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Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon

Devendra BanhartAudio CD
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

Price: $13.04 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Formats

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MP3 Music, 16 Songs, 2007 $9.49  
Audio CD, 2007 $13.04  
Vinyl, 2009 $22.98  

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Music

Image of album by Devendra Banhart

Photos

Image of Devendra Banhart

Biography

Devendra Banhart exploded on the international music scene in 2002 quickly winning a coterie of devoted fans as well as an unusually hefty amount of critical kudos right from the outset. His latest release is What Will We Be, recorded in a sleepy Northern California town throughout the Spring of 2009 co-produced by Paul Butler (from UK outfit Band Of Bees). The international media's ... Read more in Amazon's Devendra Banhart Store

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for 16 albums, 3 photos, discussions, and more.

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Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon + What Will We Be (Limited Edition)
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Product Details

  • Audio CD (September 25, 2007)
  • Original Release Date: 2007
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Xl Recordings
  • ASIN: B000UGG33M
  • In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,863 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

1. Cristobal
2. So Long Old Bean
3. Samba Vexillographica
4. Seahorse
5. Bad Girl
6. Seaside
7. Shabop Shalom
8. Tonada Yanomaminista
9. Rosa
10. Saved
11. Lover
12. Carmencita
13. Other Woman, The
14. Freely
15. I Remember
16. My Dearest Friend

Editorial Reviews

Review

...gorgeous, often bizarre daydreams from singular singer-songwriter --Rolling Stone

SMOKEY...introduces a more complex Banhart....'Freely' is as good a song as he's ever written, actually -- a musically mature relative of 'Heard Somebody Say' from CRIPPLE CROW.
4 stars out of 5 --Uncut

Product Description

Recorded in Topanga Canyon in the Santa Monica mountains. Neil Young lived there while recording "After The Gold Rush" and the area has also been home to Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, Joni Mitchell, Mick Fleetwood, and members of The Doors. Those ghosts inhabit the sound and vibe of these recording sessions. Banhart's whole "freak folk" tag is gone, replaced with this classic, gorgeous rock album. Some songs are fragile and solipsistic, others have a pronounced tropicalia influence, and still others are wildly electric and epic.

More from Devendra Banhart


Cripple Crow


Rejoicing in the Hands


Niño Rojo


Customer Reviews

This album has been repeating in my iPod since it was released. Kevin A. Teague  |  2 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A great companion album to Cripple Crow September 26, 2007
Format:Audio CD
First off I have to say this is a great album. If your into Devendra Banhart and liked Cripple Crow then do not hesitate now, buy this album. If you new to Devendra Banhart than this really is a pretty good place to start. The album has a much fuller sound than any of his previous efforts, due to the fact that he features a full band. It also very accessible to people who are not really into the whole Freak Folk scene. I really enjoy his voice on this album as compared to any of his other albums because on a few tracks he tries singing in a lower octive, which I enjoyed. Also, Rich Robinson, guitarist for the Black Crows, appears on a track. As the other reviewer said, the words are a little hard to read, but not that bad. The art scheme fits with his other albums and personally I like it. Bottom line, is that Devendra Banhart has made another great album, and great albums are a lost are in this radio world of singles.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Canyon Magic October 12, 2007
Format:Audio CD
Giving off the same earthy vibe as his terrific Cripple Crow, Devendra Banhart taps into the good vibrations of California's Topanga Canyon. The result is the friskiest and most musically solid album of his unashamedly eclectic career. Songs bounce between 60's psychedelic to the Jackson 5-ish Motown of "Lover" to 50's novelty of "Shabop Shalom" and it's humorous "wonder wonder who, who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls" quip, and it all works like a dreamy California morning. Even the Spanish language songs meld effortlessly into the whole of the CD.

Banhart is also getting more adventurous. While his album is richer musically than anything he has done before, he is hardly getting slick. "Smokey Rolls..." seems far more dependant on feel than fidelity (there are times when his vocal yelps distort annoyingly), and I would guess that the vocal pitch correction softwear was NOT brought in to smooth over the errors. All the better. With a standout six minutes of a song like "Sea Horse" making music sound communal again, "Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon" is a minor miracle; an album by an artist who is willing to throw commercial cautions to the wind and make a full length CD that holds together as a piece. Since most artists seem bound and determined to do nothing but create jingles, singles and ring-tones lately, Devendra Banhart must now be counted as a serious contender as a maker of progressive popular music.
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12 of 16 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A Cohesive, Soft-Spoken Work from the Maestro September 30, 2007
Format:Audio CD
First of all, I think that this one is Devendra's greatest album, even better than 'Cripple Crow'. Despite his vocal limitations (Jeff Buckley he is not, even though he does have that whisper every now and then), Devendra is remarkable at living within his musical genre, not stretching himself too far, and still make a cohesive record that is not boring or tedious.

I found this recording to be a little more difficult to get into upon first listen though. A lot of songs sounded rough-edged and harsher, and the production was less tight than "Cripple Crow". Still, it lends a certain folksy rusticness to the entire production that ultimately worked in its' favor. Listen to the opener "Christobal". How could you not be moved by it?

My favorite though, is the 9 minute long epic "Sea Horse". However, Devendra's increasing tendency to record Spanish language tracks sometimes don't work - here however, they do. What I especially liked is that even though this remains an 'alternative folk' album, the mood is very 'Mulholland Drive', with elements of 1950s swing showing up every now and then. Sometimes theres a string section very reminiscent of The Beatles. Its this sort of pop sensibility that I think makes Devendra very accessible, and even though you may not know much about the artists' previous work, this album is definitely essential.

Like Imogen Heap and Patti Smith, Devendra seems to be getting better with every release, and I would consider this to be the most 'essential' of all his albums (its at least ten times better than 'Nino Rojo') and this is at least twice as good as 'Cripple Crow'.

If you're not sure, download a track or two or listen to samples. Like Tori Amos' "Scarlet's Walk", this is a headphones album that needs to be listened to on your Ipod without ever skipping a track. If you like investing time and energy in real music, this is the perfect album to lend your intellect and higher senses to. It will pay you back richly.

Highly Recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Devendra's Finest Hour
Devendra Banhart is, for my money, one of the finest musicians today working in the indie folk-rock genre, and he's quickly knocking Beck off his perch as one of the most... Read more
Published 6 days ago by Marsen Sedgwick
4.0 out of 5 stars I shouldn't like this, but I do
I'm not into 70's rock at all, and I'm not really into the folk scene either, but something about this album is really appealing. Read more
Published on September 24, 2010 by TheRobert
5.0 out of 5 stars One Beautiful Album
This album is, in my opinion, much better than Cripple Crow. I'm terrible at writing reviews. Just know that I recommend it highly. Read more
Published on June 30, 2010 by A. Seek
1.0 out of 5 stars Rock Puree for Generation Y consumption
Devendra is all hype and no substance. For instance he appears on Bert Jansch's wonderful "Black Swan" only to mess up otherwise gorgeous song sung by Beth Orton. Read more
Published on October 13, 2009 by Mandrill
4.0 out of 5 stars Fans of old Devendra should give it a shot
I have really enjoyed Devendra's music for a while now. I am a big fan of Nino Rojo and Rejoicing in the Hands, and I really like a lot of "Oh me Oh My". Read more
Published on August 21, 2009 by S. Jacobsen
4.0 out of 5 stars musical pomo
The advantage of working with younger generations is that they can turn you onto things you would not otherwise seek on your own. Read more
Published on February 1, 2009 by Katya Cohen
5.0 out of 5 stars very impressive production qualities
I should start by saying I'm no expert on contemporary music. When it comes to new artists, I rely on friends to send music in my direction. Read more
Published on December 22, 2008 by Paul Gill
1.0 out of 5 stars Derivative Dervish
I bought this CD because of hype: pretty girlfirend break-up, People magazine, NYTimes ponderous review, etc. and got what I paid for, more hype. Read more
Published on November 30, 2008 by Kenneth Stenger
5.0 out of 5 stars I'll roll down Thunder Canyon with Smokey for the rest of my life!
I would've never thought that Devendra Banhart would go and record one of my all-time favorite albums / cd's. Read more
Published on June 6, 2008 by Thomas Thomsen
4.0 out of 5 stars Sad, Strange Magic
"Smokey..." brings to mind a magic realist novel set to music, conjuring up the ocean, seahorses and the ghosts of Tropicalia. Read more
Published on May 5, 2008 by James Gimpeau
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