Horsepower

1. Horsepower

2. One Less Tornado

3. All Wound Up

4. Cowboy Was Born

5. Smack Dab in the Middle

6. Buffalo Grass

7. Feels Like I'm Gettin' into Something Good

8. Ride

9. Rodeo Moon

10. Between the Rainbows and the Rain

11. Pass My Hat

12. Blue Bonnet Blues

Horsepower,Chris LeDoux,Capitol,Contemporary Country,Country,Country & Western,Pop

Average customer rating:

Horsepower The Phoenix Foundation Manufacturer: Young American ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Neo-Psychedelia | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Australia & New Zealand | International | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank ASIN: B000MM1FU0 Release Date: 2007-05-15

Tracks:

1. Sister Risk
2. Let Me Die a Woman
3. This Charming Van
4. The Swarm
5. St Kevin
6. Bruiser
7. Sally
8. Celebrate!
9. Going Fishing
10. Lambs
11. Wildlife
12. The Drinker
13. Blue Summer

Average customer rating: This is what American music was supposed to sound like Very nice Hillbilly Acid !! Bandoneon? Unique in Every Way

Sackcloth 'n' Ashes Sixteen Horsepower Manufacturer: Fontana a&M ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Post Grunge | American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Rockabilly | Oldies & Retro | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Folklore Olden Low Estate Secret South Black River Falls ASIN: B000002G47 Release Date: 1996-02-06

Tracks:

1. I Seen What I Saw
2. Black Soul Chair
3. Scrawled In Sap
4. Horse Head
5. Ruthie Lingle
6. Harm's Way
7. Black Bush
8. Heel On The Shovel
9. American Wheeze
10. Red Neck Reel
11. Prison Shoe Romp
12. Neck On The New Blade
13. Strong Man

Amazon.com

With its use of banjo, accordion, lap steel, and stand-up bass and its songs about creaking pine porches, shallow graves, prison shoes, and big horses, Sixteen Horsepower would seem to be drawing from the same ancient wells of Americana as the Band. The Band, however, handled this tradition from a working-class perspective of Monday morning blues and Saturday night release. By contrast, Sixteen Horsepower takes the leisure-class approach of existentialist angst, bad college poetry, and no release whatsoever. Edwards simply throws evocative phrases together without bothering to make one fit with the other. Such a technique could be called "experimental," but it could also be called "lazy." Drummer Jean-Yves Tola and bassist Keven Soll help Edwards create a spare, agitated, rock & roll string-band sound behind his doom-and-gloom howlings. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews:

This is what American music was supposed to sound like.......2007-04-25

The best way I can describe this album is that it conjures images from John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath (Penguin Classics) and like that great American classic, this album puts you under a spell and does not let you go until its over, leaving you exhausted but utterly satisfied. The band takes traditional American roots music and fuses it into a dark and intense blend of folk rock, the perfect backdrop for lyrics dealing with spirituality and human suffering. David Eugene Edwards delivers the vocals with the same ferocity with which I imagine his grandfather, a traveling Nazarene preacher, must have addressed his flock. I recommend their entire catalog.

Very nice.......2007-01-09

Each song on this album is at least solid, folk fun a la 16 Horsepower.
Tracks 8 through 12 seemed especially strong, being rather catchy and enjoyable.

Hillbilly Acid !!.......2005-09-08

Wow, these guys are putting back things they didn't take! Listen to the tracks I Seen What I Saw and American Wheeze and you will think the Doors have been resurrected from Appalachia. These guys are one of the most unique bands of the nineties. Brooding, dark tunes of violence, self righteousness and redemption. Jim Morrison would have loved this band!

Bandoneon?.......2005-01-17

I think I'd have to look up the spelling which I wont since this is a music review and not a written' review. Anyway a Band0neon is like an accordian but different in ways I dont understand, they feature this instument on a number of cuts with very haunting results.The lyrics are haunting as well, its a Flannery O'Connor mood crossed with all the greats of bluegrass ghosts, it creates a unique sound you would be a fool not to enjoy. It reminds me of the times as a child we visited old man Ritz's house deep in the woods behind our house, Mr. Ritz worked for Nasa and seldom visited his family farm getaway, so we ran amok on his property,never at ease mind you, but amok we ran. He was a scary figure who we never met and never expected to meet until one day I landed a job picking up rocks in a freshly plowed field, we would ride on a trailer behind a tractor and every so often the tractor would stop and we would hop off and pick up the rocks and throw them on the trailer. I suggested to Uncle Leon (the farmer who farmed Mr Ritz's property for him) that we just paint all the rocks red and have the migrant workers pick them up thinking they were tomatoes, he didnt think to much of this suggestion so we continued with our work. The next day we were picken' up rocks when a man walks up to Leon and told him we should paint the rocks red and tell the migrant workers they was tomatoes...This album reminds me of my first and only meeting with old man Ritz.Buy the album.

Unique in Every Way.......2004-11-02

This is perhaps the most unique CD I have in my collection. If I had to describe the music I would have to say it is a mix of bluegrass, Johnny Cash, and the Old Testament. The only thing that even comes close is the O Brother Where Art Thou? Soundtrack. Great for anyone seeking a break from the commercial crapola that is put out nowadays. I really enjoy putting it on the CD player going down the dirt roads of West Virginia. Its a great CD and I reccomend it to anyone who is a fan of great music

Average customer rating: The Emerging Voice of Woven Hand... UNLIKE ANYTHING WEV'VE EVER KNOWN! mediocre Grim, atmospheric, deep Gothic Americana Music - Haunting and Spiritual

Folklore 16 Horsepower Manufacturer: Jet Set Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Goth | Goth & Industrial | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Rockabilly | Oldies & Retro | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Oldies & Retro | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Sackcloth 'n' Ashes Olden Secret South Low Estate Black River Falls ASIN: B00006BTDW Release Date: 2002-08-06

Tracks:

1. Hutterite Mile
2. Outlaw Song
3. Blessed Persistence
4. Alone and Forsaken
5. Single Girl
6. Beyond the Pal
7. Horse Head Fiddle
8. Sinnerman
9. Flutter
10. La Robe a Parasol

Amazon.com

Whistling in the wind like a ghost in the desert, 16 Horsepower's Folklore is a grave, brooding piece of dark theater. Outside of occasional relief in the form of a loose French waltz finale and the natural rockabilly songwriting touch of David Eugene Edwards, the music here is akin to a bleak ride to a dusty crossroads where the devil awaits. Reminiscent of the rustic cacophony that Grant Lee Buffalo brought to Mighty Joe Moon, or Nick Cave's desolate wasteland elegies, Folklore leaves behind the last of the band's alt-country tics. The flat, yearning tones of Edwards's singing combines with a spare banjo on tracks like "Alone and Forsaken" before "Single Girl" picks up the tempo with a bouncy bass line and a folksy chorus. But the mood is short-lived, as "Sinnerman" and the bleak, brilliant "Horse Head Fiddle" reestablish the album's desolate, hypnotic trance. Folklore's haunted melodies and mythic inspirations have a frightening intensity that turns this short set (just over 37 minutes) into an unforgettable experience. --Matthew Cooke

Customer Reviews:

The Emerging Voice of Woven Hand..........2007-06-22

Pure tribute to a culture and a sound that has more character than modern tastes appreciate.

This album is somewhere between classic 16 Horsepower and the Woven Hand Mosaic album in terms of intensity and wooden sobriety (both are good traits - just different in pace and tone).

This is one of a very few albums I let repeat for the year that I wrote my book. It makes me miss the Fox Theater in Boulder and the Blue Bird in Denver.

UNLIKE ANYTHING WEV'VE EVER KNOWN!.......2007-06-21

Hello World, BUYIT BUYIT BUYITBUYIT BUYIT BUYIT BUYIT BUYIT BUYIT BUYIT BUYIT BUYIT BUYIT. nO REGRETS tRUE AMERICaNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mediocre.......2007-01-12

Although I'm a big fan of 16 horsepower, I was really disappointed by this release. I did not find a single song on this cd to be very strong or memorable, though the other positive reviews led me the believe that this was one of their best, and darkest cds. By "darkest" I was hoping the reviewers also meant the hard hitting, nail bitingly powerful songs like some of the "dark" songs on his other cds. Not so. It wasn't exactly a horrible cd, just not something I'll waste my time listening to very much. If you're new to 16 HP start out with Low Estate or Sackcloth n' ashes, and don't judge this great band by one bad cd.

Grim, atmospheric, deep.......2006-12-29

I just got this and I dig the hell out of it. A few of the songs are sort of up tempo and contrast to the rest of the album, which is very much American Southern Dark Folk/Gothic. Like Lucero with all the lights off, or a lamenting ILCK's. I gave it 4 of 5 because I don't like the few Irish-ish drinking jigs. Where I live you hear way to much of that.

Gothic Americana Music - Haunting and Spiritual .......2006-10-09

Sixteen Horsepower is an amazing blend of Alternative Rock, Americana, Goth, and Punk. This band from Denver combines vocals that are part goth, part punk, and part Cold Mountain-like Americana with tripy strings, anthem-like drums, a haunting piano, and a whole host of traditional instrumentations. The entire mix is a riveting experience is in the category I call Gothic Americana.

Folklore is one of their most recent albums; it is a mesmerizing and haunting album that brings forth the image of a haunted house from Appalachia in the late 1800s. These ten songs set you down unexpectingly into empty country fields where a couple of dead bodies litter the ground around a burning wagon; into a rustic cabin with the creepy feeling that something bad has happened here.

These songs are at the same time haunting and spiritual. Sixteen Horsepower are the darker side of belief revealed.

Average customer rating: Gothic Americana Music - Haunting and Darkly Spiritual Dance With The Snakes Unbeliever! amazing, as usual The title is apt

Olden 16 Horsepower Manufacturer: Jet Set Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Rockabilly | Oldies & Retro | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Alternative Folk | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Similar Items: Folklore Sackcloth 'n' Ashes Low Estate Secret South 16 Horsepower ASIN: B00009UW2G Release Date: 2003-07-08

Tracks:

1. American Wheeze
2. Coal Black Horses
3. Scrawled In Sap
4. Prison Shoe Romp
5. I See What I Saw
6. Neck On The New Blade
7. Interview - David
8. South Pennsylvania Waltz
9. My Narrow Mind
10. American Wheeze
11. Shametown
12. Train Serenade
13. Strong Man
14. Interview - Westword
15. Slow Guilt Trot
16. Low Estate
17. Pure Clob Road
18. Heel On The Shovel
19. Sac Of Religion
20. Dead Run

Amazon.com

Since their start in the early '90s, 16 Horsepower have created and perfected a sound that's build around a fascinating, elegiac pulse. Albums such as 2002's Folklore are inundated in jet-black rivers of dread. That sense of foreboding is found in this collection of 12 previously unreleased demons and early live tracks earlier, expressed in lead songwriter David Eugene Edwards's cracked, terrified screeches and the muscular, edgy acoustic music. The demo recording of "Coal Black Horses" (a finished version appears on their self-titled debut) throws a messy slide guitar and throbbing brush beat behind Edwards's fire-and-brimstone rant. Meanwhile, the live tracks from 1994 demonstrate the band's developing chops and emerging theatrical flourishes that characterize their more recent work. --Matthew Cooke

Album Description

16 Horsepower have forged a legacy of classic albums. Vocalist/lyricist David Eugene Edwards, the grandson of a traveling Nazarene preacher, spins tales of sin and redemption against an evocative, stripped-down backdrop. Olden is a collection of never-before-released versions of classic tracks, six along with an exclusive interview from the Night Owl Session 1993, six along with another exclusive interview from the Kerr Macy Session 1994, & six cuts spotlighting their legendary live show, Denver 1994. 20 tracks in all. Jetset. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

Gothic Americana Music - Haunting and Darkly Spiritual.......2006-10-09

Sixteen Horsepower is an amazing blend of Alternative Rock, Americana, Goth, and Punk. This band from Denver combines vocals that are part goth, part punk, and part Cold Mountain-like Americana with tripy strings, anthem-like drums, a haunting piano, and a whole host of traditional instrumentations. The entire mix is a riveting experience is in the category I call Gothic Americana.

Olden left me shivering! Imagine yourself dropped down into a funeral or revival in some deep, dark part of Appalachia; there are odd people dancing around the dead body of their grandfather...or sister...or cousin. There is a band playing in the corner; this is Sixteen Horsepower's Olden.

The amazing thing is that this is not a coherent studio album, but a collection from their first ten years of existence. You might never know it from listening as it is one long trip into the heart of darkness that is southern gothic.

These songs are at the same time haunting and darkly spiritual. Sixteen Horsepower are the darker side of belief revealed.

Dance With The Snakes Unbeliever!.......2006-03-03

This album can be downright terrifying. Some of the music sends chills up my spine. I describe the first song as thus: A hillbilly funeral shambles down the main street of a one horse town in Appalachia carrying a pine coffin and playing a squeezebox, while an old blues man picks away on a porch on the side. It points to the dark heart of old time Southern religion and mountain culture and to the feuds and moonshine that went along with it. I once watched a documentary on the rural Holy Ghost church where people dance around with venemous snakes with the belief that if they have not sinned then the snakes will not harm them. This is the soundtrack to that dance.

amazing, as usual.......2003-08-01

A peculiar release for a band with only four full length albums, one E.P. and a live album. "Olden" marks the 10th anniversary of the band's first recording sessions.

12 tracks recorded over a two year period, 6 live tracks and two interview snippets. Despite being a hodgepodge assembly, "Olden" is remarkably coherent. 16 of the tracks made it to later albums and only two songs "Train Serenade" and "Slow Guilt Trot" make their debut here.

While many would consider this an unnecessary, redundant release, it is actually superior in many ways to the major label versions that would appear later. These versions are much more gritty, earthy and unpolished, a sound that suits 16HP creaky bandoneon, jangly guitars, plunking banjo and haunting vocals quite well.

Standout tracks include the apocalyptic "Coal Black Horses", the hypnotic "My Narrow Mind" and the driving "Slow Guilt Trot."

The title is apt.......2003-07-09

This is a collection of live material from three seperate dates in 1993 and 94. It showcases everything I love about old sixteen horsepower. They have changed a lot in the last ten years and are even better now but this old stuff is amazing. Sixteen Horsepower are an amazing band because they play a type of music unlike any other band. Rooted in old time roots music and church music, they have a sound that is timeless. Their music is beautiful, creepy, exciting, and perfect. I love it. The only thing I don't like about this album is the brief snippits of interviews that are used to break up the recordings. They are too short to provide any insight at all. If they didn't want to put any meaningful discussion on the cd, they shouldn't have bothered at all. Otherwise, I recommend this CD wholeheartedly.

Average customer rating: Deserves more than five. One of his very best This is a really good one! Live Like You Ain't Afraid to Die...Just Enjoy the Ride MAXIMUM HORSEPOWER!!!!!!!!!!

Horsepower Chris LeDoux Manufacturer: Capitol ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music Cowboy | Country | Styles | Music General | Country | Styles | Music Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music Similar Items: After the Storm 20 Originals: The Early Years Sing Me a Song Mr. Rodeo Man Chris Ledoux - 20 Greatest Hits Cowboy ASIN: B0000A0WK9 Release Date: 2003-07-22

Tracks:

1. Horsepower
2. One Less Tornado
3. All Wound Up
4. Cowboy Was Born
5. Smack Dab in the Middle
6. Buffalo Grass
7. Feels Like I'm Gettin' into Something Good
8. Ride
9. Rodeo Moon
10. Between the Rainbows and the Rain
11. Pass My Hat
12. Blue Bonnet Blues

Customer Reviews:

Deserves more than five........2007-03-19

If you are into the "Western Thang", get this record. It will mesmerize you. You won't keep your eyes dry.

One of his very best.......2006-10-03

It's hard to believe that a year and a half have passed since Chris died. He is my favorite singer; I've loved his music for more than 25 years, I was a longtime member of his fan club, and I have all his CDs. "Horsepower" is fantastic, marking a full-blown return to his singing about rodeo and the West. A few of his later CDs veered away from his unique strengths and had too many lame love songs that any pseudo-country singer could put out (I have to believe these songs were recorded at the insistence of record company honchos). All the songs are great, and the sad "Buffalo Grass" seems prescient, almost as if Chris knew his time on earth was almost up (as he probably did, given his serious health problems). I will always miss Chris LeDoux.

This is a really good one!.......2006-02-23

This is Chris LeDoux's farewell albym. A good mix of ballads and upbeat rock. I have bought friends this CD.

Live Like You Ain't Afraid to Die...Just Enjoy the Ride.......2003-09-30

This album covers some new ground with a peppy Cajun number complete with squeezebox and French words to go with the English ones. Chris holds true to form and has some rip roaring toe tappers that are hard to sit still for. The first video from Horsepower is on his website. All Wound Up is my favorite on this album. It's hard to get out of your head. Like a book you can't put down. Songs for every age. Good clean fun. In the words of American Bandstand: Horsepower the Album has a good beat and is easy to dance to.

MAXIMUM HORSEPOWER!!!!!!!!!!.......2003-08-29

This is definetely Chris' best album to date. What a pleasure it is to hear him sing his rodeo and cowboy songs again. I highly recommend it!

Average customer rating: Classic 16 Horsepower's EP is filled with energy, fervor, & passion.

16 Horsepower Sixteen Horsepower Manufacturer: A&M ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Post Grunge | American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Rockabilly | Oldies & Retro | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Secret South Low Estate Sackcloth 'n' Ashes Olden Folklore ASIN: B000002G4B Release Date: 1995-11-07

Tracks:

1. Haw
2. South Pennsylvania Waltz
3. Shametown
4. Straight-Mouth Stomp
5. Coal Black Horses
6. I Gotta Gal

Customer Reviews:

Classic.......2002-01-21

This EP is definitely the most foot-stompin', hard driving of all the 16HP records, though Sackcloth 'n' Ashes comes close. For some reason, 16HP has never had the kind of success in the US that they've had abroad (they are THE most popular band in the Netherlands), probably because their music is hard to pigeonhole (goth psychobilly? thrashgrass?) and to market. They deserve to have a bigger audience, especially within the growing alt-country/americana scene. Buy two of this EP and give one to a friend, it's [inexpensive] and you'll both thank me.

A note on the lyrics: there has been a lot of emphasis in American reviews on the religious content of their lyrics, which surprises me because they're no more religious than Johnny Cash or Nick Cave, and no one calls either of them a Christian rocker. If you are not a religious person (I'm not), don't worry that this album will sound "preachy". Their songs are rarely about God, they're about imperfect people wrestling with their demons, and sometimes losing. David Eugene Edwards was raised by a fire-and-brimstone preaching grandpa in Texas, ran away from home at 16, moved to the city and joined a punk band. I think that pretty much says it all.

16 Horsepower's EP is filled with energy, fervor, & passion........1998-09-09

16 HP's EP debut is an earful of doomy, energetic music with religious wording on top. This threesome pulls off music that is worth most of its value in any alloy.

The leader, David Eugene Edwards, plays a wide assortment of instruments: banjo, bandoneon, and plenty of slide guitar. It is his instrumentation backed by the awesome bass playing of Kevin Soll that gives this album its edge. The album moves through countrified slow grooves and ballads to hard-rocking hillbilly-esque goth. On the first song "Haw", Edwards plays a doomy slide guitar between seven minor chords. There is also the traditional bandoneon he plays for the waltzy "Straight-Mouth Stomp" which gives the song a Southern-Springtime feel. Basically, the songwriting mixed with the different instruments make the music side of this album very accessible and original.

Edwards' lyrics encapsulates the rest of the 16HP experience. His lyrics stem from a Biblical point of view. And when Edwards is not damning man he is persuading man to repent and accept the Lord. On "Coal Black Horses" he sings "Hey hey hey it's always forever/ Hey hey hey it's never or now". It is the religious fervor and the grinding persuasion in Edwards' voice that brings the 16HP experience to full circle.

16HP's six song debut is a must-have for those who are craving for original, passionate music. Filled with different instrumentation, strong music, and Biblical lyrics, "16 Horsepower" is a refreshing taste in an industry now filled with mundane and uninteresting music.

Average customer rating:

Horsepower The Phoenix Foundation Manufacturer: Caravan Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items: New Moon The Devil You Know ASIN: B000JKFSH6

Product Description

1. Sister Risk 2. Let Me Die A Woman 3. This Charming Van 4. The Swarm 5. St Kevin 6. Bruiser (Miami 4000) 7. Sally 8. Celebrate! 9. Going Fishing 10. Lambs 11. Wildlife

Average customer rating: Buy One if You Can Find One Altered Sound - Menacing As Ever doesnt get any better than this Streamlined Seen the Burning Bush

Secret South 16 Horsepower Manufacturer: Razor & Tie ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Post Grunge | American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Rockabilly | Oldies & Retro | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Low Estate Folklore 16 Horsepower Olden Sackcloth 'n' Ashes ASIN: B00004WJCL Release Date: 2000-09-12

Tracks:

1. Clogger
2. Wayfaring Stranger
3. Cinder Alley
4. Burning Bush
5. Poor Mouth
6. Silver Saddie
7. Praying Arm Lane
8. Splinters
9. Just Like Birds
10. Nobody 'Cept You
11. Straw Foot

Amazon.com

The label has changed (Sixteen Horsepower's first two albums, Sackcloth 'n' Ashes and Low Estate appeared on A&M), but, thankfully, little else has. Sixteen Horsepower's palette is still exclusively composed of banjos and accordions, gothic portent and religious foreboding. They still sound like William Faulkner's prose rendered as music, like they belong less in modern music venues and more on a Civil War battlefield, perhaps struggling to be heard through the lifting smoke and screams of the wounded at Antietam. Singer and lyricist David Eugene Edwards continues to straddle the divide between country singer and medicine-show evangelist. In an age when country music has been hijacked by the gormless drones of corporate Nashville and the irony-straitjacketed art students who populate too many alt-country groups, he is a rare and precious reminder of a prior time when country was defined by the holy furies of the Louvin Brothers and Hank Williams. "Burning Bush" and "Praying Arm Lane" might even be the two best things he's written, and the exuberant cover of Bob Dylan's "'Cept You" is surely definitive. Secret South is Sixteen Horsepower's finest hour. --Andrew Mueller

Customer Reviews:

Buy One if You Can Find One.......2007-05-02

This is the best of the 16 Horsepower CDs, and appears, sadly, to be out of print. Grab a copy of this while you still can. This is "Christian" music the way it should be; perhaps the way it used to be in the old-time hymns when life wasn't always so comfortable and death was an everyday reality. Mortality, the human struggle with sin, and hope for a future with God are the themes here. Although 16 Horsepower has broken up, if you enjoy this sound (Country-Goth?), make sure to check out Woven Hand, David Eugene Edwards' current project.

Altered Sound - Menacing As Ever.......2006-10-15

"Secret South" marks 16 HP's third release, and with improved instrumentation and a richer texture it is superior to the previous works, although their most recent work "Folklore" is their best release to date.

For those new to the band, 16 HP play a dark and brooding style of country music lead by David Eugene Edwards, not in the hillbilly banjo style, but incorporating a sophisticated rock angle into `darkened' country atmospheres. For those fans who have not heard "Secret South" it is similar in style to "Low Estate" but has a more confrontational style with more emphasis on guitars, but retaining the gloomy lyrics touching on religion and man's downfall.

The inclusion of an extra guitarist is evident straight away with the booming opener Clogger, one of 16 HP's most overtly aggressive numbers, really gets the album into motion quickly. The rest of the album is decidedly less aggressive, and more akin to the 16 HP sound with dark soundscapes and menacing vocals from Edwards. Examples of this includes the powerful Cinder Alley with its choral climaxes, the guitar explosions amongst the reserved Poor Mouth and the lovely Dylan cover Nobody Cept You which makes for a rare glimpse of sunshine.

This is an excellent 16 HP release which introduces a slightly altered sound, but retains those moments of melancholy and atmosphere that will keep fans pleased.

doesnt get any better than this.......2006-04-21

written with strong spirituallity! A masterpiece of masterpiece's. 16 hp will be one of those bands that will be discovered by the mainstream (fine) artworld years from now. they bring to us a fossil of the past that sheds light on where we have been and where we are going now and forever more.

Streamlined.......2004-10-28

I stumbled upon the band quite by accident about four years ago. it was late one night and I was coming back from I someplace I can't remember when "Clogger" came on the radio of a local college station. I liked the song a great deal and heard "Heel on the Shovel" I think a few days later, but couldn't remember the band's name. Several years later I did, and I have been enthralled with the music ever since. I'm not a country fan and I certainly don't consider myself a christian music fan, but it's not about that. It's about the internal struggle, and Edwards draws you into the thick of it. The music takes you into strange land, and if you're comfortable then you're not listening hard enough. This is a more streamlined album than the previous two, but at the same time it's definitely a worthy successor. It's the same aural landscape, it's just a slightly different approach. This album is more accessible due to tracks like "Clogger", "Cinder Alley", and "Praying Arm Lane". "Strawfoot" and "Wayfaring Stranger" are undeniable foot tappers. None of the songs are poor in my reckoning, but to each his own. I consider this work, like all their material to be very important musically- definitely one of the best buys I've made in a long time.

Seen the Burning Bush.......2004-08-13

From the ominous bass notes of 'Clagger' which open their'Secret South'CD to its finale, this no frills approach to a mythic western past informing a tense present, is unforgettable and disturbing. Edward's voice compliments the music with appropriate desperation, yearning, fear, or anger. It's a tough brew and utterly compelling; early Cormac McCarthy set to rapid foot stomping. The core of the work from,the revamped 'Wayfaring Stranger' to the heart renting,'Poor Mouth' is an enthralling treat. Dylan's,'Nobody 'Cept You' slots comfortably in the mix, totally absorbed into the sackcloth fabric of Edward's vision.

Average customer rating: Buy this or go to Hell Well Done Appalachia calling me home..... An Anachronistic Christian Joy Division Haven't liked anything as much since The Clash's "London's

Low Estate Sixteen Horsepower Manufacturer: A&M ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Post Grunge | American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Rockabilly | Oldies & Retro | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Sackcloth 'n' Ashes Secret South Olden Folklore 16 Horsepower ASIN: B000002GP5 Release Date: 1998-01-27

Tracks:

1. Brimstone Rock
2. My Narrow Mind
3. Low Estate
4. For Heaven's Sake
5. Sac Of Religion
6. The Denver Grab
7. Ditch Digger
8. Pure Clob Road
9. Phyllis Ruth
10. Black Lung
11. Dead Run
12. Golden Rope
13. Hang My Teeth On Your Door

Amazon.com

Sixteen Horsepower's singer David Eugene Edwards brings such a mix of vitriol and faith to his music that were he born in a different place and time, I imagine he could have been a snake preacher. His songs explore that delicate and often explosive relationship between religion and real life, often with dire consequences: "I beseech the Lord clear my head / before once again I scar the soul of that girl in my bed," he sings on "Brimstone Rock" moments before letting loose a screech channeled from the devil by way of Nick Cave. The music is blistering, a take on hill-music that the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion could've created had they been raised on moonshine and pig snouts. --Tod Nelson

Customer Reviews:

Buy this or go to Hell.......2000-07-21

How else do you intro a Christian Rock band? :)

A friend of mine introduced me to 16 Horsepower. I was doubtful because I'm not Christian and I couldn't imagine myself buying a CD by a professed Christian Rock band, now I'm a dyed in the wool fan.

Many times the lyrics blur the lines between religion and sex and sometimes it's hard to tell if Edwards is singing about Jesus or his girlfriend. Usually it's both. The songs will probably not point you to a cloud where you sit with a harp, more likely they will land you square on the earth and into a stomp dance. There is also some profanity, so those of delicate sensibilities had best leave this band off.

The music is some of the best I've heard lately. If you've never heard a rock and roll banjo, grab this quick. It's some of the meanest banjo playing I've ever heard. One song will sound like blue grass, then the next track is pure rock. The band is drum tight and really good at what they do. Their sound is the most original going at this writing. I can't recommend them highly enough.

On the downside, I can't help but wish Jesus didn't figure quite so highly in their words, but then I guess they wouldn't be who they are. If you've got the cash, get all three CD's. It's worth it.

Well Done.......2000-07-05

I really dug this record for about a month after I bought it. You probably will too. However, I did seem to get quite tired of it by the end of the month. I think the songs are good but not great and the production could have had a more "full" sound. But I do recommend this CD if you're into some good devil-charged country alternative rock.

Appalachia calling me home............1999-12-17

First heard them through a recommendation email from Amazon. Decided to buy Low Estate, and I'm glad I did. Some of the best pure, spiritual music happening today. The origin of the spirits, though,sound to be perhaps a little south of heaven. Listening to these guys makes me feel like I'm in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. I can close my eyes and visual a revival tent replenish with whiskey, young nubile girls who tremble in fear. A few trembling adults too. The music, ah... the music. Great to hear banjo's, fiddles and other backwood instruments blended with a kickin' drum,bass & guitar set. And that voice too. Man he sounds downright scary. Sounds like he knows things that some people just weren't meant to know.

An Anachronistic Christian Joy Division.......1999-03-07

Denver's 16 Horsepower have everything that the current irony ladened 90s pop bands lack - conviction, passion, and some damn fine rocking tunes. Singer/Lyricist David Eugene Edwards creates a world of extremely nasty spiritualism with a fire & brimstone passion that makes an agnostic like myself envious of the faithful. Their instrumentation is deliciously anachronistic, employing concertinas, a hurdy-gurdy and some fine banjo playing along with the more traditional guitar-bass-drums line up, with some excellent organ-playing by producer/P.J. Harvey associate John Parish. That they are as of mid-February without a record label is an atrocity. However, a band with this level of raw talent and power will not be silenced by the verities of the business world. Side Note: I saw them opening for Nick Cave here in L.A., and their performance nearly matched old Saint Nick's intenisty and sheer overwhelming power. Nearly.

Haven't liked anything as much since The Clash's "London's.......1999-01-16

First heard "Low Estate" in pieces on a Fall '98 PBS radio show...don't normally listen to PBS except when the students at our local college alternative radio station are on vacation or too lazy to do programing in which case PBS automatically kicks in. I'm a 48 year old carpenter and don't make a lot of money so my CD collection is quite wanting. Last year I purchased Wu Tang, Sepultura, Motorhead, Nas and B.Bragg and Wilco, stuff I love loud, will annoy my wife and is guaranteed to send my few friends home heads shaking. From the snippets I heard on PBS I decided to order 16 HP's "Low Estate" fairly sure it would meet those three criteria. I'm damned glad I did. I've been listening to it for the past four months and it has definately withstood the test of time. I honestly cannot recall enjoying listening to anything as much since '78/'79 when The Clash's and Sex Pistols' first releases came out.

Average customer rating:

16HP 16 Horsepower Manufacturer: Smooch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Post Grunge | American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music General | Music Video & Concerts | Genres | DVD | Video General | Pop | Music Video & Concerts | Genres | DVD | Video General | Rock & Roll | Music Video & Concerts | Genres | DVD | Video DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video Similar Items: Live ASIN: B000ADKWBO Release Date: 2005-09-12

Music Album:

1. Hotwalker: Charles Bukowski & A Ballad for Gone
2. I Am What I Am [Original recording remastered]
3. I Finally Found Someone
4. In Others' Words
5. Kristofferson [Original recording remastered]
6. Let It Fall
7. Live at Billy Bob's Texas [Enhanced] [Live]
8. Live from Austin, TX [Live] [Original recording remastered]
9. Live In NC [Live]
10. Lucky Drive

Music Album