Customer Reviews

The Wild Hunt

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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.

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.

I had never heard of The Tallest Man on Earth before purchasing this album. The songs on the album speak volumes to me and have reconnected me with my love for music briefly lost. Highly recommended.

If there was any doubt that the Tallest Man on Earth is an incredibly talented folk musician, this album will surely smash those doubts. This album ranges from upbeat make-you-wanna dance tracks to earthy hymns that float on the air and bring beauty to the ears. This album is much tighter than his first (although Shallow Grave is nothing to scoff at by any means). I highly recommend this album to the curious listener as well as Tallest Man's first album Shallow Grave.

I found the Tallest Man on Earth through my recommendations on last.fm - he is recommended if you listen to Bon Iver, Okkervil River, Fleet Foxes, Blind Pilot and Great Lake Swimmers, and of course he is reminiscent of Dylan because of his voice. He writes and plays beautifully and I can't stop listening - I highly recommend this album. Love is All, King of Spain, and The Wild Hunt stand out, although the whole album is quite lovely. I had initially downloaded the album to try for free, and decided to buy it to support a wonderful underground (in the US anyways) artist.

I first heard this guy on NPR, a live broadcast concert. I kept coming back to it in the archives, the songs were so catchy and different, I finally had to purchase an album and am glad I did. His guitar tunings are unique and his voice quite interesting and pleasing. I love listening to the words, rather than just hearing the song. I was surprised to discover he is Swedish, no detectable accent. I love this album and have now purchased a second one by him.

My 17-year old daughter handed me this to listen to. Reminds me of young Steve Forbert. What a treat. This is one of those great pieces of music that get better the more you listen to it.

Over the past two years I don't think I've listened to any artist more than Kristian Matsson (The Tallest Man on Earth) and his first album. His music is universally appealing.

The lyrics on The Wild Hunt are stronger on paper than those on the first album. His voice that I thought was perfect the first time around also manages to sound better. He does a great job at making the lyrics fit with the music rather than being the focus of it.

The single King of Spain is the PERFECT response to all the people wasting their time comparing him to Bob Dylan, etc. In it, he refers to Bob Dylan as both the King of Spain and an eagle (symbolic of freedom). Kristian says throughout the song that he is neither Dylan nor trying to be him.

My friend played this for me the other night and I bought it the next day. I'm totally hooked on 'the wild hunt' especially but they are all good!