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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Real Country, October 2, 2001
Take four alternative music pioneers (Terry Taylor of Daniel Amos, Derri Daugherty of The Choir, Gene Eugene of Adam Again, and Mike Roe of 77s), throw them into a studio for a few weeks, shake gently, and out comes... a country album? Originally a side project, the Lost Dogs have released their fourth studio album, Gift Horse. While the intent of these albums has always been to hearken back to their musical roots, never has a Lost Dogs album been so country and western. Previous releases included 50s rock, bluegrass, alternative ballads, and even a novelty song but this album is unabashedly grounded in country. As always, the songs tell tales, such as "A Vegas Story" about a gambling addict selling his life for "free drinks and a dream" while "Rebecca Go Home" is a touching, sad song about innocence lost. "Diamonds to Coal" is a straight-ahead rocker while "If You Loved Here..." is an all-out hick hootenanny! "Loved and Forgiven" breaks from the general feel slightly with more of a Beach Boys/ 77's vibe in the chorus but overall, the album is much more cohesive in content and feel than previous albums.Which is the main problem with this album. Yes, the songwriting is solid and yes, the vocal harmonies are amazing but while in past albums each "dog" brought a number of songs to the table, on this album Taylor wrote all the songs. All of them good songs, mind you, but it is the unique chemistry between these four fantastic artists that has been the real draw of Lost Dogs. Plus it's about the only time you get to hear one or two new songs from Gene Eugene, one of the best songwriters alive, since Adam Again has been on hiatus for the last half-decade... and this time there were no songs by Eugene. So yes, the songs are excellent, winning over even such an anti-country music people as myself and my brothers, but Lost Dogs raised the bar so high on previously albums that Gift Horse is more like a well groomed show pony than the Kentucky Derby winner fans have come to expect.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A Must Have!, November 4, 2004
Until now, I had only owned 1 Lost Dogs CD (Little Red Ridinghood). That album has some great tunes. It took a couple of spins to get me hooked on Gift Horse. "Ditto" was the first song that caught my attention followed by "Blessing in Disguise". They do a great cover of the traditional song "Farther Along". After owning this for a few weeks, I now play "Vegas Story" and "Ghost Train" over and over. There are several songs I just can't get into but there are several great songs that make this CD worth adding to your collect.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Gift Horse a real "gift" indeed..., September 1, 2001
Before I begin this review, let me say that I'm not a fan of country music, not even by a long shot! Not even Garth or Shania will do for me! With that out of the way, let me begin by saying that "Gift Horse" is the best CD these guys have released (so far!). Again, the music is far more of the traditional country than of the new country (Garth, Shania, Faith, etc.). The reason why I started listening to these guys is because each member is from a group of their own: Mike Roe (The 77's), Derry Daugherty (The Choir), Terry Scott Taylor (Daniel Amos), and last, but not least, the late great Gene Eugene (Adam Again, R.I.P., Gene). Each band is of the Christian alternative genre, and I tend to follow the former two more than the latter two...ANYWAYS, the CD is full of meaningful songs about the devastating consequences of gambling ("A Vegas Story"), marital infidelity ("If You Loved Here..."), humility ("Diamonds To Coal"), and unconditional love ("Loved And Forgiven") to name a few. The most outstanding on this fine CD, however, has to be "A Blessing In Disguise". The main chorus goes like this: "Hold fast the hope that's in you/Don't always trust your eyes/Sometimes it takes a long time to see it as/A Blessing in Disguise". In short, "Gift Horse" is yet another winner from the Lost Dogs. I plan on buying "Real Men Cry" when it comes out and seeing them live in concert here in Detroit on 10/31/2001!
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