Customer Reviews

A Storm A Tree My Mother's Head

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

 

 

First off, check out the little blurb at the top in regards to how long it took to make this album and you'll come to understand what kind of talent Bobby Bare Jr is. Add into the fact, he asked his friend David Vandervelde, to help co-produce this album and you've added a bit of gloss to the production. This isn't to say we've got another Summerteeth on our hands in terms of production, it still sounds 100% like Bobby Bare Jr , with all his weird stories and tales we've all come to enjoy. It now just has more sounds like keyboard flourishes and just a solid vibe which really just naturally connects with Mr. Bare Jr's songs.

A nice mixture of all his styles run throughout the album, from a bit rocking to biting lyrics to silly songs about a lip-stick gun. This album is very much worth grabbing and it also ends happily as Bobby's mom didn't pass away from the tree landing on her head.

Did Bobby Bare, Jr. sneak in and make one of the best albums of 2010 while no one was looking? Well, it would seem so with his recent release of "A Storm -- A Tree --My Mother's Head." I confess to puzzling over the cryptic title of the album's title track until I discovered it essentially chronicles the events of stormy night when his mother suffered nearly fatal injuries after a very large tree demolished his family homeplace in Hendersonville, TN. Naturally, his mother contributes some shrieking to the track. . .

I think that sets the stage for the type of songwriter Mr. Bare is: the no-holds-barred, any topic, let's give it a try kind. Consequently, there is stuff here as serious as life and death (see previously mentioned title track or Swollen But Not the Same), as smartly satirical as high-browed hipster fare (check on his hilarious take on astrology with Your Goat Is On Fire or his great pop culture send ups in Liz Taylor's Lipstick Gun and with songs like Rock And Roll Halloween.

On other tracks, say Jesus Sandals, Mr. Bare his band, chiefly producer David Vandervelde a trio of members from MMJ---guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Carl Broemel, drummer Patrick Hallahan, and bassist Tom Blankenship---tear the roof off in a guitar-infused rock and roll romp that will have you turning the volume up and up. One feels almost a twinge of guilt for liking One of Us Has Got to Go, which offers the viewpoint of the jilted man as he assesses which member of a love triangle (himself included) to off.

The vibe is clearly alt country but with heavy doses of rock with guitars front and center and of course some close to straight up country tracks. Understanding that this album was essentially recorded over two days underscores how good it is. Listening to it cements that notion. Thanks for stirring things up---we needed it! (And all of you folks selling your copies---have your really listened to this CD yet?)

This album is the product of a variety of forces that are all just coming together simultaneously and it just sounds RIGHT. The production is top-shelf, the band is tighter than a crab's behind, Bobby Bare Jr. is emotionally invested in the lyrics and songwriting, and man alive does his voice go PERFECTLY with the band. I would say blasphemically(?) that he oughta sit in with MMJ even more - he brings their fine instrumental abilities kicking and screaming into a full-blown sunshine drawl, as opposed to the blatant darkness that often envelops MMJ material. I like this album far more than I thought I would, and it's hands-down one of the finest Americana-ish releases of 2010.

I saw Bobby Bare, Jr., open for the Drive-By Truckers in Richmond last October. Honestly, I had never heard of him before seeing the show. Most of the people arrived after Bare's set. Man, am I glad I got there early! I was impressed with Bare's loud, no-BS tunes and decided to get this album, mostly for the song about Chattanooga. From the first note, "A Storm, A Tree, My Mother's Head" blew me away. Bobby Bare writes with humor and pathos. Like his contemporary Mike Cooley of Drive-By Truckers, he has a way of writing songs that are at once sad and funny. Dare I say, beautiful even? They also both know how to rock. The usual southern rock topics are covered: Jesus, guns, suicide, drinking, and rocky relationships. The funniest moment is on "Rock and Roll Halloween," where Bare whines about girls in Atlanta: "Hooker nurse/Hooker cop/Won't you please dance with me?" Bobby Bare's voice, both as a singer and songwriter, make this album unique. And at 47 minutes, it leaves you wanting more. Unfortunately, it takes Bobby Bare a lot longer to make albums than it takes me to listen to them. I've heard two other records of his. Neither is as well-produced or explosive as this one. But everything of his I've heard has an amiable, mad scientist genius about it. I highly recommend this album for alt-country fans.