Customer Reviews

Now & Again

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Every song on this album is absolutely riviting. The first time I heard it I was a sophmore in college and I thought that it was a pretty good follow up to Treehouse, but a few weeks later came a disasterous break up with a long time boyfriend. After listening to this "cd" for about a week straight I was certain that someone had let all of the secrets out of my own soul and then put it to music.

Every tune on the CD is brilliant. This is a classic piece of Canadian music history... one of the best albums to come out of this country.... ever. I would place this up there with classic Canadian albums like Rush's Moving Pictures. The first track "All the Things I Wasn't" is beautiful beyond belief. This band truly had talent... get this album, it's perfect. Not an exaggeration.

This is one of the definitive Canadian albums of the 80s. How can I define the sound? a cross between the Byrds and the Jayhawks, I guess. very acoustic, very melodic, and often sad. I don't think too many people would argue that this is the band's best work. It's the one that put them on the map anyway. Tracks 1, 2, and 3 are all stand-outs but really the whole album is pretty strong.

After the modest sucess of "Tree House", Grapes Of Wrath released what I think is their best album "Now And Again". The album was produced by Golden Palominos leader Anton Feir, (which Kevin Kane said was like pulling teeth), but he had a few good years in the late 80's producing some fine albums. The album opens with one of the most beautiful ballads I have ever heard "All The things I Wasn't", #19 modern rock, they continue with a nice orchestrated tune "What Was Going Through My Head", they pick it up a piece with the guitar pop of "Do You Want To Tell Me", with some assistance by the late "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow (The Flying Burrito Brothers) on pedal steel. "The Most", is a nice hammond organ, piano popper. Kevin kane puts forth a solid electric guitar workout on "I'm Gone". "Blind", brings more great orchestration and those bells just make the song. 70's feel with "Sneaky" back on pedal steel on "Stay". The song "I Can't Tell", has that Badfinger feel to it, uplifting with some fine piano by Vincent Jones. The wah wah of "Not The Way It Is", a good rocker. "Hiding", is another fast paced song, with a mini break with bassist Tom Hooper, a very poppy tune. Another fine piano-organ song "The Time Is Here". They close the album with almost the way they started it, with another sweet acoustic based song "...But I Guess We'll Never Now". This band deserved better, they released one more album in 1991 "These Days", which is also good, before splitting and 3 of them forming the band Ginger.

If you like melodic music with hints of Beatles and everything that followed, then your in luck.
I had only recently been said I sound kinda like these guys on my soundclick site..well..kinda(but their better), but if I had a band maybe..lol. Anyways...the first three songs alone made it a worthwhile listen. Tracks 6,8 are nice indeed. Track 12 was such a Shoes ripoff, and I mean that in a good way...(no one can get enough good Shoes songs :)) that it became a must for my cd collection.

Strangely enough the rest of the tracks seem rather bland and drawn out boring Americana roots music. I dont know if it was a trend that was going on at the time in music or what, but it didn't seem to play to their strength...maybe they needed songs to feature the keyboard player in the band...who knows. Their next 2 cds "These Days" and "Field Trip" would seem more solid even with the keys going on in the songs.

A pleasant surprise was Tom Hooper's offshoot band "Ginger" with their cd "
Far Out". Funny thing is about "GRAPES OF WRATH" and "Ginger" they are already taken names of groups that already exists..thats a word to those screening future purchases. And yes, the Shoes ran into that problem as well as I later found out looking at Amazon's offerings with the "Shoes" being the name of two different bands.

Yeah, Im rambling..wine does that to you..
regards
Jim

this is something special. treehouse is really good. the follow up to this one, these days, is okay, fishing song is one of their best tunes for sure though. this cd though, it's a big big album. life-changer for sure. the lyrics are right on, and the music is divine. the opening song is so killer it's silly. just this stunning mellow song. this one is more of a full pop album, where treehouse is more indie jangle, like chris stamey solo stuff. and these days is over produced, but has some good songs. this one is the album every band dreams of making. one that takes a life of it's own. and if you are into enough good music and know some of the past of pop, you appreciate what they do that much more. i hear so much british guitar pop sounds. do you want to tell me sounds like ride in the chorus, with hollowmen bounce. this is one of the best albums my music hunting has got me, and i've been at it for a decade or so.

Every tune on the CD is brilliant. This is a classic piece of Canadian music history... one of the best albums to come out of this country.... ever. I would place this up there with classic Canadian albums like Rush's Moving Pictures. The first track "All the Things I Wasn't" is beautiful beyond belief. This band truly had talent... get this album, it's perfect. Not an exaggeration.