Customer Reviews

Step Right Up

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

After anxiously awaiting Charlie's new release, I wondered how was he going to top his Life of the Party CD.

In particular, I was looking forward to the re-release and updated version of "Desperate Times." However, Charlie sounds as if he's tired of and simply bored with singing that song for the ten millionth time. (Do yourself a favor and check out the Bandera CD for the original.)

The cover tunes should have all been exchanged for original Robison songs, including "I Want You Bad." Again, I was curious to hear Charlie's take on "Sweetest Inspiration" by The Hollisters. However, Charlie's take was to perform it exactly like The Hollisters. He even mimics the lead singer from that great Texas band. Maybe he's secretly been their lead singer all along and we didn't know it. Say it ain't so! And what suit at the record label conned Charlie into recording "It Comes to Me Naturally!" It's simply a ridiculous song. And I don't mean funny and witty ridiculous, but just plain bad and immature.

The only saving grace are the tunes penned by Charlie &/or his brother Bruce. With such talent, why cover anyone else's songs? "One in a Million", "John O'Reilly" and "The Preacher" are true Robison tunes and reflect the unique musical ability with a twist we've all come to expect from Charlie. After listening to all the tracks, "The Wedding Song" stands out as a true masterpiece. What harmonies, what strong vocals . . . and I'm talking about the Chick!

Don't tell us you've peaked already, Charlie. Don't tell us that proverbial cookie cutter really does make sweet, dollar shaped cookies after all. I've been to several live shows and I know there's more potential than this album would have us believe. I'll buy whatever CD this guy puts out because I'm a big fan, but I guess I just expected too much. This CD has only been out for less than one month and I again anxiously await a new release from Charlie Robison.

True fans will buy it and learn to like it as I will end up doing, unfortunately many will just remain disappointed.

This is a good disk. The life of the party is a good disk too. I enjoy this one better than Life of the party. I know alot of poeple don't but that is me. I enjoyed "tonight" and the wedding song cracks me up. I understand this a step toward mainstream but I think he has been crass enough to keep himslef off the Clear channel network. Those guys wouldn't DARE take a chance of offending anyone anywhere.
Back to the point. I like Life Of the Party. I like this one too.

I just bought this cd and am so disappointed. Everything I love about Charlie Robison seems to have been toned down. Edgy and raw has become over-produced and commercialized. Most of the reviews I have read are using the phrase "radio friendly". Well, I think he has little chance of commercial success with this as he sounds bland and lifeless. I think there are only three songs on here worth listening to...Desperate Times (though this song certainly sounded better on his cd Bandera), the Preacher (on which he ALMOST sounds like his old self), and the Wedding Song (on which Natalie sounds better than Charlie but seems to have had her mic turned WAY down on the last chorus of the song). I guess this would be fine for someone who DIDN'T know how brilliant Charlie COULD be but it's too late for that with me.

You read reviews saying Charlie sold out with this release; I beg to differ. Mainstream radio wouldn't play this if their life depended on it! While he explores a couple of different avenues on two songs, this is far from selling out. You rarely hear the kind of rough and rumble, kick-ass style of country twang displayed here anymore. Some folks keep comparing this to his previous disc, and that's too bad for them, cause I can't see what the problem is here. Fickleness keeps some people from enjoying damn fine music. In this case, it's fine Texas music.

I've only discovered Charlie in the last year or so, but I've caught up quick, buying each of his albums and I have to say that this CD is by far Charlie's strongest record to date.

Charlie evolves in this record, and I think that's the cause of so many people feeling Charlie "sold out" which just is not the case. Charlie has said that he made the album he wanted to make, and Sony said they gave him full control over the product. It was even rumored that the label had called Charlie on occassion asking to hear the songs at which time he hung up on them.

Charlie has attitude, and it comes through here. Songs like "The Preacher" and "John O'Reilly" make this disc one of the best of the year. "The Preacher" is a song about religion in a very small town, where everyone knows what's going on. It's a very interesting take on how people can be fooled and blinded about the things they believe.

"John O'Reilly" is an Irish rocker, similiar to some of the stuff that Steve Earle has recorded. It even has a bit of a Pogues feel to it. It is a song that stretches the boundaries for both Charlie Robison and Country Music as a whole.

Other standouts on the disc are "Tonight" which was written by Charlie's brother Bruce and "The Wedding Song," a duet with Dixie Chick Natalie Maines. "The Wedding Song" tells the story of a normal relationship, and how things aren't all Champagne and dreams. There's even a line at the end of the song that pokes a little fun at one of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's duets.

I applaud Charlie for taking chances, and in this case he produced one of the best discs in my collection. It's a disc that has everything you could want from a Texas singer-songwriter, and a little bit more!

I had been looking forward to this CD for months; Charlie's previous CD "Life of the Party" is one of my all time favorites. I bought "Step Right Up", put it in my car CD player, and settled in for what I was sure was going to be a great experience. I couldn't believe my ears. It was terrible. I listened to it 3 times between Knoxville and Nashville,; it actually got worse with every playing. I can't remember when I was more disappointed by a CD.

Opinions seem to be split on this album. Among long-time fan's it's considered either Charlie's breakout album or his sell-out album, possibly both.

"Step Right Up" is not "Life of the Party 2", which it shouldn't be. It is a logical progression in Charlie's evolution as an artist. Robison's first release was "Bandera". This independent release was co-produced by Robison and Lloyd Maines. All the songs were written or co-written by Charlie and his brother Bruce Robison. "Life of the Party", his major label debut, was also co-produced by Maines, but included a cover of "Waiting for the Mail", written by Texas songwriter Damon Bramblett. It also included two songs, "Barlight" and "I Don't Feel That Way", which were originally on "Bandera". With the easier availability of the "Life of the Party" CD this gave people just discovering Charlie a better chance to hear these songs.

With the "Step Right Up" CD Charlie covers The Hollisters' "Sweet Inspiration", establishing a trend of covering songs by Texas artists. "Desperate Times" gives another song originally on "Bandera" a chance to be heard by a wider audience.

This release is different from "Life of the Party" in three respects. The first is Robison shares production duties with Blake Chancey. While best known as the producer for the Dixie Chicks he has also worked with less mainstream artists such as Jim Lauderdale and David Allan Coe. This change should have helped Charlie expand his own production skills to give him the potential of producing his own albums in the future.

A duet with Natalie Maines on "The Wedding Song" was also a significant departure from past albums. Lyrically this song is vintage Charlie, singing about situations and people familiar to everyone. While a significant change from what might be expected based on past recordings this is one of the better songs on the CD. It showcases Charlie's ability to write about the darker side of life in a format that unlike "Loving County" from "Life of the Party" or "Desperate Times" has a chance for radio play.

The last and probably most significant change was the inclusion of "I Want You Bad" and "It Comes to Me Naturally", covers of songs originally done by NRBQ. In spite of "I Want You Bad" being the initial single these songs are possibly the weakest on this release. Charlie has a history of performing covers of rock songs in his live performances. Some of these, such as his twangy version of the Rolling Stones "Dead Flowers", are often one of the highlights of the show. Attempting to reflect this rock influence in a recording is a logical step.

Refusal to compromise his artistic vision led to being released from a major label contract with Warner Brothers/Nashville in the mid-90's. With "Step Right Up" Charlie has maintained his artistic vision while evolving as an artist in ways that give his music a better chance to become widely known outside of his Texas stronghold. Not a sell-out, but quite possibly his breakout album.

After two outstanding previous albums (Bandera and Life of the Party) that were produced by Lloyd Maines, Robison switched producers to Blake Chancey, who has produced records for his brother Bruce and The Dixie Chicks (of which his wife Emily Robison is a member). While these first two albums were not wildly successful commercially, they contained some great music. Robison clearly tried to come up with a more radio-friendly album this time around. While there are still some good songs on Step Right Up (i.e., The Wedding Song, The Preacher, One In A Million, and the title track), I was very disappointed. After wearing out his first two albums, I was really looking forward to some new Charlie Robison songs. Unfortunately, this album's sound and songs are not up to the high standards set by his previous work. It is still better than almost anything else on country radio today, though. He can do better and I look forward to a return to form on his next album.

I pretty much wore out Charlie's last CD, "Life of the Party," so I couldn't wait to get my hands on the new one. I have to say, I was disappointed. For all the talk about his renegade spirit, mostly what I heard on the new record was a former outlaw trying to make a record that radio stations would play. I was skeptical from the minute I saw the loads of self-indulgent, pretty boy pictures of Charlie on the liner notes. Don't get me wrong, the cd has some good songs - the duet with Natalie Maines and "Anything Could Happen," being standouts - but the rest of the stuff is too jingly, too poppy - and at times, just flat corny. Charlie still writes well, but the soaring melodies and winsome nostalgia of "My Hometown" and gritty poetry of "Loving Country" are missing. Here's hoping he gets back to his roots on future releases.

I am a big Charlie Robison fan, but I kept thinking of other albums I had played recently while I listened to this one the first 2 times.

I don't regret buying this album (although it is nowhere near as good as Life of the Party) but I kept feeling that somewhere in the liner notes there should have been thanks to Steve Earle and Robert Earle Keen. I am not sure if this album could have been written if Transcendtal Blues had not been released to such great Reviews. Desperate Times felt like a remake of the Road Goes on Forever.

This album would have made it to 5 if there had been one song as gripping as Indianola or one as funny as You're Not the Best. A little to mid-focus for me.