Stories Under Nails

Ben Weaver | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 7, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fugawee Bird Records
• ASIN: B0002RK7W2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #136,289 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Grieve All You Want

2. Voice in the Wilderness

3. Old Mission

4. Sway With Me

5. John Martin

6. Cold House

7. Like a Wound

8. 40 Watt Bulb

9. Handed Down

10. Old Mule

11. Broken by 2

12. Ragged Words

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ben Weaver strikes gold again, October 10, 2005

By 

Nicholas D. Wassenberg (Minneapolis) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stories Under Nails (Audio CD)

I'm not really sure what the negativity of the other reviews is all about, but I'd say this is Ben's best effort yet.

He's made a geniune leap as an artist, with a transition from jug band/whiskey swillin' tunes to a more mature, bone-chilling sound. Always powerful and always honest. Give 40-watt bulb a listen and you'll hear what I mean.

I look forward to the next installment.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars +3/4 -- Tom Waits-ian folk-country, August 10, 2004

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Stories Under Nails (Audio CD)

Weaver's oddly instrumented folk-country features the sort of percussive, disjointed sound Tom Waits created for "swordfishtrombones," together with the sort of rough-hewn, unblinking first-person narratives that made Chris Knight's "A Pretty Good Guy" so powerful. Weaver's singing mixes a dash of old-soul (ala Jack Ingram's earlier records) with a rural rendition of Tom Wait's weary downtown rasp. The guitars often careen and stab and loom, rather than strum or pick, and the sparse accompaniment of bass and drum creates backings that are often soundscapes rather than instrumental arrangements. It's a powerful combination with Weaver's words, defining a world in which even a contented relationship defines a point in time that's closer to death than to birth, and the charitable ending of a day in the city is forever poisoned by the thief at the day's start. This is challenging, depressing and disturbing music, with downbeat subjects, complex wordings, and unusual instrumentation. Fans of Waits, Knight, Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave and the like will likely certainly enjoy this. 3-3/4 stars, if allowed fractional ratings.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just go listen to it, you wont regret it !!!, November 22, 2004

By 

Casey Richardson (Seattle) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stories Under Nails (Audio CD)

I could go on and on, about how good this is and name drop like
The percusions remind me of Waits.I have only listened to this album by Ben but plan on getting the rest..

I know you can't listen to it here, and I never buy anything without listening to it, no matter how much hype someone writes.

so find it listen to it, his website is easy to find and has a few full mp3 samples. You won't regret it, I sure as hell didn't