Customer Reviews

9th Ward Pickin Parlor

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been a Shawn Mullins fan since I picked up a copy of Soul's Core several years ago. On the strength of that recording, I also bought Beneath the Velvet Sun, which also has some excellent songs. I then proceeded to buy his back-catalog to complete my collection.

It was with much anticipation that I followed the creation of 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor. I will say I'm pleased with the result. While I have my favorite songs on the new release (Beautiful Wreck, Homemade Wine, Find Love, and the cover of Rising Sun), the remainder of the collection is still very good.

Be forewarned, however, that this is an eclectic recording. If you are expecting all of the songs to be similar, you will be disappointed. If, however, you appreciate Mullins' ability to do different kinds of music, you will enjoy the recording.

I enjoy this record and the variety of sounds and styles Mullins presents. In fact, this is another one of those recordings that took a little time to grow on me. But, as I listen to it repeatedly, it's holding its own against the remainder of my collection.

My bottom line: It's eclectic with some great tunes punctuated with some tunes that are different than normal Mullins' fare.

This is my plea to the many potential customers like myself who use these reviews as a partial basis for the decision whether to buy a disc or not - Don't rely too heavily on the reviews here! This is a great disc, and while it might not be revolutionary, it is certainly better than the earlier reviewers here stated. Shawn Mullins has said that this disc was his repudiation of the over-produced, big-label sound that so heavily influenced his last two discs (yes, including the much loved "Soul's Core"), and I am here to tell you that he has absolutely succeeded in that endeavor. 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor has a sound that is at once tradionally archaic and refreshingly 'real'. There is no trace of electronically produced drum beats or computer-corrected instrumentation here - I think that too many people have come to expect the perfection and amazing sounds that can be created in today's Pro-Tools world to appreciate an album like this any more. While I would agree that, when taken as a whole, this particular set of tunes isn't perhaps as strong as those that can be found on some of Shawn's earlier works, I would caution those of you who allow that comment alone to form the basis for your decision not to buy this CD. Almost all of these songs are quite strong, and the disc takes on an almost meloncholy tone of a man who is nearing middle age and is coming to terms with the reality of the world around him. Gone is the youthful optimism of songs like 'Ruth and Mary' - in it's place are songs that comment on the fractured nature of the world around us.
Give this CD a chance... I can almost guarantee that you will find it to be a better disc than much of what else is being produced by the majors these days! Highly recommended!!
A note on the four stars - A disc must be truly revolutionary to get five from me... four is a great review from me!

I love this CD! I can't believe that I almost didn't buy it because of some of the reviews here. I guess it's not for everyone. People have their own tastes. However, if you love the range of Mullins' voice and acoustic guitar, I think you'll really like this album. I especially like Alaska and Faith. It feels like an eclectic mix of stuff with some Celtic and maybe a bit of gospel influence. I think its variety is one of its strengths, contrary to what some others have said. Sample it and then buy it if you like good acoustic and music with heart and soul.

I have never written a review before, but I saw that this one wasn't 5-stars and I just couldn't let it slide. This cd has all the acoustic sense of Big Blue Sky and the mature production sensibility of the last two albums. I was worried when Soul's Core first came out that Shawn's music would loose it's raw power in the more polished production. Boy was I wrong; he just keeps getting better and better. This album is more acoustic than the last two, but to say it has no emotional depth is crazy. There is not a "B" song on the whole thing. He achieves more depth of charater and varied textures with his voice than 99% of the acts out there get with their whole bands.

On top of that, I was lucky enough to meet him at Eddie's Attic a few months ago and there is not a more gracious, more down to earth artist anywhere.

This is a superb album from the highly-underrated singer-songwriter Mullins. "Parlor" is the proper follow-up to "Soul's Core" and presents his finest bunch of songs to date. Mullins has always been something of an anomaly on the modern music scene, and he embraces his most idiosyncratic tendencies here to wonderful effect, resulting in an eclectic, luscious album. His melodic ear has never been sharper, as is evident on "Faith," "We Could Go And Start Again," and especially on the gorgeous "Find Love." Mullins' biggest strength has always been his knack for writing tunes with a particular humanist shine and a dash of whimsy; the semi-acoustic production knits well with his songwriting sensibility, no small feat after his two previous efforts (his previous solo album and his recording stint as a member of the folk supergroup The Thorns), which struggled to find a good sonic counterpoint with the songwriting. Mullins, who also produced the album, is operating at the height of his powers and I recommend this under-the-radar gem highly.

I have been a fan of Shawn's since Soul's Core came out and that is the only CD of his that can compete with this one. It is so soul-full (as most of his stuff is) and rich. Every song sounds like a different person (a testimony to the range he has achieved with his spectacular voice). He seems to "explore" that more with this CD. It is a must have in my opinion!

I love Shawn Mullins. I think he is one of the most talented singer/songwriter/guitar players making music today. I have all of his albums and thoroughlly enjoy each of them for what they are, individually. I, for one, never understood why "Beneath the Velvet Sun" (as "pop" as one may say it was) didn't take off as a gigantic success. The sheer amount of radio-friendly material on that album is staggering. Literally every person I ever let listen to that album went out and bought it.

That being said, I was less than 100% thrilled when I listened to "9th Ward Pickin' Parlor". "Blue As You", in my humble opinion, is the wrong choice to open this album. It sets a tone for a laid-back, acoustically-driven set of songs, but is misleading in terms of the album as a whole. The song is growing on me, don't get me wrong, but it lacks the power, growl and vocal presence of Shawn's better acoustic work. The lyrics feel pointless and it sets a mood that is completely changed on the very next song.

After "Blue As You", I can truly say that the next three songs ("Beautiful Wreck", "Cold, Black Heart" and "Faith" are some of the catchiest, most radio-friendly, ear-pleasing songs I've ever heard from Shawn. After those three songs, I had a completely different impression of where the album was headed. I had almost forgotten "Blue As You" and had settled in for a mixture of the rock-tinged, pop sensibilities of "Beneath the Velvet Sun" and even some of the anthemic, emotionally charged "Soul's Core". Then I was thrown for another loop, finding that the next half of the album had none of that to offer. With the exception of "All Fall Down", the remainder of the album is acoustic, never rising above a slow burn and never really even peaking during individual songs the way "Soul's Core" did. During "Soul's Core", Shawn's songs would take on a life of their own, delivering powerful moments, even in the quietest of arrangements. The songs on "9th Ward" never seem to deliver that "punch", either vocally or instrumentally.

This isn't to say that the instrumentation or the vocals on this album are sub-par, to say the least. There are beautiful arrangements and some fine "pickin'" to be found on this album; however, it left me wanting to hear only certain songs on the next listen and overall left me feeling a bit disjointed. It almost feels like Shawn couldn't decide who he wanted to play for, so he put a few songs for everyone on this album. That's fine, because I like pretty much everything he's done, but here's my big complaint with the album: The last three songs are almost completely devoid of a solid hook. There is nothing in those three songs that makes me want to listen to them. They are long, drawn-out and never seem to deliver on the promises that Shawn has made in his past work to at least make slow songs interesting and alive. I have heard reviews of this cd that say that the strength of the album is in these last few songs. I simply disagree.

If you're a die-hard Mullins fan, pick up this cd, but don't expect the 13-song "high" you're accustomed to from one of the finest voices in music today. Expect some toe-tapping and some classic Shawn Mullins moments, but also expect to be a bit disappointed with the album as a whole.

If you're NOT a die-hard Mullins fan, you'd be better off picking up one of his last two releases. They're much more unified in their musical approach and have a lot more of what makes Shawn Mullins great.

When Soul's Core came out in 1998 I picked it up on the strength of Lullaby and was very pleased. Since then I lost track of Shawn Mullins and picked up this release because it seemed the only thing of interest in this slow release week. Again, I was more than pleasantly surprised. This is a very strong outing and hasn't been out of my cd player all week. Next is to go back and see what I've missed from 1998-2006.

I love "Soul's Core", which is how I discovered Shawn Mullins. I was excited to buy his latest CD and find myself quite disappointed.
Although a quality effort, well produced, the record is being let down by its songs, which generally sound safe/meek/nice and are quite obviously designed to "please crowds".
I didn't find the combination of soul, power/tension and finesse that made Soul's Core so special. If you like the "sweet" side of Shawn, you may enjoy this record though.
I can understand that he may want to widen his audience, and hence decide to go mainstream. But it's just not what makes me tick.

I am a huge Shawn Mullins fan and with this album he reaches the mature zenith of his career. Understated, atmospheric, stripped down to its roots, it is simply spine-tingling, breathtakingly beautiful. Not since the sixties and seventies has there been an an artist that I respect as much. Buy and enjoy. This one's a keeper, future classic. Please support an artist of integrity and buy a copy of 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor.