his music tended to portray a man who loved to be distant.

'Merriment, while more directly analytical than his previous work, is a display of the way that his sometimes off-putting humor can also be intensely touching and unironic.

The album is short, to be sure, but the songs are all miniature epics. There are stories being told in these songs, but they are all about ideas. From the nature of humor to notions of justice, the material is not 'light,'but Chesnutt's wit and intelligence keep the songs from being murky and leaden.

The highlights of the album are the title track, Mighty Monkey, Feather, and DNA. But all of the songs (featuring music by Kelly and Nikki Keneipp), contain a musical perfection and lyrical precision (that Vic Chesnutt fans may find over-produced)that make them part of one of the best albums of the year. Unfortunately most writers have already written their top-ten lists, so most people may never find out.

Being a long and very devoted fan of Mr. Chestnut (due in part to living in athens for 5 years, about a block away from vic by the way) I can say with certainty that Vic has far outdone all of his previous efforts. However one who is not yet blessed to be acquainted with vic's music should start with "West of Rome" the move onto "Is the Actor Happy?" then "About to Choke" and "The Salesman and Bernadette" (yes I'm sorry to say but "little" and "drunk" can be discarded except for the true chestnuttophile) But without a doubt this record is the finest collection of songs and the best produced album in terms of instrumentation and songwriting style(vic certainly justifies his athens nickname of "the leonard cohen of zebulon georgia here) Even being a big fan of vic I would have to say that anyone with musical taste for creative and expressive songwriting would have to fall in love with this album.

This little CD, just over 30 minutes in length, is one of the stangest Vic Chesnutt albums I've ever heard. Not to say it isn't good. Each track, with the possibility of the didactic DNA hits you in the gut. Merriment packs a wallop, with Vic singing his [bottom]off. But it lacks the magic of his 'solo' albums.