Customer Reviews

Spinning Around the Sun

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

The reason I'm buying this disc for the fourth time is simple: in a collection of thousands of discs, this particular gem is paramount to my collection. Scratches from my truck driving college roommate hampered my first Spinning Around the Sun disc, and the second disc fell to a similar fate at the hands of a road trip to Ciudad Acuna. The third time, I recorded the disc and kept the original at home. That attempt was trivial; the travel disc was stolen by my best friend and the original given to my next door neighbor who fell in love with it after repeatedly hearing it out of my open windows. Enough said. This disc is not surreal flatlands music; this disc is the flatlands, in every sense. Wide open spaces make for unforgettable music. You will know what I mean...

What are you doing reading this review? Download "One Endless Night" and then hit that 1-click button. You NEED this CD!

If I had to choose a word to describe this music, that word would be `easy.' JDG possesses a unique voice. The comparisons to Orbison are obvious, with perhaps a touch of Willie Nelson nasal twang - but with an easy control This is a man who knows his voice and seemingly doesn't have to TRY to make it work. It's just plain easy on the ears.

The guitar is equally astounding. You know how some people make playing the guitar look easy? Like they just barely touch the strings and pure genius springs forth? Watch Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaughn sometime and you'll see what I mean. That is what the guitars are like here. And the production is flawless.

When you hear JDG sing "I was the one who taught her to kiss...." You'll believe that he was! The song "So I'll Run" is a standout. "Nothing Of The Kind" is pure West Texas rhythm. Gilmore's own songs stand up as equals to the covers he has selected for this CD. "Another Colorado" and "Thinking About You", two JDG penned tunes are just exceptional.

I will agree with a previous reviewer that maybe the vocals on the cover of Hank Williams Sr. tune "I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry" are a bit off, but the Guitar work is deadly cool. Probably my least favorite is "Mobile Line", a traditional tune arranged by Gilmore, which seems a bit contrived.

And there are the lyrics... With such an amazing voice and top-notch musicianship it is easy to forget the stories being told. The four JDG originals on this CD are absolutely beautiful.

I bought this CD after I bought and loved the new one, One Endless Night. Spinning Around the Sun is often criticized as a "studio album", but I think it is unique, beautiful, endlessly fascinating. Although about six of the songs on this album are "my favorite", Jimmie's recording of the Butch Hancock song "Just A Wave" is one of the best, and most addictive, cuts in history.

I own all Jimmie Dale Gilmore's albums listed. There is no bad song listed. These albums are so universal, that 200 years from now they will be relevant,non-tiring, unlimiting comfort for the spiritual, musical soul. No one else can sing the songs like he can!!!!!

Jimmie Dale Gilmore's voice defies accurate description. Once heard, the part hillbilly, part Texan, part Roy Orbison sound cannot be forgotten. When paired with the right song, Gilmore's distinctive voice is pure heaven. And, for the most part, his choices on Spinning Around the Sun will keep the country angels happy. "Another Colorado" is only one example of the many beautiful lyrical gems that dominate the cd. However, when Jimmie Dale stumbles with his song selections, the results can be painful. My cat outperforms Jimmie Dale with her version of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". Still, I encourage you to overlook the rare clunkers...this is a great cd with some truly magical music.

i had a dream last night. i dreamed that i lived in a world where toby keith, vince gill and garth brooks were anonymous individuals, perhaps working in construction, and that the most lauded and famous country music stars were fellas named "billy joe shaver," "buddy miller," and "jimmie dale gilmore." what a great dream. and when i awoke i was sad, because i remembered how the world really was. i just wanted to go back to sleep and dream some more.

Jimmie Dale Gilmore is a talented songwriter and vocalist. His voice is so strong and unique. He can do things with his voice that you just don't hear from any other artist. It is amazing. I have several of his cds and this is my favorite of his work. I really like the song "Another Colorado" because that is the name of the river that runs through my hometown and I love it. Jimmie's song is called "Another Colorado" because one day when he was on the banks of the river he learned that the Colorado River running through Austin, Texas is a whole different river from that other Western Colorado River that so famously carved out the Grand Canyon.

Jimmie Dale's songwriting skills are impressive in the lyrics to songs like "Just a Wave." He has some newer work out Come on Back but this is the best. Some of his best music is with his band the Flatlanders Wheels of Fortune including his buddies from his hometown, Joe Ely Letter to Laredo and Butch Hancock War and Peace. The film Lubbock Lights, Limited Edition gives some great background to Jimmie Dale and the other flatlander's experience growing up in Lubbock where the people are the biggest things around.

I LOVE country music. When I was 4 I went to Bumbershoot and saw Emmy Lou Harris. I think Spinning Around the Sun is a great album. It really brings out JDG's voice. It's cool the way he manages to keep his voice above the instruments. My friends at school are like ''Yeah, whatever'', when I tell them who it is on the stereo. I think more kids should like country music.

The absolute best of Jimmie Dale as a solo artist. The cover songs sounded new and written for Jimmie Dale's unique voice. The original songs are soulful and memorable. My favorite states "Babe, you're just a wave, you're not the water".

If you are like me, (and nobody is) you will want to have all of JDG's works, but I would get Fair and Square or One Endless Night before getting this one. Even when an actual artist does a "studio" album it has a feeling of being handcrafted. Maybe he should have culled I'm So Lonesome. . . But this is a guy who took Mack the Knife away from Bobby Darin and Louie Armstrong.