Customer Reviews

Songs of Love

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If you want emotion, if you can handle it, this is the place to start...
The sleeve notes penned by Andrew Smith, which were actually the Melody Maker review of this gig at the time, really say it all. And should be your starting point, if you're merely curious. I guarantee they will make you want to listen to this album.
What you have here is the genius singer-songwriter laid bare; bruised acoustic beauty. The bonus for the already converted on this album is 'Take Courage' ( yeah,it really is about the beer your dad probably drunk-well,sort of... ) but there is, for me, the defining AMC moment here when Eitzel is fighting back tears singing "Please be happy, bay...ba-by...please don't cry, please don't cry...". Eitzel apologises at the end of the song but really there is no need.
The whole album is rough, raw and beautiful : the version of 'Blue and Grey Shirt' is -unbelievably- better than the 'California' original and the slower version of 'Outside This Bar' really works.

This is not a Saturday night going-out record but it is, far more importantly, about saying that life can be wonderful and something to believe in , even when you see reality and the sometimes darkness amid the dreaming.
" Are you gonna be my last harbor...? " croons Eitzel...and a stadium filled with fans should be whispering, very, very quietly..." yes...". In some quantum universe this will be happening, so why not our's......

Some have called Mark Eitzel one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and I can't disagree. This is an amazing introduction to the man's work and to his live shows. It's ragged, even a little sloppy, but it's as raw and real as any country blues album. He follows his own muse, ignoring audience requests, playing the songs that mean the most to him, and just generally laying his soul out for everyone to see - or trample on. It's hard to adequately describe the impact this album can have on a listener - you have to hear it for yourself.

During a stunning rendition of "Western Sky," perhaps my favorite Eitzel song, he actually moves himself to tears, and it's no gimmick. This man feels every word he sings and you'll feel it too.

Like melancholy music? Excited by existential angst? Love emotions stripped bare and bleeding on the stage? Then pick this up damn quick. Mark Eitzel is one of America's best songwriters, and this release shows why in all it's acoustic, alternately crying and laughing during the songs glory. Please, if you value artists who are free of ego and all the trappings thereof, buy this now!

I have listened to Mark Eitzel for a while now, and I am consistently impressed more by his live work than by the commercial releases (usually), even going back to the AMC work. I am not saying that the recordings aren't great (they are), but Mark live is even better. This CD is a great addition to an Eitzel/AMC fan's catalog. Even though it was recorded while he was still with AMC (he had gone to London alone, and so it comes off as a "Mark Eitzel" rather than an "AMC" recording), it is some of the best expressiveness of Mark's vocals and emotions. "Raw" is what a friend of mine called it, and I heartily agree. I've listened to a few other live concerts of his, and while I have yet to experience the infamous drunken dissapointment of his audience that others have commented on, I have heard (and kept in mind and ear) some great live bits. If all you have of Mark and/or AMC is studio albums, get this live album (and maybe find some live tracks out there on the Internet): it is Mark's pure emotion, high and low.

An amazing record that puts the rest of Mark Eitzel's output in the shade. Songs that you thought were boring come to life on this C.D. One of the records of the decade. Buy it!

While the angst here is appealing, the listener cannot help but be disappointed if s/he is familiar with Eitzel's work with the Toiling Midgets. Though Eitzel ended up leaving the progenitors of Sadcore with a great deal of bitterness and some unwarranted insults trailing behind him, he has yet to find backing capable of filling the void. Even his work with AMC, despite Tim Mooney of the Toiling Midgets on drums, is but a sad echo of his brief tenure as one of the many vocalists who have tried to integrate themselves into the sonic backdrop provided by Craig Gray's soul-rending guitar work.