Pigeons Couldn't Sleep [Special Edition]

Peter Himmelman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 24, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Special Edition
• Label: Himmasongs
• ASIN: B000ROALMG
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #320,184 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Singer-songwriter rock w/fascinating DVD documentary, November 2, 2007

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pigeons Couldn't Sleep (Audio CD)

Himmelman's tenth studio album offer the same sort of husky blues-tinged singer-songwriter rock of his last few releases. His vocals are a raspy sing-speak that's most immediately remindful of Dylan or the alleyway poetry of Tom Waits, but with snappy soul arrangements that take this towards East Coast purveyors like Southside Johnny. From the accompanying 64-minute DVD documentary (ironically titled "Rock God"), one quickly gets the sense that the reward of artistic accomplishment without commercial return has increasingly rung hollow. Himmelman says as much in the jumpy horn-lined reggae-soul of "Winning Team," on which he sings "just once I'd like to be on the winning team." Resignation sets in for "The Ship of Last Hope," to which "you can only wave goodbye."

It's not all doom and gloom, although even the hopeful moments of "Gratitude" have a bitter backbite, and the electric blues of "Killer" and "A Dog Can Drink Stagnant Water" are ambivalent about the possibility of victory. Himmelman's a polished writer who performs his songs with enough grit to keep them vital. But his music has settled into a divide between artists who gain recognition for their indie cred, and artists who gain commercial fortune by luck or industry plotting. For unknown reasons he's never been able to settle into the sweet spot where artists like Dave Alvin can apparently eke out a reasonable living as a recording and touring musician.

The accompanying DVD documentary is insightful and depressing as it follows Himmelman on a U.S. club tour. There's darkness of a different stripe than heard on the album, and it helps explain why Himmelman's audience (whose advancing years he disdains as an unpleasant reminder of his own mortality) hasn't expanded over the years. His sarcasm and irony often turn to bitterness. He's at odds with his longtime bandmates and unsatisfied with what he's been able to make of his talent. Though he seems unfilled as he ruminates on the slow death of his dream, one has to wonder whether being able to sustain a career across ten albums and over a dozen U.S. tours isn't, in fact, a large part of a musician's dream. The documentary demonstrates that staying true to a dream invented at the age of 19 can be the result of both resilience and obstinance.

On video Himmelman seems beaten by a career that didn't reach the level of success he anticipated. He really only seems joyous and animated in a few selected performance sequences, taking his audience outside for an impromptu sing-a-long, and acting out an alter ego lampooning more derivative songwriters. He struggles with mid-life crisis, balancing commercial work (which he clearly disdains) that will support his family with an adolescent dream of stardom that continues to stay out of reach. He's funny, but his sardonic humor ("what passes for rebellion in rock 'n' roll puts me to sleep") is rooted in the disappointment of someone who never fully readjusted his trajectory to account for what life has thrown his way.

One can certainly admire Himmelman's tenacity, but his stated lack of regret for following his dreams rings hollow when placed next to his expressed discontent. This is a bravely open look at an artist whose talent didn't seem to find the opportunity, manager, label, or other catalyzing agent that could bring him to a bigger stage. The trials and tribulations of a touring musician seem to dog him, but he still manages to come alive in stage performances and his studio recordings still feel more like art than work. CD 3-1/2 stars, DVD 4-1/2 stars. [©2007 hyperbolium dot com]

5.0 out of 5 stars May all of the Rock God's dreams come true. . ., February 13, 2008

By 

Rhoda (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pigeons Couldn't Sleep (Audio CD)

I first saw Peter Himmelman at McCabes in Santa Monica, CA after From Strength to Strength came out on CD. It was a memorable concert, not only for the great songs on that album -- which ring prophetic today (Impermanent Things, Love of Midnight, Crushed, Mission of My Soul, This Too Will Pass) - but because of the great show he put on. He gave his everything to the audience - jokes, stories and animal crackers!

Over the years, we've bought all his albums. We even have his music for the teddy bear Spinoza, which is my daughter's favorite possession. One day while my husband and I were anxiously awaiting to bring her as a baby into eye surgery, the nurse gave us the teddy bear and turned on his heart switch. We could not believe when we heard Peter Himmelman's voice. The music was comforting to us because it made us feel watched over.

We've also seen Peter Himmelman at the Paradise Theatre in Boston, the Rocking Horse near Phoenix, AZ (when I was pregnant with my first child) and at the Boulder Theatre in Boulder, CO, where earlier in the day we bumped into him on Pearl Street. He always puts on a great show.

My favorite song of his is "Raina." All of Peter's songs are inspired and amazing, but the songs on The Pigeons Couldn't Sleep have touched the deepest part of me. The Rock God DVD included with the CD is his soulful journey of chasing his dream. I hope he gets there! He deserves it!

4.0 out of 5 stars Musician Professionalism at Its Best, July 28, 2007

By 

Jeff Feezle (Indiana) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pigeons Couldn't Sleep (Audio CD)

Himmelman's 2007 Release is Hard to Beat

Chances are the average rock listener doesn't know who Peter Himmelman is. This is largely due to him not playing in large venues. It's the smaller intimate settings that set this rock troubadour apart from the mainstream artists. He is the son-in-law of Bob Dylan, and often times sounds like a more polished Dylan vocalist, but the lyrics themselves can be very similar.

The title cut: Pigeons Couldn't Sleep could very well be mistaken for a rockin' Dylan song if you heard it on the radio. He combines major and minor chords brilliantly - his timing is near-perfect in delivery, and the lyrics are mind-searching combinations of astuteness and faith. "Good Idea" is classic Himmelman, with the half-spoken ominous delivery of Tom Waits. There's more horns than usual on this cd which in turns gives it a more slick production sound. Usually Himmelman uses a more sparse folksy approach to his cds.

Peter Himmelman's ballads is where his songwriting talent really shines: the words come out in unusual combinations of warning and praise. The songs generally on this cd are fuller and more rounded than his previous releases. "The Ship of Last Hope" has a simple but unforgettable melody that makes one wonder why this melody was never written before. "Gratitude" approaches the cohesiveness and the foaming guitar harmonies of a Tom Petty song. "17 Minutes to 1" is a stroke of writing genius.

The cd also includes an awesome DVD that details the generally unknown history of Peter Himmelman and his forays with Sussman-Lawrence band. It's in this DVD that you will begin to understand who this ingenious artist really is, and how important his faith and music are to him.

Overall, Himmelman manages music with the soft quiet charisma of a well-written lyric and the pleading voice of a folk singer. Not too many rock musicians have anything worthwhile to say, but that is definitely not the case with Peter Himmelman. This is adult-rock at its absolute best professionalism. He's branching out into a few new directions with this cd, but it will be a welcome addition to a very very good catalog of excellent pieces of work.

Jeff Feezle of Macafeez