Wheels of Fortune

Flatlanders

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 27, 2004)
• Original Release Date: January 27, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: New West Records
• ASIN: B00011HGIM
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #87,350 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

While the Flatlanders' previous Now Again was more of a collaborative revelation--from the shared writing credits to the vocal harmonies--here the West Texas trio of Joe Ely, Butch Hancock, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore engage in a song swap. Each of the three puts his stamp on material from the others. Among the highlights, Ely brings his bluesiest edge to Gilmore's "Midnight Train" and a buoyant Tex-Mex lilt to another Gilmore tune, "Go to Sleep Alone." Gilmore returns the favor by applying his trademark warble to Ely's propulsive "Back to My Old Molehill" and Hancock's "Wishin' for You." For his part, Hancock renews Ely's early "Indian Cowboy" ballad and Gilmore's "Deep Eddy Blues." Throughout their solo careers, these veteran troubadours have recorded material by his fellow Flatlanders and their reunion reinforces that kinship. There may be fewer surprises this time through, but the generous selection of material brings out the best in all three. --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The whole is not greater than the sum of the parts, March 11, 2004

By	D. K Mcgraw (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Joe Ely. Having said that, the whole is not greater than the sum of the parts - these Flatlanders projects aren't quite as good as solo projects by each of the artists alone. Don't get me wrong, this latest project is good. It's probably a little better than their "comeback" CD, "Now Again," which was also pretty good. It's certainly a lot better than most of the music out there. If you like these three artists, go ahead and get this CD, you'll more than likely enjoy it. You can tell that the three enjoy playing together, and the result is fun to listen to. On the other hand, neither of the Flatlanders' reunion albums are nearly as good as Joe Ely's most recent solo album, "Streets of Sin," or Jimmie Dale Gilmore's "One Endless Night, or Butch Hancock's "You Coulda Walked Around the World," each of which is simply brilliant.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Texas as Savior, July 23, 2004

By	Carolyn E. Blakeney (Annapolis, MD United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Due to the anemic state of American popular music, I long ago stopped listening to the radio. A chance read of a People review of this album, of all things, led me to purchase. Which led me to see them at a small local venue. I now have all of the Flatlanders albums (ok, it's only three,) and all of Jimmie Dale Gilmore's, and I wonder, why are these people not fabulously famous? Texas has given us great gifts, musically speaking, and the Flatlanders are not the only ones. But they are the ones who led me to explore the rest of what Texas has to offer, and I say to you, the people's music is alive and well and kicking so go out and find it! It's just not always on your local radio...

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In some ways their best yet, April 11, 2004

By A Customer

The band that in one album set the bar for their genre is back with a second folloup to their seminal MORE A LEGEND THAN A BAND. With the intelligent thoughtful lyrics and original stylings they're famous for, but with a lot more of the foot-stomping, head nodding, heel kicking power, this album delivers and does not disappoint.