Customer Reviews

Staring at the Sun - Songs 1973-1981

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

 

 

I'm glad John got around to releasing some of his old stuff on CD. I had a tape or two, but they're stuffed in a box somewhere and probably wouldn't play if I could find them. If your new to Calhoun this isn't a bad place to start, though Tiger Tattoo or Where Blue Meets Blue are what I loan people to get started.

John's a good old fashioned folk singer cut from an urban cloth. He writes pretty simple songs mostly about little snippets of life and delivers them in a haunting, melodic voice. Calhoun was close friends with the late, great, Dave Carter and their some similarities in style but I'd place him closer to John Prine in a musical line up.

Anyway Calhoun's a legend among musicians, and his label, Waterbug Records, has a pretty good stable of musicians. I say try `em out.

I had the rare privilege of hearing Andrew Calhoun's performances at various venues in Chicago in those very early days at places like the Earl of Old Town and Somebody Else's Troubles at open mike nights, and a few other places. brilliant and beautiful. pure and radiant beauty. utterly amazing. The only real problem with this CD is it is too short. What I wouldn't give to have it be more like 4 or 5 CDs from that time...
Thank you Andrew

I first heard Andrew Calhoun while at work, listing to an on-line folk station with the volume real low. They were playing "Staring At the Sun" and I had to turn it up a bit and started to enjoy the sound. I searched for him online, finding a few free mp3's and then I ordered this cd. I give the album 3 stars, because it is good folk music, although I don't find myself returning to it that often a few years later, which, I believe, would be indicative of a 5* album. It is good, but when you think of handing out 5 stars that has to be reserved for the very best. This is not even Andrew's best, let alone a 5* album.

The 'truth', for me, is this album lies somewhere between the 2* reviewer and the 5* reviewers. Go to his web site and have a listen to this album and his others.

Note: I love Andrew's music and loved him live, driving from NY to ME to him at one of the best shows ever in a friend's backyard. See him live if you get a chance. He loves music, performing, and is a singer that looks to engage the crowd and wants you to enjoy the interaction.

i often wonder when people write self-serving, negative reviews, if they have ever actually written a song or a poem. i wonder if they even know the amount of time and introspection that goes into this. while i don't know why staring at the sun is my favorite andrew calhoun cd, it makes me feel something that i don't feel all that often. perhaps it is those long forgotten intense feelings from adolescence. or perhaps it is just plain good old song writing. maybe it's his beautiful guitar playing and haunting voice. who knows. whatever it is, it makes me feel something. and that's a good thing.

What would you expect from the songs of a very young (age 15-21) songwriter? Probably songs about me, my loves, my loss, my world. The songs in Staring at the Sun are at the same time that and not at all that. Basically, they are about those things minus the "me."

The songs on this record are framed by beautiful guitar, modest and melodic (see esp. I Have Run and I Have Crawled and John's Wife). There are many amazing songs on this record, including (from a previous release) Walk Me To the War and Deliver Me. Also included is "John's Wife": it is truly one of the most beautiful songs ever written.

To appreciate Andrew Calhoun's music I think you need to take a bit of an sidelong view. You can't force the meaning of his songs. Enter each one at a different point each time you hear it and don't worry about the whole -- it's there but it may take a while to come into view.

Mainly, pay attention to how his voice makes you feel.

I had high expectations when I started listening to this album. I'd read about what an outstanding songwriter Andrew Calhoun was (even favorably compared to Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen), but I was unfamiliar with his work. So I ordered this album and couldn't wait to listen and be moved by his lyrics.
Apparently these songs represent some of Mr. Calhoun's earliest efforts - some from even before he graduated from high school, from back as far as 1973. With the exception of the first song (The Living and the Breathing Wind - 1979), which has a catchy tune and refrain, the balance of the CD is made up of poorly written, aimlessly rambling, virtually tuneless songs - and not very well sung, either.
Accompanying himself on guitar, Mr. Calhoun sings gamely, though often "pitchy" (as they say on American Idol), through 16 songs. Though the songs occasionally have engaging or clever, tongue-in-cheek lyrics, nore often they are redundant, repeating the same phrase over and over again. The melodies all blend into one another with no memorable refrain (except for the firt song), so that once comes away feeling like they've heard one long, somewhat tuneless stream-of-consciousness rendering.
Presumeably, since Mr. Calhoun seems to be a prolific and well-respected entertainer and writer, this album is simply a way for him to draw on his celebrity by dragging out his old, well-worn and not-very-good juvenile efforts and expecting that his loyal fans will be so fond of him that they will overlook their mediocrity. Unfortunately, since this was my first exposure to his music, I was unimpressed.