Craftsman

Amazon.com
On the great continuum of tough-but-smart, hard-but-sensitive country-western singer-songwriters, Guy Clark cut his notch after Jimmy Rogers, Hank Williams, and Johnny Cash, and, before Roseanne Cash, Lucinda Williams, and Lyle Lovett. Making a name more from his pen than his voice, Clark is cut from the same sun-parched and wind-chapped Texas realm that yielded Townes Van Zandt. And with a hint of a bohemian (if not quite hippie) sensibility mixed in with his L.A./Nashville new country glide, Clark's work suggests what might have come from Gram Parsons had he survived the '70s. Craftsman is a 2 CD reissue comprised of three consecutive records Clark laid down for Warner Brothers between 1978 and 1983: Guy Clark, The South Coast of Texas, and Better Days. The entire trilogymines a hefty 30 songs from Clark's most prolific, and most successful, period as a recording artist. For those who came to country on the Garth Brooks wave Craftsman sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday, or for that matter, forty years ago. There's bits of all country flavors on Craftsman: from the Jimmy Buffett easy adult sounds of Crowell's "Voilà, An American Dream" to the dry and scathing late-Dylanisms of "Fool on the Roof Blues," the country of "The Houston Kid," and the elegant western pop of "Fools For Each Other" and "Shade Of All Greens." No adolescent angst here, Craftsman is for listeners who've already grown up. --Roni Sarig

Craftsman,Guy Clark,Philo / Pgd,Country,Pop

Average customer rating: RICHARD SHINDELL'S "COURIER" - A TRIUMPHANT TROUBADOR Captures Richard Live! Check this out "Laid Back" folks! Shindell's best work to date Richard WHO?

Courier Richard Shindell Manufacturer: Signature Sounds ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music General | Live Albums | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music General | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Vuelta Somewhere Near Paterson Blue Divide Cry Cry Cry Sparrows Point ASIN: B00005Y1TX Release Date: 2002-02-12

Tracks:

1. The Courier
2. Memory Of You
3. Next Best Western
4. Willin
5. The Kenworth Of My Dreams
6. Arrowhead
7. Reunion Hill
8. Nora
9. A Summer Wind, A Cotton Dress
10. On A Sea Of Fleur De Lis
11. The Ballad Of Mary Magdalen
12. Are You Happy Now?
13. Transit
14. Fourth Of July, Asbury Park

Amazon.com

These live recordings find the seminarian-turned-new-folkie in his element: playing before an attentive, enthusiastic audience in his native New Jersey and New York, spinning mythic stories of fateful battlefields, haunted truckers, and visionary saints and lovers alike. Fronting an easygoing band of expert pickers, Richard Shindell turns in surprisingly solid covers of Little Feat and Bruce Springsteen tunes. Cry, Cry, Cry partner Lucy Kaplansky wraps Shindell's nasal, sinewy delivery in subtle harmonies, pushing the best of these songs, including "Next Best Western" and his finest, most poignant take on relationships, "Are You Happy Now," past previously recorded versions. As an introduction to Shindell's spiritual lyricism and as a live document for longtime fans, Courier is a cache of reflective, gently glowing gems. --Roy Kasten

Customer Reviews:

RICHARD SHINDELL'S "COURIER" - A TRIUMPHANT TROUBADOR.......2007-03-27

Few artists can successfully translate the strength and intimacy of a live performance onto a CD, but Richard Shindell is just the sort of rare singer/songwriter who does just that. His CD, titled "COURIER" was recorded live in New York and New Jersey, and the excitement of those performances is beautifully captured on this album. The CD opens with the title track "COURIER"-a strong foksy work told in the typical Shindell style of first person narrative. With such an impressive work as the number one track, some might worry that the rest of the CD may pale in comparison.On the contrary, it continues to get better and better with each passing song. Not only is Shindell's voice rich and expressive, but his writing is so insightful that one is reminded of other greats like Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman. His themes are serious-lost love (as told in "Memory of You" and "Nora",), War (as exhibited in the magnificent "Reunion Hill") and Prejudice ( in the song "Fishing"). Yet, Shindell's keen sense of humor helps to keep the work from being too mired down in the maudlin. For instance, in his crowd-pleasing "Are You Happy Now", he speaks about his lover who abandoned him on, of all days, Halloween. He writes "What was I supposed to do/But to sit there in the dark/ I was amazed to think that you/ took the candy with you too". By laughing through his pain, Shindell's angst becomes more powerful without being overpowering. Richard Shindell is an engaging performer with a rock-solid voice that is nothing short of mesmerizing, yet his greater talent is his writing. He weaves such intricate tales in a few perfectly chosen words...a true poet, as witnessed in such Shindell classics as "The Next Best Western" and "A Summer Wind, A Cotton Dress", that it is little wonder that Richard Shindell's work has become a staple on other's recordings, most notably Joan Baez, whose covers of "Reunion Hill" and "Fishing" truly bring out the genius of the work. On "COURIER", Richard Shindell is blessed with some fine back up musicians and singers, including John Putnam on guitar, Denny McDermott on drums, Lincoln Schleifer on bass, and the ethereal Lucy Kaplansky lending her lilting country folk voice as a perfect foil to Shindell's powerful tones. There are no missteps on this recording...only brilliant writing in the true folk tradition, presented in a straight-on manner that is certain to please.

Captures Richard Live!.......2005-11-28

Most songs are quite brilliant. "Courier," "Transit," "Reunion Hill," and "Ballad of Mary Magdalen," are the best. Even a couple of trucker songs in there done very well, like "Next Best Western." This CD gives one an excellent feel for what a live show is like.

If you get a chance, read his bio on the [...] He has quite an interesting history.
He was going to be a priest, but apparently found songwriting more interesting and more "his calling." He is still a very spiritual man and it shows through in his intelligently crafted music.

Check this out "Laid Back" folks!.......2005-03-29

This is a really clean, tight nit live performance by Mr. Shindell. A couple of the tracks sound somewhat familiar but it's overall variety and tone is really nice. A real asset for a late night run down the interstate. Good stuff I must say!!!

Shindell's best work to date .......2005-01-11

I loved Richard Shindell in the "Cry Cry Cry" project with Lucy Kaplansky and Dar Williams, and the cover of his "Reunion Hill" as done by Joan Baez is as magnificent and stirring as anything you'll hear. But I've found his voice slightly nasal for my tastes, and the recordings (even his solo performances) a bit dry compared with his always stellar songwriting.

Until this.

I listen to this album when I want to feel life deeply. It's a live album without chatter between songs, which really works for me, his voice and songwriting meeting in blissful marriage. The Civil War ballad "Arrowhead" thoughtfully explores the "glamour" of war vs. its reality; the relationship song "Are You Happy Now?" is poignant AND fall-down funny; "The Ballad of Mary Magdalen" has special longing from the male voice as compared with the Cry Cry Cry version. Nice to hear Lucy backing him him up on some of the tracks. And special notice to the spiritual, surrealistic revenge fantasy "Transit," which always gives me chills (in an uplifting way).

Tasteful covers of "Willin'" and "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" round out this altogether spectacular offering.

Richard WHO?.......2004-12-17

Why are all the great artists of my time so obscure that when you mention them most people don't know who you're talking about? I guess we just have to look at who just got re-elected President to see the lack of judgment of the American public. The all DO know who Jessica Simpson is though.

This is a magnificent CD from beginning to end. Shindell's songs are brilliant, and his vocals are passionate and moving. "The Next Best Western," "Reunion Hill" and "The Ballad of Mary Magdalen" are probably the most intensely PERFECT songs on this CD, but it's difficult to say that anything on this Cd is a "stand-out." Every song is a "stand-out."

Average customer rating: consistent The only non-rapper song sympathetic to drug smugglers... CraftsMAN, not "men" Clark captures real life in his songs The best country songmaster/troubadour artist in our era.

Craftsman Guy Clark Manufacturer: Philo / Umgd ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music General | Country | Styles | Music Outlaw & Progressive Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music General | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music Country Folk | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music Traditional Country | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music Singer Songwriters | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Old No. 1/Texas Cookin' Old Friends Cold Dog Soup Dublin Blues Workbench Songs ASIN: B0000003VU Release Date: 1995-05-16

Tracks:

1. Fool On The Roof
2. Fools For Each Other
3. Shade Of All Greens
4. Voila, An American Dream
5. One Paper Kid
6. In The Jailhouse Now
7. Comfort And Crazy
8. Don't You Take It Too Bad
9. The Houston Kid
10. Fool On The Roof Blues
11. Who Do You Think You Are
12. Crystelle
13. New Cut Road
14. Rita Ballou
15. South Coast Of Texas

Tracks:

1. Heartbroke
2. The Partner Nobody Chose
3. She's Crazy For Leavin'
4. Calf-Rope
5. Lone Star Hotel
6. Blowin' LIke A Bandit
7. Better Days
8. Homegrown Tomatoes
9. Supply And Demand
10. Randall Knife
11. The Carpenter
12. Uncertain Texas
13. No Deal
14. Tears
15. Fool In The Mirror

Amazon.com

On the great continuum of tough-but-smart, hard-but-sensitive country-western singer-songwriters, Guy Clark cut his notch after Jimmy Rogers, Hank Williams, and Johnny Cash, and, before Roseanne Cash, Lucinda Williams, and Lyle Lovett. Making a name more from his pen than his voice, Clark is cut from the same sun-parched and wind-chapped Texas realm that yielded Townes Van Zandt. And with a hint of a bohemian (if not quite hippie) sensibility mixed in with his L.A./Nashville new country glide, Clark's work suggests what might have come from Gram Parsons had he survived the '70s. Craftsman is a 2 CD reissue comprised of three consecutive records Clark laid down for Warner Brothers between 1978 and 1983: Guy Clark, The South Coast of Texas, and Better Days. The entire trilogymines a hefty 30 songs from Clark's most prolific, and most successful, period as a recording artist. For those who came to country on the Garth Brooks wave Craftsman sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday, or for that matter, forty years ago. There's bits of all country flavors on Craftsman: from the Jimmy Buffett easy adult sounds of Crowell's "Voilà, An American Dream" to the dry and scathing late-Dylanisms of "Fool on the Roof Blues," the country of "The Houston Kid," and the elegant western pop of "Fools For Each Other" and "Shade Of All Greens." No adolescent angst here, Craftsman is for listeners who've already grown up. --Roni Sarig

Customer Reviews:

consistent.......2004-09-26

if you walk around claiming to like this album, you're lying. perhaps unknowingly, but your just lying to yourself. you probably just heard somewhere that you should like this Guy Clark fella and you like the way it looks in your cd collection. sittin there with your john denver and your neil young 'harvest moon' album.
it's amazing to me that Clark could start his career of with a couple of excellent albums and then follow it up with three of the most consistently boring albums released in the late 70's. THE LATE 70'S!!!!!!!
now i know the first of these 3 albums 'guy clark' is praised for it's experimentation. for instance he uses some atypical country music instruments like the harpsichord and the clavinet. wow , big deal he still sounds like conway twitty, only conway twitty with a clavinet and a harpsichord. now if you like conway twitty fine, i'll pay you 50 cents to take my copy of this album off my hands, but if you like what guy was doing on those first two albums then pitch the idea of getting this and buy his later period 'dublin blues' album which kicks an immeasurable amount of hole.

The only non-rapper song sympathetic to drug smugglers..........2002-12-09

"Supply & Demand" is a fine song for those who might wonder what business today is for country people like Prohibition was in years gone by. What do some Gulf Coast fishermen do to not go bankrupt? Listen and learn... Rappers aren't the only folks with something to say on the issue. Anyone know of any other contemporary song with 'mainstream' values that's sympathetic to the drug problem?

Speaking still of a whole slice of our culture that is basically unknown, "The South Coast of Texas" is just a wonderful song. Welcome to the world of small family shrimp fishing. And, like many other things that represent a functional America, say goodbye to them in the same breath.

Then there's "Randall Knife" that's got all you could want in a tune that pays respect to the generations as they roll on.

But I'll let you discover the rest... Let's just say I'm VERY HAPPY to have discovered this guy finally. --JP

CraftsMAN, not "men".......2001-08-06

This is a valuable compilation of Guy Clark's three Warner Brothers CDs. Alas, these are not Mr. Clark's best outtings. His first Warners effort, the self-titled Guy Clark, was a real mess, featuring lots of songs by other songwriters -- always a bad sign for an singer-songwriter who is more the latter than the former. His second turn on Warners, South Coast of Texas, produced by fellow songwriter Rodney Crowell, was the best of the lot, featuring sharp songwriting and a nice understated production style. Better Days, the final of the 3 Warner LPs, featured a great flock of songs (including two of his best ever, "Homegrown Tomatos" and "Randall Knife"), but the production, again by Crowell, was a little too heavy, an overt attempt to garner country airplay.

Clark's first two recordings on RCA, and his subsequent work on Sugar Hill and Asylum, are more representative than these recordings. But, for a completist, Craftsman is a way to get three recordings in one fell swoop. Undoubtedly, this collection won't stay in print long, so you are advised to act soon if you want to take advantage of this bargain-priced set.

A big-time "boo" to Robert K. Oermann, apparently the only person allowed to write liner notes for country music reissues. As always, he gets an awful lot wrong here (example: suggesting that South Coast of Texas predated Crowell's work as a producer for Rosanne Cash and Cissy Spacek), and provides little new detail nto Clark's career or these CDs. (Can't the writer assume that anyone buying this set already knows who Guy Clark is?) The tale of how a visionary poet like Clark both resisted and failed to resist being remade as a Warner Communicator is probably a very interesting one. Unfortunately, the liner notes don't let us in on that secret...

Clark captures real life in his songs.......2000-01-02

For those who don't know Guy Clark's music, or only know his recent works, Craftsman is an essential and delightful find. His three early albums put together for this re-release give a complete overview of who Clark is and what he writes about. An absolute must to know the complete Clark musical history.

The best country songmaster/troubadour artist in our era........1999-02-21

Aptly named. Craftsman is what this consumate song stylist and writer is. Most of these songs you know as sung from other artists. None are styled or done proper when you here the phasing of the author. His songs are original, and range from heartfelt ballads, to the humorus, to toe tapp`n. The word troubadour in the dictionary must include his name. He`s the "Deacon" of country music.

Average customer rating:

Lost Ep Manufacturer: Greg Johnson ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CAA2KG Release Date: 2003-04-22

Average customer rating:

Rain Come Down The Night Watchmen Manufacturer: Stolen Hat Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CA87EY Release Date: 2005-05-31

Tracks:

1. I'll Be Beside You
2. Don't Cry My Tears
3. Hey Beautiful
4. You're the One
5. Empty Rooms
6. When I Dream of You (Naked Version)
7. I Need Your Love
8. Along the Mississippi
9. Break Free
10. Working Man
11. Glorianna (Streetwalkers Version)

Average customer rating: Rest Your Ears on This.

to the Four Directions Johnsmith Manufacturer: Johnsmith ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Folk | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music General | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Break Me Open ASIN: B00005N6JQ Release Date: 2000-01-01

Tracks:

1. Down a Gravel Road
2. I Like the Way It Feels
3. Driving Into the Moon
4. Long Rain
5. Clear, Blue Sky
6. Pedal to the Metal
7. That's My Dad
8. Making Her Move
9. God Knows Why
10. What Is
11. It's Not About Words
12. All For You

Album Description

independent

Customer Reviews:

Rest Your Ears on This........2005-02-10

The first few times i heard this CD, certain songs jumped out at me,(as they would on any album),songslike,Down a Gravel Road, I Like the Way it Feels, Driving to the Moon, Long Rain, Clear,Blue Sky, Pedal to the Metal, Thats my Dad, Making Her Move, God Knows Why, What is, It's Not About Words and all for you.
What else can i say?..If anyone out there likes easy listening,beutiful lyrics and that lovely warm feeling that good music provides, just rest your ears on this CD. You wont leave it down, it has that magic..

Average customer rating:

Lighted Up-Live in Studio Ep Manufacturer: Gabriel Mann ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CAGFDY Release Date: 2004-04-13

Tracks:

1. Lighted Up
2. Overflow
3. When We Are One
4. Over the World
5. Lighted Up (studio version)
6. Can You Hear Me? (bonus track)

Average customer rating:

Snapshots Manufacturer: Cjam ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CAEYKA Release Date: 2003-07-01

Average customer rating:

Three Dollar Baby Manufacturer: LB Ranch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CA7AME Release Date: 2005-02-01

Average customer rating:

Just You Me & the Baby Supreme Vagabond Craftsman Manufacturer: Analogue ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B000OLG5EA Release Date: 2007-07-02

Tracks:

1. Forest Punk
2. Kite Flying Incident
3. Check Out My Rifle Range
4. Truck Driver Instinct
5. Western Day Off
6. My Welsh Family
7. Ex Partners Car
8. Converted Barn
9. 14 Reporters On My Land
10. Murder Documentary
11. On The Coastal Journey
12. Cyclists And Me
13. Just You Me And The Baby

Average customer rating:

Acoustic Songbook Chapter 1: Bittersweet Ricky Dean Fisher Manufacturer: Fishfire ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music Folk Rock | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B00022WBP8 Release Date: 2004-05-01

Tracks:

1. Carolina
2. The User
3. Phoenix
4. Love That Never Bleeds
5. Around Our Love
6. Hurricane
7. Tell Me Now (17/70)
8. Morgan La Fay
9. Day Is Done
10. Lifelike

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Music Album