Customer Reviews

Patience

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

 

 

Throughout the last twelve years, OTR have continued to be the best kept secret in independent music. On this, their second album, the chemistry between Linford Detweiler's songwriting and his wife Karin Bergquist's sultry vocals results in one of the most beautiful pieces of art I have come cross. My congrats to you if you can come across a copy of this album complete with liner notes. If you have one, consider yourself one of the lucky few. From the opening track "Jacksie" to the closing "Grey Monologue", OTR establish themselves as artists full of life and hope, offering an album that exemplifies all that God created music to be. Listening to the album from start to finish evokes a palette of emotions able to stir the spirit of any one who ever thought of themselves as a dreamer. If ever there was an album to listen to at home on a cold rainy day with a hot cup of tea curled up on the couch with the woman of your dreams, it is Patience by Over The Rhine.

I love Over the Rhine...
I saw them play live a few days before PATIENCE was released, so they played much of the album, and I wasn't even able to clap for most of the show - I (a metal musician at time), just sat and gawked in awe of what I was seeing & hearing...what I had always attempted to convey with bombast and showmanship, they humbly succeeded in conveying with incredible subtlety, gentleness, and beauty. I was a changed man.
Honestly, I love ever track on the c.d.
Over the Rhine has released a lot of beautiful music (try "Good Dog, Bad Dog" & "Drunkard's Prayer", for starters), but I will never quite get past how "Patience" changed my life.
I hope they continue to make music for many years to come.

I am a life-long fan of Over the Rhine, but for whatever reason I have never played this album much. I recently rediscovered this album. "Patience" was self-released by the band in 1992, one year after the band's outstanding debut album "Till We Have Faces". ("Patience" was eventually re-released when the band signed with the IRS label).

"Patience" (13 tracks; 43 min.) continues the exploration of indie-folk-rock sounds the band started on "Till We Have Faces". The opening track "Jacksie" is tentative but things pick up with "How Does It Feel (To Be On My Mind)", which became an instant classic OtR tune. Further into the album, there is a set of 4 outstanding short songs, including the pensive "Flanders Field", the instrumental "Little Genius" and the 2 min. jaw-dropping "Lullabye", which starts with the sound of a steady raindrops, and then Karin's vocals with some percussion, my favorite track on here, with lyrics like "The night has a thousand eyes and ears/The rain tends to wash away my fears", just beautiful. Towards the end of the album, there is another now-classic song, "I Painted My Name", an upbeat tune that just rocks. It is followed by a slow (and for me perfect album closing) "Rhapsodie". The spoken poem that follows "Grey Monologue" is just not needed in my book.

In all, this is a great album, but it would set the table for Over the Rhine's next album, 2004's "Eve", the culmination of the band's early years and one of my all-time favorite OtR albums. The original classic line-up would disband after 1996's "Good Dog Bad Dog" album, and after that the now husband and wife team of Karin Bergqvist and Linford Detweiler would take the band in many new directions (yes, plural) over the years, with equally enthralling results. Meanwhile, I am surprised to hear how well this album has aged, now 19 years later.

As beautiful and perfectly paced as the music is, it might be surpassed by the lyrics:
I'm the moth that's resting on your windowsill
With a lust for life and an iron will.

Or ...

No man is an island
No man an artesian well
He loves the cathedral bell
It sings about him
When he walks home at night.

Delightful literature set to a thrumming pace.

I first heard Over the Rhine at a Christian music and arts festival in Illinois in 1996. I have loved them ever since. My favorite CD is Patience, partially because of the song "Rhapsody" - it is a beautiful song (although some basic knowledge of greek mythology may be required to fully understand the lyrics). "Rhapsody" is probably my absolute favorite OTR song, but there are many tracks on this CD that can be enjoyed - I love them all! "Jacksie" is a popular one, "Il est dans mon poche" - English translation: It is in my pocket - is one that I really like, as well as "Circle of Quiet." If you have never heard any Over the Rhine and want a CD to "try them out" I would suggest Patience.

I saw OtR opening for the Squeeze in support of this album back in the early 90's and was mesmerized by the opening track, Jacksie -- a beautiful haunting musical tale. So I rushed out and got a copy of Patience (originally released on the IRS label).

Unfortunately, the musicianship and energy of the band that I saw live was overly subdued in the studio (an amusing liner note: "...we realized that more often than not we had succeeded in making Ric's guitar sound like it was being played in the kitchen cupboard..."). And with a few worthy exceptions (the first two tracks, HDIF, Rhapsodie), the lyrics are, well, earnest but immature. Then there's a beautiful tone poem, Little Genius that never fails to put me in a reflective trance.

A promising offering -- Karen Bergquist's voice is enchanting and with the band still going strong 12 years later, Patience is a virtue.

Over The Rhine is a band that crosses many boundaries. They are Americana mixed with bar room jazz and a bit of country while having a splash of Louisiana sultry. This is one of their earlier efforts and while worth of purchase as part of a collection, would best be passed over in favor of Eve, Amateur Shortwave Radio, or Besides if you are looking for a sampling of their early years. Their early years featured Ric Hordinski on guitar who, for those who do not know of him, is quite accomplished. Their early sound has a wonderful blend of guitar, synth, excellent writing, and of course, the angelic voice of Karin Bergquist. This is a band I would recommend to anyone with refined musical taste. This is not a garage band. This is a professional group of musicians trying to make the music that only they could put together.