Customer Reviews

My Life

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased this cd after hearing Ms. DeMent's duets with John Prine on "In Spite Of Ourselves". She "stole the show" from the likes of Trisha Yearwood, Emmylou Harris and Patty Loveless, although Dolores Keane held her own on another plane. The first four tracks were wonderful and you instantly recognized that God grants unique gifts where and when you least expect it. Then track 5 "No Time To Cry" came on and, I have to tell you, Camus or Sartre couldn't have said it better. Life is relentless and Iris laments this fact in a way that makes even the most cynical of us shed a tear. Then you get to "Easy's gettin harder everyday" and you understand why a song writer with a gifted voice can say in minutes what psychologists and philosophers try to say in volumes. We pedestrians dream of such gifts - the voice and the words, but in ieu of that, the heavens have given us iris DeMent!

I have to admit that the first time I heard "No Time To Cry", it left me on the verge of tears. It is a an evocative, ethereal, and memorable excursion into the existential dilemmas of contemporary adulthood and how difficult it is to keep one's feelings and priorities in place in the face of the ice-cold indifference of the world. This wonderful CD is a treasure for anyone who loves the unique of country and folk music that Iris DeMent bridges so artfully. All of her music here is original and special, and she has matured from her beginnings to become a most singular and precious folk treasure. She mixes her deep natural religiosity with an awesome practicality in her verses, as in the opening cut "Sweet Is The Melody", and waxes sentimental in "You've Done Nothing Wrong" about a love affair that has failed because the two have grown in different directions. Iris manages to wring honest, beautiful and special qualities from each of her compositions, whether we are talking about "Calling For You", "Childhood Memories", or "Troublesome Waters". As I mentioned earlier, "No Time to Cry" is a gorgeously written, sung, and performed song, and I have it on all of my home-made "favorites tapes". Yet this whole song cycle is terrific, and I only hope she continues to produce such special and original music for all of us who love her music and her sweet gentle vision of a life well lived and well loved. Enjoy.

Iris raised a lot of expectations following the success of her debut album, Infamous angel, which I've already reviewed. That album included classics such as Our town and Let the mystery be. This album is of a similar style and quality, but lacks a real classic song. Don't let that put you off - most singers never get songs that good in their entire career, and in any case all the songs here are excellent.

The songs here are very personal, something that should surprise nobody who is familiar with Infamous angel, but ever more so because Iris' father died during the time between the two albums. No time to cry is a song in which Iris explains that she's too busy to spend much time grieving for her father. Childhood memories is about just that.

Iris wrote all but two of the songs, these being covers of Troublesome waters (Mother Maybelle Carter) and Mom and Dad's waltz (Lefty Frizzell). Given the personal nature of the album, these songs are entirely appropriate.

If you have not got any Iris DeMent music, buy Infamous angel first, or buy both together. If you are already familiar with that album, this will give you more of the same style and sound.

I think this is a terrific album. The tear-jerk power of Our Town is missing, and her voice sounds too polished in some of the songs, but I can't think of another album I would want if I could only have one on the shelf. No time To Cry is the best song of the lot, with Easy's Getting Harder: a close second. I enjoyed the final (title) cut, but it was a bit too sugary for me. I like Iris better when she sings with a crooked smile on her face, not a sentimental longing. Nonetheless, her gutiar playing is terrific and this is the album to play as you drive across country with the windows down and the one's you love left behind. A new classic.

I was at work when I first heard "Childhood Memories" while listening to a college radio station. Most often, while working one is not paying attention to what emanates from the radio. But this time I was struck by the this song as few songs had done in a very long time. The clarity, simplicity and beauty of Ms Dement's voice took my breath away. "Childhood Memories" is simply put a magnificent song. Even though I was raised in Italy (a different world from the one of Ms Dement's), I was instantly taken in by this beautiful song and its meaning. When I went home taht day, I decided to go and buy the CD. This is work that wants your attention, and its simplicity can be deceiving. "My Life" is a wonderful work, something that Iris Dement should be justifiably proud of. Hers is pure country. She has become one of my favorite singers.

She loves her parents, has an abiding respect for those who came before her, and believes in God without feeling compelled to preach about it. In a world of product on demand and genre-specific themes, her's is a refreshing step backward into a time when singer-songwriters dared let us into their worlds. She is troubled, but hopeful; confident, but not arrogant; spirited, without being pretentious. You could almost say she suffers from a bit of the old naiveté, but that only says more about us than her. A gem. Inspirational verse from the title track, "My life, it don't count for nothin'". Not damn likely! A+

"My Life" is Iris DeMent's best album to date. While "Infamous Angel" boasts such a country classic as "Our Town" and "The Way I Should" probably contains the best protest song ever ("Wasteland of the Free"), as a whole "My Life" delivers the most satisfactory content. Her favourite themes (family, God, childhood, bygone moments of love and happiness) are fully investigated and a honest attempt of making sense out of life appears throughout the album.
I think that is why John Prine famously stated her music "is good for you".
For example, just listen to "No Time To Cry", the best song in this excellent lot: a heartfelt cry about the loss of her father and the relentlessness of life: "I've got no time to look back, I've got no time to see / The pieces of my heart that have been ripped away from me [...]".
Because of this process, all we can do is to remark that "I'm older now and I've got no time to cry".
"You've Done Nothing Wrong" and "Calling For You" deal with the passing of love. In both songs, this estrangement is nobody's fault, but a natural consequence of life (she seems to imply that happiness is not of this world, so it can't last long). Hence, enjoy yourself whenever you can, as it is said in "Sweet Is The Melody": "It's for celebrating a Friday night romance / Forgetting the bad stuff and just feeling good".
In this blue scenario, you can find comfort in the memory of your infancy ("Childhood Memories") or in religion ("Troublesome Waters" aptly says: "Then gently I'm feelin' the touch of His hand / Guiding my boat in safely to land"). But don't get her wrong: she's not an easily-consolable bigot and even religion seems not to suffice when "Easy's Gettin' Harder Every Day": "There ain't much livin' here inside / Lately I don't know what I'm holdin' on to".
The album closes with a joyful ballad ("And there ain't no way of me knowin' how tomorrow's gonna be / So I'll just dance the shores of Jordan till the angels carry me") and a touching
examination of her life ("But I gave joy to my mother / I made my lover smile / And I can give comfort to my friends when they're hurting / I can make it seem better for a while").
All songs are delivered in an old-country style with a twangy voice. At first it bewildered me, but now I love it and find it very appropriate to her music.
All in all, highly recommended.

If you are offended by hillbilly accents, you won't like Iris Dement -- but her accent suits her homey songs. Cut through the twang and she's a sophisticated lady who sings of commonplace things to make profound observations. She usually skirts the right side of maudlin -- although she crosses the line on "Mom & Dad's Waltz" (sample line: "I'm happy ...and I pray everyday for ma and pappy." There's such a thing as trying too hard to make a rhyme!) Balance that against an intriquing line like "the dance floor is for gliding, not jumping over ponies." There are two songs I love. "No Time to Cry" is a lament for a lost father and "Easy's Getting Harder Every Day" is all about a loveless marriage. Dement's first two CDs are similar and equally good -- about family and childhood and growing up and lost innocence. She hasn't recorded anything of note, to my knowledge, in several years. I wonder what happened to her?

For her second album, Iris turned to her childhood and to her emotional roots. The result is a collection of songs even more introspective and personal than her first album. She bares her soul in her writing and in her performance, and through her constantly evolving music it's possible to get unnervingly close to how she thinks and feels. This becomes most apparent after you have heard all four of her albums to date.

This one has the most traditionally Country feel of any of her albums and even includes a Carter song, Troublesome Waters. There is no indication of the political activism that would inform her third collection, although there are hints of the gospel music to which her fourth would be devoted. It contains at least one veritable masterpiece, Sweet Is The Melody.

Iris DeMent is the most talented singer/songwriter of her generation. Her relative lack of recognition is partly due to the partial rebuilding of her fan base required by each change of musical direction. If you are new to her, listen to her work in sequence, starting with her first CD, Infamous Angel.

This album actually brings tears to my eyes and I'm no softy. Iris's lyrics have a touching depth and genuine sensitivity that most country-ish songwriters will never come close to reaching. In the simplest language imaginable, she cuts right to your heart. This is a true, timeless classic from the humblest of geniuses.