Customer Reviews

That Sea, the Gambler

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

 

 

This may not be Isakov's first album, but it is in this one that he develops his style, capitalizing on his gloomy deep voice with evocative and reminiscent lyrics. Many of the songs are dark and haunting (That Sea the Gambler, The Moon was Red and Dangerous, San Francisco), but these are broken up with more upbeat yet serious tracks (The Stable Song, 3 AM, Raising Cain), and even a care free oddball (The Salt and the Sea). The two absolutely amazing things about Isakov are: 1. the fact that nobody's ever heard of him. And 2. The observation that half the people I show this album to go out and buy it right away. I don't know of any other artist who is so generally likable upon a first listen. If you give it a try, you'll probably love it.

I can't stop listening to this album. I was shocked to see on my iTunes statistics that I've listed to "3 AM" 312 times--I've only had the album for a month. The CD is so great I keep it playing in the background all day while working, and there are several songs I can listen to on repeat all by themselves for an hour at a time. Gregory Alan Isakov is great and I will buy everything he releases now that I've discovered his music.

I came across this music on an Indie Singer-Songwriter channel on Pandora. After listening for 30 seconds or so, I paused the song and went in search of info about the artist. Then I listened to/watched everything I could find by him on youtube. After that I came here and bought this cd, as well as This Empty Northern Hemisphere (also beyond excellent). Both have been in my car since they arrived and I'm definitely not done listening to them yet. In fact, I'm still finding fine new facets to almost every song on both discs. Isakov's a wonderfully literate songwriter, a man who possesses both a poet's ear and a truth-teller's heart.

In my opinion, The Stable Song rightfully occupies a place in the Isakov firmament that's a bit higher in terms of purity and goodness than any of the rest of these gems. Playing in the background of my thoughts for days now have been these lines:
"The moon was just a sliver back then,
And I ached for my heart like some tin man.
When it came, oh, it beat, and it boiled, and it rang.
Oh it's ringing."

I don't know what he had in mind for these lines in this song but to me they speak plainly of the deeply intimate pain of lost love. That may be one mark of an excellent song, though, that it can mean whatever the listener hears. By the way, The Stable Song is definitely not the only "good" song on these CD's. Oh definitely not. I try not to go into endless detail when I leave a music review, though, because people don't like such from those like me (read: music nobodies).

There are a zillion singer-songwriters I don't know out there, and I'm going to miss out on getting to know the music of most. I'm very glad I didn't miss out on Isakov, though. I think his music may figure into the music-scape of my life for some time to come.

Literate lyrics and excellent music = one of the best discs I've bought in recent memory.

I am a new fan of GAI's music, but have become a fan in a BIG WAY! I can't recommend this album enough- it really is some of the best songwriting and singing I've heard in a long time.

Isakov is amazing. His voice flows like the currents in the Pacific, deep and cool, full of peace and energy. I think that this is one of my top music buys of 2011....

Song writing is tops. You will love it.