Customer Reviews

Tinderbox

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

 

 

Fred Eaglesmith is one of a handful of artists whose latest releases are always a priority for me to hear. Larry Towell's stunning photography of a Mennonite congregation at prayer lends a sense of gravity to the package, showing in an image tales of suffering, faith and hard work. "Tinderbox" next to Balin is probably Fred's most unified album. It has a number of reasons for Fred-heads to cheer.

"Chain Gang" is a catchy track with a pumping organ part as Fred sings, "I'm on the chain gang of love." Mary Gauthier co-wrote "Shoulder to the Plow" on an old-timey number. The title track sizzles like a Tony Joe White track from One Hot July, "The church is like a tinderbox, the preacher's got a match; Salvation is raining down & falling down the cracks; The choir master revved em up & washed em white as snow; Somebody's crying in the very back row." On "Worked Up Field" Fred overlays a woman's spoken dialogue against a churning melody about waiting for a train. "I Pray Now" has a dissonant arrangement on an interesting song with a repetitive chorus. "You Can't Trust Them" churns like a workingman's eyelids watching the clock until quitting time, "Their souls are lost; They keep taking Jesus back off of the cross; Lightning won't strike em & the cops won't bust em." "Get On Your Knees" burns with classic Eaglesmith intensity, "I got a little pistol; I keep it hid, That snake don't listen, I'll shoot him dead; His name is Satan, he's the devil himself, I found him down in the water well." "Wheels" bounces like trudging through a storm with snow so cold it burns the face. The music finally lightens on "Stand" as if finally receiving salvation. "The Light Brigade" starkly speaks of soldiers who give their best & come home damaged, "We trampled over the wheat & the maize; And they wrapped our wounds in grease & rags." "Shoeshine" relates a backwoods of a tale of murder, "Wind in the willows & the rattling of the wires, clicking of the hammer & something's on fire; Figures in the field & the world's gone quiet; They won't ever take me alive." The set concludes with the simple lyric, "If not now, when?" Fred Eaglesmith has fashioned a deep and moving song cycle that traces faith and the hardships through which people walk. "Tinderbox" is not an easy album, but it is rewarding. The music, the lyrics and Fred's world-weary vocals are a moving testament. Enjoy!

As a relative newcomer but one who has taken a deep dive into much of his past recordings I eagerly brought this one home and popped it in for a listen. Now I'm surprised to see one other review say this is "same spit, dif day" as I like this the least of all 7 or 8 of his past recordings I've listend to. Was Fred listening to lots of Tom Waits around the time he recorded this? He doesn't manage to cast the same spell Tom does, and I can count on one hand the songs I even kinda like here across 18 tracks! So, Chain Gang, Shoulder to the Plow, Get On Your Knees, Wheels, Stand, would be the tunes I cull from this one for repeated listens but Tinderbox has taken me a long time to digest, listen through and even get to this point. Hey I'll always love much of his body of work, don't start here, it might be your end and you will miss many treasures...

Can't rave about this one. There's only one Fred Eaglesmith, and one Tom Waits, love 'em both, but never the twain shall meet.

there ain't always a but....but this sounds like the outtakes from Mule Variations...like he snuck in after the lights were out and used all of Tom's tricks to make an album of his own....

there ain't always a but....but this sounds like the outtakes from Mule Variations...like he snuck in after the lights were out and used all of Tom's tricks to make an album of his own....

This is Fred Eaglesmith at his finest and most inspired! I like it more each time I hear it.

I saw where "Tinderbox" is now available on vinyl and I have more details - it's a hand-numbered limited edition (they are only making 1000) and they will only be available at Fred's shows, on the [...] website and a few stores here and there and possibly here on Amazon. The music fits on 2 albums and one side has the cover image etched into it. The packaging folds out and includes the lyrics. They are available for pre-sale now online and will be shipped out in August 2009 while they last.

Now you Fredheads will not like this review, so you might as well mark this review as "not helpful" and stop reading right now. To me, this is simply another case of "same spit, different day" or different album. While the lyrics might be interesting, the sound is too similar to his earlier work to be of interest to me. If you do not own Eaglesmith's previous CDs, I highly suggest you start with "Drive-in Movie". Maybe I have just tired of Eaglesmith and his being the king of dysfunction. Regardless, I wish I enjoyed his current music as much as I used to enjoy listening to him 10 years ago. Maybe he could win me back as a fan if he were to write something which was not so immediately identifiable as a Fred Eaglesmith song. Like I said, you Fredheads wouldn't like this review, as it doesn't kiss Fred's posterior.