Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
IT'S BEEN TOO LONG -- THIS IS A VERY WELCOME RELEASE, September 15, 2004
I've been a fan of Richard Shindell's music for several years -- and while he's not an extremely prolific artist, each release is filled with finely-crafted songs of the highest order, melodic and insightful. The lyrics are some of the most literate being produced today -- right up there with some of my other songwriting heroes, such as Jack Hardy and Eric Taylor. Each song is like a mini-novel -- there are stories to be told, characters to introduce, moods and settings to be drawn. Shindell does all of this with grace and style -- I hear these new songs from the heart and in the voice of an 'old friend', welcome at long last on the shores of my consciousness.
One of Richard's strongest points as a writer (in my humble opinion) is his amazing ability to take the point of view of his characters and voice is accurately and honestly as his own, to the extent that he makes the story told by the song immediately believable and accepted by the listener. There are songs on every release that illustrate this -- on this CD, I would cite 'Che Guevara t-shirt' and 'The last fare of the day' as examples of this. The song 'So says the whipporwill' speaks eloquently to our innate fear of stepping outside of the 'safe' boundaries we have set for our lives -- much as 'Out beyond the iron gate' on REUNION HILL did, but not in a repetative way by any means. 'There goes Mavis' deals with some of these fears and challenges in a different way -- a little girl is setting her canary free into the world, with her mother warning her that the bird will never survive outside of its cage.
There's always a well-chosen tune by another writer on Richard's releases -- this time out, it's Pete Seeger's classic antiwar song from the 1960s, 'Waist deep in the Big Muddy', and we'd do well to pay attention to its wisdom these days.
There are a couple of heart-breakingly tender songs here as well -- 'Gray green' and 'Cancion sencilla', the latter being Richard's first in Spanish, a very moving love song.
Then there's the band. For this outing, since Richard is living in Buenos Aires, he's enlisted the services of Puente Celeste, a fine group of Argentine musicians. Hearing there work here makes me want to hear their own recordings. they combine the expected instruments -- accordion, keyboards, bass, guitarra and guitarron, percussion -- with some surprises, notably the wind instruments played by Marcelo Moguuilevsky (recorder, clarinet, bass clarinet and doudouk [ ! ]). They very ably support Richard's stellar guitar work and vocals, supplying arrangements that frame the songwriter's work without overpowering it.
Richard has lived in Argentina since 2000, and his passes through Austin have been rare -- I hope he makes a point of performing here on his next US tour. It's been too long -- as absorbing and memorable as his recordings are, his live performances take it up another notch.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just one more opinion for the skeptic, April 19, 2005
I will just add one more note to all the fine (and largely accurate) reviews given here...I own all of Richard Shindell's recordings; and then some. Like several other reviewers, I bought 'Vuelta' sight-unseen as soon as it was released. Unlike some others, I did not immediately fall in love with it. Richard's musical style has shifted and flowed through the years, and this album is no exception. Something about the new "flavor" did not grab me right away - as is usually the case.
Luckily for me, I kept listening to 'Vuelta' simply to become immersed in Richard's consistantly wonderful storytelling. Details emerge with every listen to his songs. The rest took care of itself, as 'Vuelta' is now the Richard Shindell CD that I most often reach for.
If you have been exposed to Richard's music, and still do not have this CD - buy it. Whether on the first listen, or the tenth...you will be glad you did.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This~, September 24, 2004
Vuelta, the latest release from Richard Shindell is the best of his albums yet to date. This singer/songwriter/producer aims for perfection and hits the nail on the head every time. His story-like songs are captivating, painting vivid pictures with lyrics and melodies that draw you into each song, making the experience even more moving. This is a song-writer that commands the listener to truly pay attention and appreciate the lyrics that he has woven together to create very memorable songs. Puente Celeste has also collaborated on this album, adding subtleties to each song, that compliment Richard's own musical talents. The best track on the album is "Last Fare of the Day, also very good are "There Goes Mavis" and "Che Guevara T-Shirt". I highly recommend this album to anyone who has a strong appreciation for music, as this man is an amazing artist that deserves the listener's attention and respect. He truly is one of the greatest singer/songwriters of our time.
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