The Wild Hunt

The Tallest Man on Earth | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 13, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: DEAD OCEANS
• ASIN: B0038QMREA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,631 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

With unbridled excitement, we bring you The Tallest Man on Earth's second LP, The Wild Hunt. It is all here: The words. The voice. The melodies. Ten perfect songs. The Wild Hunt picks up where 2008's Shallow Grave left off, with Matsson doing what he does best. It is unmistakably The Tallest Man on Earth, from the urgent strums of "You're Going Back" and the sweet melodies of "Love is All," to the playful lyricism of live favorite "King of Spain" and the subtle hook on "Burden of Tomorrow."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kristian Mattson's Talent Transcends the "Next Dylan" Tag, July 5, 2010

By 

Gavin B. (St. Louis MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wild Hunt [+Digital Booklet] (MP3 Download)

I cringe whenever the critics label an up and coming musician "the next Dylan". However benevolent one's intentions may be, comparing any up and coming performer to Dylan is usually the kiss of death for the the performer. When critics play "Dylan card", it creates an impossibly high set of expectations and usually results in sort of critical backlash that can kill the career of an aspiring artist. There is only one Bob Dylan and Dylan himself has rarely lived up to the heroic expectations of his fans and followers. Over the years, "the next Dylan" has been used on preformers as P.F. Sloan, Barry McGuire, Bob Lind, Peter Mulvey & Lloyd Cole and look what it did for their careers. Dylan's earliest peers like Dave Van Ronk and Phil Ochs both played out their careers living in the shadow of Bob Dylan. Bruce Springsteen was about the only survivor of "the next Dylan" tag and as it turned out, Springsteen turned out to be something very different from Robert Zimmerman. The Tallest Man on Earth is Latest entry to the "next Dylan" sweepstakes and his abundant musical talent makes it even harder to sidestep use of the Dylan analogy.

On his second full album the Tallest Man on Earth (Swedish folk singer Kristian Mattson) is moving out from under Dylan's long shadow to craft his own body of work that stands both aside and apart from Dylan's. Dylan was and still is. capable of doing a lot with his reedy and nasal voice, and by my ear Mattson's voice has a similar expressive and passionate quality. But the Tallest Man enjoys at least full octave advantage over Mr. Zimmerman in his vocal range. Mattson's guitar playing is ragged, strident and far more self assured than Dylan even at that height of his early coffeehouse days when Dylan was absorbing the complex finger picking styles of Bleeker St. guitarists Dave Van Ronk, Rev. Gary Davis and Eric Von Schmidt. I'm not going to deny the striking similarities between Mattson and Dylan either, but I'll also remind you that Mr. Dylan was often accused of channeling Woody Guthrie for the first 4 or 5 years of his music career.

Mattson performs without a backup band and he almost seems like an anacronistic approach in the age high tech electonica, but it works in his favor because it gives his music a timeless quality. Except for the clear fidelity of the recording, there's little to suggest that these tunes weren't recorded in the American South in the early part of the last century, on the porch of some particularly contemplative backwoods poet. "Wild Hunt" is simply as good as any album I've heard in 2010 and I hope the Tallest Man on Earth survives "the next Dylan" label and keeps making great music own his own terms.

NOTABLE TRACKS: The Wild Hunt, King of Spain, Love Is All & You're Going Back

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No sophomore slump here, April 14, 2010

By 

J. Noland - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wild Hunt (Audio CD)

I've been a fan for about a year now, thankfully discovered his music (not very mainstream) from a friend and had the opportunity to see him live. It's a shame this artist isn't more well-known. In any case, this album is fantastic, exactly what I was expecting, and slightly more polished than his first album. Also the piano sneaks in here on the last track, which is a departure from his one-man-band guitarist lineup, and it's a beauty. Buy this album, you won't be disappointed, and check out his earlier stuff too if you're not familiar.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heck to the Ya, September 27, 2010

By 

::Sara:: - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Wild Hunt (Audio CD)

One of the best albums I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. With that said, he's not for everyone (as my friends and family like to continuously remind me) - but with a brief concentration on his story, you may begin to see how his voice ties with the poetics of his lyrics, so perfectly. I wouldn't have it any other way! He sings about friendship, lost love, longing love, angry love, hopeful love, and a whole lot of subjects that can hit close to home. It's an album full of metaphors, some of which I still trouble myself over deciphering, but that is part of the enjoyment. A new story unfolds each time I listen to a song.. a new interpretation, or a more emphasized meaning. I love his raw, slightly high-pitched, raspy voice, and I look forward to all of his future releases - he will not disappoint, I'm certain. He's too full of emotion to lose touch of the music he creates. One man, a guitar.. that's all you really need to feel the warm fuzzies.