Try Me One More Time

David Bromberg

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 27, 2007)
• Original Release Date: February 27, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Appleseed Records
• ASIN: B000LP4OBU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,723 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Though the esteemed guitarist hasn't released an album since 1990--leaving his career as a recording and touring musician to study violinmaking--David Bromberg's feel for folk and blues tradition and his encyclopedic command of it remain undiminished. This is a back-to-basics affair, just vocals and guitar, as Bromberg puts his own stamp on material from seminal influences such as the Rev. Gary Davis ("I Belong to the Band," "Trying to Get Home") and Bob Dylan ("It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry"), one of the many recording artists who employed Bromberg as a sideman. Though the tricky time shifts of "Buck Dancer's Choice" show his dexterity, there isn't much showoff guitar here (and no guitar at all on the a cappella "Moonshiner" and "Lonesome Roving Wolves"). He's singing better than ever, from the falsetto on Robert Johnson's "Kind Hearted Blues" to the expressiveness of his own title track, as he sounds more than ever like one of the masters he began by trying to emulate. Accompanying the CD are notes from Bromberg that provide extensive annotation on the selection of material. --Don McLeese

Product Description

Three long-awaited words: David Bromberg's back!

Roots music fans will rejoice in the release of "Try Me One More Time," the first new CD in 17 years by guitarist/vocalist David Bromberg, a master practitioner of folk, blues, bluegrass and other musical genres. This new recording is undiluted David: one man, one acoustic guitar, and a repertoire of mostly traditional material performed with the intimate, assured touch of a musician who has nothing to prove.

Originally a "must-have" session man for everyone from Bob Dylan to Dion and subsequently a hard-touring bandleader and recording artist with an enthusiastic following, Bromberg gradually phased himself out of the continual record-tour-record cycle starting in 1980. "I got burned out," he reflects. "And I didn't want to be one of those musicians who ends up `phoning it in.' Music was too important to me to treat it that way."

So he switched his focus from performing to studying, moving to Chicago in 1980 to learn violin-making. Based in the Windy City until 2002, when he moved to Delaware to open a violin shop, Bromberg has continued to tour periodically, but has mostly stayed away from recording studios, with 1990's "Sideman Serenade" his last album until now.

On "Try Me One More Time," Bromberg harkens back to the acoustic folk and blues music of his early days on the mid-'60s Greenwich Village folk scene, a period when he guided the blind gospel-blues singer Reverend Gary Davis to concerts and churches in exchange for guitar lessons. Bromberg performs two of "the Rev's" compositions on his new CD - "I Belong to the Band" and "Trying to Get Home" - as well as songs written by Robert Johnson, Elizabeth Cotton, Tommy Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, sometime Bromberg employer Bob Dylan ("It Takes a Lot to Laugh . . ."), and songs from the traditional realm, including two exquisitely rendered instrumentals ("Buck Dancer's Choice," "Hey Bub"). The title track is Bromberg's first recording of a song he wrote more than 30 years ago.

In liner notes as conversational as his distinctive, low-key vocals, Bromberg maintains that this CD is the first record he's made where he "wasn't trying to impress anybody . . . I'm just doing the tunes." Nonetheless, the outcome can't fail to delight listeners who appreciate an understated virtuoso playing and singing the music he loves.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A welcome return and an enjoyable set, February 27, 2007

By	Mr. T. (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

After a 17 year recoding hiatus, Bromberg is back with this enjoyable set of mostly blues and folk standards. Imagine David Bromberg sitting in your living room singing and picking his Martin M-42 Signature Edition guitar. This album is great fun for Bromberg fans, with the liner notes as entertaining as the music. Ultimately, David does not "make these songs his own" in the way that he has done previously with other blues standards (e.g., "Statesboro Blues," "Dehlia"), but the album as a whole is quite enjoyable. David fingerpicks most of these tunes, breaking out the slide for two of the album's highlights, the title track and Blind Willie McTell's "Love Changing Blues." He also does a nice job with a somber and reflective reading of Elizabeth Cotten's "Shake Sugaree." Notice how the album cover is modeled after David's first solo album? Maybe this release will renew interest in the first album, and maybe someone will put that one back in print. If you're a Bromberg fan, I recommend this album without hesitation. If you're new to Bromberg, check out Midnight on the Water first.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Try Him One More Time and Get Addicted All Over Again, March 11, 2007

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

I've waited 30 years for an album that showcases David's talents as a solo performer. After a 17 year hiatus as a performer David Bromberg has returned to the fray with gusto and great list of classic blues and old time music selections. Rumor had it that the elusive Mr. Bromberg was handcrafting guitars for a living. But I heard rumors that Mr. B was doing time in the big house for holdup he perpetrated on his first album way back in 1971. The mugshot on the cover of this, David's newest release looks suspiciously similar to the pen and ink drawing of him on his debut album.

David's voice has singing has deepened during his hiatus and he sings with an authority he never did early on. Even the falsetto part of "Kind Hearted Woman" was a daring feat of blues vocalizing that I've never heard David attempt on earlier outings.

Any white guy who sings the blues is tempting fate but David's approach to singing transcends all comparisons to the original source material with his own quirky style and phrasing. If you've listened to David soulful vocals on "Dehlia" or "Sammy's Song" you'll know why comparisons of David's voice to anyone, black or white, is futile. I write this with a smirk on my face but I'm sincere in my sentiments.

The material is great with selections by Robert Johnson, Gary Davis, Tommy Johnson, Elizabeth Cotton and even an even an under appreciated bottleneck classic by Blind Willie.

The guitar playing is magnificent. What more can I say in praise of one of the gods of acoustic guitar, except "I am not worthy."

My only complaint about "Try Me One More Time" is that it was released on the same day as Ry Cooder's new "My Name Is Buddy." I had a conflict over which CD to buy, so I blew my budget and bought both CDs. Now I feel guilty for my lack of financial discipline.

The first time I saw David live was at a music festival in St. Louis in 1973. It day long showcase of such stellar musicians as Steve Goodman, the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Furry Lewis, Leo Kottke, John Hammond and the Weather Report the groundbreaking jazz fusion ensemble led by Miles Davis group veterans, Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter.

More than any performer at the festival David held the audience in the palm of his hand from start to finish with his charm, humor and showmanship. My entire purpose in learning to play blues on guitar was to play "Statesboro Blues" the same way David did. It took me several years of practice, to find out I'd never play "Statesboro" just like David but I can play it the way I play it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Look At The Roots, March 1, 2007

By	John Sumser (Marin, California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

David Bromberg is the epitome of a fellow who has navigated his own path. At the height of a burgeoning Rock and Roll career, he left the road, went to violin making school and spent the next twenty years building a violin business.

In his first prime, he was a masterful studio session man and an innovative interpreter of really diverse material. As he has reentered the road, it's as a family man, husband, band leader and musician. Like a cat who has lived eight of his nine lives, he's got nothing left to prove to anyone.

So, that's the foundation of this new record. Bromberg has stopped trying to impress anyone and simply and publically wrestles with his muse. It's a refreshing and sadly unique posture. The music business usually asks for something other than this from its workforce. On "Try Me One More Time", Bromberg takes you into his living room and shows you his tunes.

The liner notes give you the lowdown on the songs and where he found them. The songs themselves are the essence of folk music. Somewhat recognizable material coming out of the mouth of this folk at this moment. Maybe you have to be a guitar player to love the work here but I don't think so.

The record is a labor of love from a guy who doesn't need the work. That makes it rare and important.