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A Friend Of A Friend [CD]

Dave Rawlings Machine Audio CD
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
Price: £10.27 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Biography

A Friend of a Friend is the first record by Dave Rawlings, the guitarist, producer, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with Gillian Welch and Old Crow Medicine Show. These long time compatriots join Rawlings on this record beside newer friends Benmont Tench from the Heartbreakers, Karl Himmel, and Nate Walcott of Bright Eyes. The notion of recording as Dave Rawlings Machine began ... Read more in Amazon's Dave Rawlings Machine Store

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Frequently Bought Together

A Friend Of A Friend + The Harrow & the Harvest + Time (The Revelator)
Price For All Three: £29.51

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Product details

  • Audio CD (23 Nov 2009)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Format: CD
  • Label: ADA Global
  • ASIN: B002QF31QC
  • Other Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 50,394 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

1. Ruby (4:54)
2. To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High) (3:48)
3. I Hear Them All (2:27)
4. Method Acting / Cortez The Killer (10:20)
5. Sweet Tooth (5:20)
6. How's About You (3:54)
7. It's Too Easy (3:09)
8. Monkey And The Engineer (3:38)
9. Bells Of Harlem (4:07)

Product Description

CD Guitarist Of Gillian Welch And Old Crow Medicine Show

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By Red on Black TOP 50 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is long overdue. David Rawlings has for many years been the partner of the great Gillian Welch and her secret weapon. He has had the grace to stand in the background as Welch's career has taken off despite the fact they are essentially a duo and that Rawlings writes great songs. Watch both on You Tube doing a majestic version of "Time the revelator". Every note counts and it is a pure melody stripped of all excess. You must hear it. As it stands neither Welch nor Rawlings is complaining at there current arrangement with the sheer beauty of the music showcasing two of the greatest musicians and songwriters in contemporary American music. That Rawlings has now produced a solo album albeit with a band of red hot backing musicians (the machine )is interesting because in effect Welsh sings on nearly every song here and what we have is a formal reversal of roles. Rawlings of course has considerable pedigree in his own right. This is a man who writes songs with Welch, Ryan Adams and the Old Medicine Crow Show and is a brilliant musician to boot assisting Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes on a number of recordings. I was genuinely excited at the prospect of "A friend of a Friend" and it does not disappoint.

The word "class" is over used but that's what this is. "Ruby" draws on that giant of country rock Gram Parsons and is a brilliant opener. It's followed by the great Rawlings/Ryan Adams song which opens the latters masterpiece "Heartbreaker" namely "To be young (is to be sad is to be high"). Adams version starts off with a jokey conversation with Rawlings about a Morrissey song. This version however is much more of a country hoedown but with none of the bittersweet lyrics lost of the song diluted. An excellent start. "I hear them all" is Dylan like in his darkness and sparsity, it is simple and lovely . It is followed by the albums highlight. This sees a coupling of Conor Oberst's "Method Acting" with Neil Young's classic "Cortez the Killer". Rawlings and Welch are brilliant at pairing up songs. I have for example heard them do a version of Dylan's "Queen Jane Approximately" to Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!" The coupling of Method Acting and Cortez the Killer works wonderfully and is stunning. When Rawlings sings the following lines he means every bit of it -

"I've sat too long in my silence
I've grown too old in my pain
To shed this skin, be born again, it starts with an ending"

It segues brilliantly into Cortez the Killer one of Youngs greatest songs. It is intensely moving and is the best song that Rawlings and Welch have done since "Time the relevator". The rest of the album unsurprisingly never quite hits this peak but is solid country/bluegrass rock throughout, indeed very much like a a Welch album but with Ralwings out front. "Monkey and the engineer" is a Jesse Fuller song which has been covered in the past by the Grateful Dead. It's the sort of stuff Welch and Rawlings can do in their sleep and I would have liked to heard something more challenging. That said I particularly like the Hank Williams sound-alike "How about you" and the gentle "Bells of Harlem" to finish. I readily accept that when it comes to this pair I'm biased. They could blow into a kazoo as far as I am concerned and produce a stellar effort. This is nonetheless top notch and I hope that Welch fans in particular dont just see this as a tremendous consolation prize until her long awaited next album (6 years?) but as a excellent solo album in its own right that sees a great and under appreciated musician emerging at last from the shadows.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A Decent Album 29 Nov 2009
Format:Audio CD
I read a few of the reviews for this album before I recieved it in the post, so I was prepared for the worst. It may not be a classic and I wasn't expecting cover versions from such an accomplished songwriter,but it certainly isn't middle of the road, the stand out tracks for me are "Monkey & the engineer" "Sweet tooth" & "It's too easy".
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Def not disappointed 18 Oct 2010
By Java
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I heard tracks off this album on Bob Harris programme on Radio 2 and interviews with DR and GW. I have not been disappointed now that I have heard the whole album. Yes the first and last tracks are the strongest but the whole album has what you want - good lyrics, melody, musicianship, harmonies, tunes etc. I have played it several times and each time it gets better. Have also recommended to friends who have enjoyed it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars So far, so good
I bought this album on the strength of the track,`Ruby,` which I had heard on the radio a couple of times, and on the strength of knowing Dave Rawlings` pedigree - particularly in... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Brian M. Thomson
5.0 out of 5 stars a great album
i purchased this album last month. it has never been off my player . if you like county music with a touch of bluegrass
buy this album.
Published 21 months ago by J. Campbell
1.0 out of 5 stars what a shame
I am a huge fan of the welch - rawlings axis and like others was VERY excited at the prospect of a rawlings fronted compilation. Read more
Published on 25 Nov 2010 by bertthescribe
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely a grower!
I can understand some of the other reviews suggesting this album is underwhelming - it starts that way then seems to get stronger and stronger with each listen. Read more
Published on 15 Sep 2010 by Paul Shrimpling
5.0 out of 5 stars It just feels good
This record from the great musician Dave Rawlings deserves 5 stars. I'm just gonna try to help out those who are hesitating whether they should get it or not. Read more
Published on 10 Aug 2010 by Dave McClaine
4.0 out of 5 stars god machine
This album, not unlike Gillian Welch albums, doesn't sound like much at first. But then short melodies start playing themselves in your head, and you keep going back to Rawlings'... Read more
Published on 28 April 2010 by klai
5.0 out of 5 stars Dave Rawlings Friend of a Friend
This guy simply has music flowing through his veins, his guitar talks and always has something interesting to say.
Published on 4 April 2010 by Mr. Duncan Cunningham
2.0 out of 5 stars More than a little underwhelming
Unfortunately I go along with the other disappointed reviewers. Because of the connection with Gillian Welch (Time the Revelator is one of my favourite records) I was expecting a... Read more
Published on 30 Mar 2010 by J. Macdonald
3.0 out of 5 stars A little underwhelming
Well, sadly, I have to call this a disappointment. Having discovered Mr Rawlings as an inspired henchman with Gillian Welch, Ryan Adams, and Conor Oberst, I was very taken with his... Read more
Published on 2 Mar 2010 by Franimi
3.0 out of 5 stars Potential not realized
I enjoy Rawling's guitar playing particularly with Gillian Welch where they produced classic albums such as Hell among the Yearlings which have a raw edge to them. Read more
Published on 25 Jan 2010 by Richard Liley
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