Customer Reviews

Real: Tom T Hall Project

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

 

 

When I first got this CD, I was very disappointed. I wrote it off. But after a couple of years, gave it another try. It has grown on me so much that if I could only have 1 CD, this would be the one. Tom T. Hall's genius is his songwriting. Many of these interpretations exceed his performance of the songs. Give this CD a chance. It is a true gem.

Country music's great lost missing link gets the tribute cd that's been long overdue. Instead of a toothless Nashville only tribute (i.e. Arista's Haggard tribute a few years back), we get a lot of other singer-songwriters covering chestnut's from Hall's catalog. The best tracks are easily from Kelly Willis and Iris DeMent. And while a few of these 17 interpretations don't work, for the most part this is a fine tribute.

Tom T. Hall finally recieves the recognition that he richly deserves as one of Nashville's finest songwriters. Tom T. Hall has always written about and for the common man. From the lovestruck wanderer in Kelly Willis "That's How I Got To Memphis" to Iris Dement lamenting on "I Miss Alot Of Trains". Much of the artists success on this album goes to their ability to reach down and communicate the pain and isolation that Tom T. Hall often wrote from. However only one or two interpretations on this CD left me somewhat confused. Joe Henry's "Homecoming" sounded like an angry bitter man. And Ron Sexsmith's "Ships Go Out" sounds lost and distant. In conclusion I dare any listener to hear Richard Buckner's "When Love Is Gone" and not be reminded of a dumped relationship or a love gone bad.

tom t. hall is one of the great american artist of our time. although i've never felt he has been justly recognized. perhaps that situation has changed a bit with this cd. this is a must have cd for any serious collector of american music. kelly willis' performance on 'that's how i got to memphis' is worth the price of admission. (and could be subtitled 'that's how i got to heaven'...lol)

I'm not a huge country music fan, but the tracks on this CD are breathtaking. Johnny Cash's cover will give you goose bumps; Whiskeytown's cover will make you just want to get drunk and cry all night. This CD has lead to me buying several other Tom T Hall records and enjoying them all.

Tom T. Hall's songs seem to be as potent as most any piece of American literature this music fan can think of. They certainly defy classification as simply country music, just as they seem to have defied the attention of the public eye. Thank goodness some smart and passionate people have gathered to make an incredible salute to his monster talent. This album deserves some serious rotation!

If your really into T.T.H., you'll find some refreshing covers of his songs. Some not so, but you can always skip those. Overall, this is a more folksie side of T.T.Hall.

When I first heard this disc I had already been exposed to much of Tom's music and had become a Tom T. fan. Therefore, as can be expected, I came to appreciate his songs done his way! I find that to be the case with most of my favorite artists. This was no exception. This disc was bordering on blasphemy. How dare anyone touch a Tom T. song? I know others have sung songs he's written, but these were words his voice had already attached itself to. That wonderfully warm and sincere voice that just wouldn't let any other take ownership or at least temporarily lease those tunes. So, I placed the disc aside and consciously ignored it for a time. However, my plan had a flaw. Some of those artists, like Iris Dement and Ron Sexmith, among others, had an attachment to me as well. Surely I could give them at least one more honest-to-God, fair chance at redeeming themselves. Shall I say more? I think not. Admittedly there are a couple of versions I could do without, but for the most part I have come to really enjoy this collection of "personalized" Tom T. songs. I've even come so far as to think that a true Tom T. fan ought to own this disc, if not for the actual tunes themselves, but for the aspiring singer/songwriters who thought as much of Tom as you do to use their talents and energies to promote a mentor and his wonderful gift to this world of ours that so needs music that has something REAL to say. Thank you, Dean Carter.

"Real: The Tom T. Hall Project" brings together some of the finest country and popular music artists in the industry today, and provides an excellent cross-section of the songwriter's best work. Unfortunately, some of the performances fail to do justice to the quality of the material at hand. Highlights include Johnny Cash on "I Washed My Face in the Morning Dew," Kelly Willis covering "That's How I Got to Memphis," Calexico's version of "Tulsa Telephone Book," Syd Straw's biting rendition of "Harper Valley PTA," and the haunting, almost otherworldly sound of Mark Olson and Victoria Williams singing "It Sure Can Get Cold in Des Moines." Hall's classic "I Hope it Rains at My Funeral" also stands out as a winner. However, Iris DeMent, Joe Henry and Freedy Johnston seemed to have more difficulty in mastering the intimacy of the stories that these songs tell. The rockabilly bounce of "Don't Forget the Coffee, Billy Joe" falls flat, and "When Love Is Gone" just comes across as maudlin. Perhaps the most accurate way to describe this album is that it serves as an interesting, often brilliant, but erratic introduction to Tom T. Hall's impressive skills as a composer, which are worth hearing more extensively on his own recordings.