Customer Reviews

The Way I Should

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This album is very different from Infamous angel and My life, her first two albums that had an old-timey feel to them, with lyrics based on themes that are standard fare in country music. Here, Iris updates her sound - it has a more contemporary feel without selling out - but (more significantly) her lyrics are very different, dealing with the kind of political issues in the tradition of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. As I've indicated elsewhere, I can enjoy political music even when I don't agree with the opinions expressed. Not everybody can, a fact that Iris seems to acknowledge in the liner notes, in which she declared that she was willing (if necessary) to lose a lot of fans because it was important to express her views. So Iris may have lost some fans due to the lyrics and other fans due to the more contemporary sound, but this is a fine album well worth hearing.

In one song, Wasteland of the free, Iris rages about the hypocrisy of preachers who don't behave in a manner befitting their status, politicians dependant on corporate finance, wealthy businessmen opposed to minimum wages, children with guns, children with poor reading ability and going to war over oil. That's quite a lot to pack into one song.

Perhaps the song most likely to alienate fans with conservative views is Quality time. Iris discusses a wealthy family in which the parents don't have much time for the family. Clearly such families don't lead their lives in a way that Iris approves of.

Letter to Mom, a song about child abuse, is (thankfully) not a story about Iris or her mother but I'm assuming that Iris had somebody in mind when writing this song, as she feels so strongly about it. Another interesting song is There's a wall in Washington, about a memorial with 60,000 names on it and the people that visit it to pay their respects.

Not all the songs are political. This kind of happy (co-written with Merle Haggard, though he doesn't sing on the track) is a wonderful love song. When my morning comes around and Keep me God are religious songs about the afterlife.

Although I prefer her first two albums for their simplicity, this is a fascinating album in its own way. Providing you can accept the political lyrics of some of the songs, this is definitely worth a listen.

Iris has been polarizing opinions and confounding expectations throughout her career and this, the third of her four albums to date, is no exception. Everything she does is heartfelt and musically satisfying but, being so varied, will not always be to your taste. She loses some fans and gains others with each release.

Some of the songs here hark back to the style of 60s protest songs, especially There's a Wall in Washington and Wasteland of the Free. I personally found the former (about the Vietnam commemorative wall) heartbreakingly powerful, whereas the latter came over as too strident and simplistic.

I still love Iris best when she is light and lyrical, as she is on my favorite track, When My Morning Comes Around. But long may she extend her thematic range and continue to explore new avenues of creativity. Listen to her with an open mind and an open heart and you may well fall in love with her too.

If you've never heard Iris DeMent tear through a tune, you're missing the boat. This is where country music should have logically grown, before taking a wrong turn near Hollywood. Her third outing shows more of the biting, sincere lyrics and Ozark rhythms that sets Iris apart from the smarmy formula Nashville spits out all too regularly now.

Tracks like "Walkin' Home" and "Letter To Mom" showcase DeMent's talent for writing about family -- all the good, bad and ugly pieces that make us individuals, but also give us common experiences. In "There's A Wall In Washington" and "Wasteland Of The Free", we hear the raging cynicism and heartfelt anger that is almost absent in country music now.

This album is all about accepting who you are and moving forward. "The Way I Should" and "When My Mornin' Comes Around" are the anthems for this spirit. Iris DeMent seems to be happy with who she is, consequences be damned. We should all be grateful for this.

The presence of artists like Earl Scruggs, Lonnie Mack, Delbert McClinton and Mark Knopfler among other greats, only adds to the credibility of this great songwriter. There's nothing on this album that will be heard in a car commercial. There's nothing on this album that will likely find your local "hot country" station. Be thankful, because these songs will touch you deeply and make you think. They won't be gone after 3 minutes. More likely, they will always be in the back of your mind, waiting for you to deal with them, like Iris has.

This, Iris Dement's third cd, marks a bit of a departure from the style that so many fans embraced with her first two efforts -- but the songwriting is as strong, if not stronger that ever, and Iris' voice never sounded better. If she has taken this opportunity to speak out on some issues that are important to her (and, truth be told, to us all), then I say more power to her.

After two (for the most part) acoustic-based albums, Iris has chosen to stretch her own envelope a bit on this release -- some of these cuts rock, and one in particular, 'There's a wall in Washington', is pretty experimental in its arrangement. The multiple basses used on this track are very effective in establishing the mood of the piece.

I think a lot of people are a little disappointed when someone breaks out of the pigeon-hole in which their listeners have attempted to place them -- and this is true in all areas of the entertainment field. People get comfortable -- a little TOO comfortable sometimes -- thinking of an artist in a particular way, and when that artist steps out of these artificial boundaries a little bit (or a lot), the response can be pretty reactionary.

Several of the songs on this album deal with subjects that a lot of folks would be more comfortable ignoring -- depression and recovery, parents shrugging off the responsibility of raising their children, the scars left by the Vietnam War, etc. The strongest of the 'issue' songs on this set is 'Letter to Mom', in which a grown woman finally comes to terms with the sexual abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of her mother's boyfriend. Iris has said that this song is fictional, and there is no reason to disbelieve this -- even more reason to laud her for writing and performing it. Speaking out on this vital issue is incredibly important, and she should be commended for it, not condemned.

'There's a wall in Washington' is very poignantly written -- decrying the horrors and division that our nation endured during the difficult era of the Vietnam War, without being judgemental, without dishonoring those who served.

'When my morning comes around' and the title track, 'The way I should' are some of the strongest, most intelligent songs I've ever come across that deal with a person reclaiming control of their life -- these songs, as well as 'Letter to Mom' should be recognized for their potential in giving courage to and empowering a large section of our society, a group of people who are too often ignored or told '...you shouldn't really talk about that sort of thing...people don't want to hear about it'. Well guess what -- it won't go away by itself.

There are love songs here as well -- 'This kind of happy' is just simply gorgeous, with some of the most heartfelt lyrics you'll ever hear. 'Trouble', her extended duet with the great Delbert McClinton, is just plain fun.

This is a great album -- it's different in style and content from her first two, granted, but it's a great album all the same. Iris Dement is a talented songwriter and performer who has a conscience and is not afraid to express it. It's too bad that more artists don't come out of the hole that their fans and the media construct for them and say 'hey, what about this...' once in awhile.

It's been 5 years since this, her last release, came out -- I hope this doesn't mean that she's taken the naysayers too seriously. If I could talk to her, I'd say 'Nice job, Iris -- bring it on!'

`Infamous Angel' and `My Life' are two of the greatest country records I've ever heard. Iris' voice borders on the eerie in its ability to move the listener. Her lyrics on those two records perfectly conveyed the reality of simple universal (western) situations, though Dement's country roots were also clear to see. Of course these aren't the only things you can write songs about, but they are what Dement is good at. I didn't like the particular change in direction that we get on `The Way I Should'. I have to admit that I'm no fan of the more rocky approach to start with, but I think the main problem lies in the issue led themes that just don't seem to work here. Issue songs can obviously work, but I'm not sure about their success in the country medium. And neither am I convinced by this more m.o.r. country approach. I don't think that doing what you're good at necessarily means getting stuck in a rut, so i hope that we see a return to a less overblown style in the next record.

This release is a fantastic display of the depth and creativity that Iris DeMent fans have already come to know and love. Every track is a delicious new taste of life as Iris and many of us live it.

"There's a Wall in Washington" paints a picture so vivid that you can practically feel the black granite and it's followed by a tune that is a perfect display of the heart and soul of Folk Music "Wasteland of the Free". Her words ring true and the music complements the feelings evoked so perfectly.

I found "I'll Take My Sorrow Straight" refreshing with it's sort of New Orleans flavored beat and "The Way I Should" was joyful and fun even though it deals with a very real and sometimes bothersome fact of life. Songs like this one make me feel like I know Iris and she is also me.

Basically, Iris is more delightful than ever on this outing and everything that fans of folk music could hope for. Her voice is pure as ever and even tho her music has picked up some of that "big time" polish it isn't overbearing and her music still rings true as folk through and through. I'm listening to it over and over again!

I first heard Iris Dement when I saw her open for Nanci Griffith at the venerable Wiltern Theater (when I saw her next Nanci Griffith was opening for her!). I loved her voice and songs. During intermission I bought "Infamous Angel" in the lobby. I've been a fan since.

She's one of those singer/songwriters that doesn't fit neatly into any one catagory. Like John Prine, Shawn Colvin, Nanci Griffith and some others, she wanders through various styles without firmly rooting herself in any one. In "The Way I Should" Dement breaks from the slow-tempo, acoustic sound of her first two albums. The change in feel wasn't done by halves, she's made a clean break. The insistent rhythms, the uncomplicated melodies and the electric instrumentation demand the listener's attention with a hard, almost rock and roll sound; this is not background music. The songwriting has a harder edge to it as well. Don't expect an "Easy's Gettin' Harder Every Day" or an "Our Town" on this CD.

Her songwriting is up to the changes. She shows a deft touch with the controversial subjects she sings about. She's clearly angry about some things, and she leaves no doubt what they are. Though not quite in the same league, some of the songs are reminiscent of the young Dylan or the Boss at his best, as on "Born in the USA." I found "Wasteland of the Free" and "Quality Time" especially merit lots of listenings. They're not all winners though: "There's a Wall in Washington" is the kind of song for which "skip" buttons were invented; and I could do without the rather sappy "When My Mornin' Comes Around."

There's one big change Dement has made on this album for which I am very grateful. That night at the Wiltern she sang in a sweet, clear-toned soprano that was a treat for my ears. On "Infamous Angel" her voice had a bit of a twang that didn't sound quite right--perhaps because it was coming from someone who spent all her formative years in Southern California. On "My Life," and when I saw her live and on television during that time, she had adopted an exaggerated nasal twang that was like fingernails on a chalkboard. I am sooo thankful that she dropped that lamentable affectation on this album and returned to the sweet sound that first endeared her to me...well...almost. There's still a trace of a twang, but it is just a trace, and it isn't nearly as grating as before.

All in all I enjoyed this album a great deal. I like the departures from her other work, and I'm eager to hear what she does next.

Taken by itself, this album isn't all that bad. Looking at the country genre as a whole, it's better than a lot out there. But compared with Iris's debut it's heartbreaking to see her downslide into what my grandmother would call Nashville Trash.

The pure-hearted simplicity I fell in love with has been replaced by overblown arrangements and a deep, dogmatic cynicism. "When My Morning Comes Around" and "This Kind of Happy" are the better tracks on this CD, but they pale to pretty much all of Infamous Angel. "Trouble" and "Letter to Mom" are just plain embarassing.

Iris, where did you go wrong?

Im surprised I had not heard of her before. Her incredible song writing talents both in lyrics and melodic construction are almost without peer. I have not purchased a CD of an artist I was not allready familiar with that I have enjoyed so much. I highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates good song writting.

No doubt this album has an all together different sound than Iris' previous works. In fact, I too found it disappointing at first due to the fact that it was not "just like" INFAMOUS ANGEL or MY LIFE, two absolutely wonderful albums. True artists however cannot put out the same product album after album. They grow and their music grows with them. On THE WAY I SHOULD Iris also takes the opportunity to add social commentary to her work. I am sure this was at great risk offending her fan base. Something tells me that a lot of Iris' fans were the types who campaigned for Warning Labels on recordings and the public execution of Beavis and Butthead. On this work, however, Iris takes these parents to task and says "Whose responsibility is it anyway, yours or your government's?" Yes the production on this album is fuller but it is not "Nashville Trash." If Iris were going to sell to "sell out" and "go commercial" she certainly picked an odd way of doing it. In truth, however, she did not do either of these things. She simply put out an excellent set of songs, performed by an excellent set of musicians, and of course, sung in her own excellent voice.