Nights Bloom

Pinetop Seven | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Empyrean Records
• ASIN: B000BCKFWU
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #292,396 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You're smarter now, doesn't that count for anything, March 28, 2006

By 

Rhys Wade "GwydionRhys" (Sonoma, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nights Bloom (Audio CD)

I have a very difficult time finding music I like anymore. Call it aging or lack of exposure, it just seems to be a fact of life. One of the few recent releases I really, really loved was Pinetop Seven's Bringing Home the Last Great Strike. This CD rarely left my player for months on end. Then I noticed that it had been released in 2000, and so I went online with great trepidation, trying to find more recent releases and was disappointed to find there were none. Just my luck once again, I find something I like and the band breaks up. So I was overjoyed when I found out that they had a new release after five years of nothing. Now all I had to worry was that they had lost their mojo.

Not to worry. The Night's Bloom is even better. The arrangements are lush, yet spare, with a moody beauty. Darren Richards is in top form as a vocalist and songwriter. Lyrically, we get hints of what may have been going on for the last five years (and it is not a heartwarming story for the kids), but I'm only guessing here. There is a tone of moral ambiguity and corruption, perhaps best shown in Fringe (track 3), which tells the story of a young girl led astray. The first two choruses end with the line: 'And a girl's education begins' with the final chorus ending: 'You're smarter now, doesn't that count for anything'

If you like anything that is currently popular, this may not be for you. If you love music that is so personal that it crosses all borders, please buy this. These guys deserve a wider audience.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Stunning Alt-Country/Folk Record, May 26, 2009

By 

Leif Sheppard (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Nights Bloom (Audio CD)

Perhaps the closest Pinetop Seven has come to mainstream attention came in 2005 when "Witness", a cut from their album "The Night's Bloom", appeared on a PASTE Magazine sampler disc. A year later, National Public Radio featured a track from rarities compilation "Beneath Confederate Lake" on their "Song of the Day" segment.

Though popular success has eluded Pinetop Seven, the band has been immensely active in the Chicago music scene since at least the mid-nineties. Mid-Western Americana is perhaps the most apt genre description of the band's work, as their rustic sound is reminicent of a film score to a dark, moody Western.

Their eponymous debut displayed a firm grasp of the Western genre, replete with a cover depicting a bristling battle between two gunslingers. "Tennessee Pride", with its ominously foreboding amble, is the final and best track on the record. The track could be seamlessly placed in an episode of Deadwood...in fact, I'm surprised none of the band's work was enlisted for use in the HBO program.

Sophomore record "Rigging the Toplights" is unquestionably Pinetop Seven's finest work to date. The album features "Drying Out", a song that could possibly induce tears from the dismal tone alone - add to that aching lyrics such as "The winter here has not been kind", and you have a simply sublime piece of work.

Their latest LP, "The Night's Bloom", displays dramatic creative growth - particularly in tracks like "Born Among the Born Again". A supporting banjo has never been utilized so masterfully, I would argue, as in this album. "Witness" is another standout, once again featuring haunting lyrics that remain with you long after the track is over.

Though "The Night's Bloom" is the most accessible record Pinetop Seven has made yet, and I can assure the curious that all their records are worth exploring...take your time!

PINETOP SEVEN DISCOGRAPHY:
Pinetop Seven (1997 LP)
No Breath in the Bellows (1998 EP)
Rigging the Toplights (1998 LP)
Bringing Home the Last Great Strike (2000 LP)
Lest We Forget (2001 Rarities Compilation)
The Night's Bloom (2005 LP)
Beneath Confederate Lake (2006 Rarities Compilation)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In from the cold, July 14, 2006

By 

gonzobrarian - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Nights Bloom (Audio CD)

I think it's ironic that while Pinetop Seven have decided build on "Bringing Home the Last Great Strike" with an increased effort of instrumentals within their songs, it's funny that the soundtrack pieces on "The Night's Bloom" don't quite stand up those in "Last Great Strike" or in "Rigging the Toplights", in my opinion. Maybe it's because this album isn't as cohesive as the previous two, but that doesn't mean it's not a great album. In fact, it's probably just as good, although I'm hesitant to say it's better. "Last Great Strike" is, in a word, haunting. The Night's Bloom" is a slight emergence from this theme, yet very enjoyable.

I see this record as an attempt by the band to thaw the coldness, the eerie feeling of prior albums. While the hardness of life can be found throughout the album, there is also the nagging, frustrating and sometimes upbeat sentiment that "it's just a joke...get over it friend." It's good advice, as this is an album to spend time by careful listening. Perhaps it's the band telling me to get over my fascination with their prior work. In any case, I think this is fine album and I'm looking forward to listening "Beneath Confederate Lake".