Rigging the Toplights

Pinetop Seven | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 3, 1998)
• Original Release Date: September 8, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Atavistic Records
• ASIN: B00000A33P
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #219,152 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good God Where Did These Guys Come From, August 16, 2000

By 

Michael Topper (Pacific Palisades, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rigging the Toplights (Audio CD)

For those of you who ever wondered if all the musicians who made quiet, heartfelt, contemplative music were abducted sometime in the late 1970's, there's Pinetop Seven, who arrive with songs that will melt you in two. The music is somewhat country-folk influenced but don't let that fool you; the arrangements are colored by unexpected sounds and it's all made to soothe and heal. Expertly composed and played, with an alarmingly correct ear for taste, I begin to wonder where the bandmembers come from...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Haunting and beautiful..., October 25, 2003

By 

coalescence44 "coalescence44" (Durham, NCC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rigging the Toplights (Audio CD)

Despite being from Chicago, Darren Richard somehow manages to capture a somber flavor to most of his compositions that conjure up ideas of being stranded in places far away from any other human presence. The songs are very reflective and a few have a menacing hint to them, but his spare voice is plaintive and lends itself well to narrative lyrics of longing, loss and the trials of life. The subject matter and instrumentation are very suggestive of frontier days or the wild west, and have been described as 'americana', but as you listen to this (or any of their other records) there is also a sense of comparing the past with the present, suggesting that that society might not be that far removed from our own.
"Drying Out" is a song that never fails to give me goosebumps. Pedal steel guitar, acoustic guitar, and accordion give this song a warm, dreamy feel, at odds with the loneliness in the lyrics, or maybe embracing it. "Heavens" has a driving, dark beat which foreshadows the outcome of a story of pointless yet inevitable ambitiousness.
If you've never heard of Pinetop Seven and come across this entry by accident, order this and every other record by Pinetop Seven. Then go out and buy a lottery ticket - this is your lucky day.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars melancholy, dark, contemplative, gorgeous, November 13, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (seattle, city of rain and misery) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rigging the Toplights (Audio CD)

this is one of my favorite albums ever. its depth, complex emotions, and pathos has gotten me through many a tough time. 'drying out' especially has touched me deeply. if you like dark, orchestrally rich music and are not scared off by alt. country you cannot go wrong! the album is best described as tindersticks' country cousin. the production and instruments (harmonium, pedal steel, organs to name a few) are amazingly beautiful and the voice drips with sadness and regret. why can't more bands sound like pinetop seven?