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CD Description
The late David Ackles recorded just four albums during his brief but impeccable recording career from 1968 to 1973. FIVE & DIME was his last and most elusive work, recorded for US Columbia after three for Elektra. It has never previously been reissued in any form. They were unusually gifted records for their time; works of a consistently high standard that still resonate today. Ackles intones his intense lyrical dissections of religious doubt, loneliness and despair in musical settings that strain conventional boundaries. The soft, personal pleasures contained in FIVE & DIME are both subtle and real. Although traces of soul, rock, folk, gospel, blues and country can be found throughout, the songs go well beyond the normally understood language of pop. Avant-garde and classical influences pervade the elaborate orchestrations. In recent times they have been praised highly by the likes of Elvis Costello, Phil Collins and Bernie Taupin. Finally reissued on CD, with revealing liner notes, the original 12-track album is enhanced by seven carefully-selected cover versions of his songs, from acts as varied as Spooky Tooth, Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & the Trinity, Martin Carthy, the Hollies and Harry Belafonte. “This is music of wit, feeling and sophistication that should be heard by fans of American song craft from Stephen Foster to Randy Newman.” (William Ruhlman, Allmusic Guide). Tracks: Everybody Has A Story / I've Been Loved / Jenna Saves / Surf's Down (with Dean Torrance) / The Berry Tree / One Good Woman's Man / Run, Pony, Run / Aberfan / House Above The Strand / A Photograph Of You / Such A Woman / Postcards / Bonus tracks: Down River (Spooky Tooth) / Road To Cairo (Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & Trinity) / Blue Ribbons (Louisa Jane White) / His Name Is Andrew (Martin Carthy) / Subway To The Country (Harry Belafonte) / Your Face, Your Smile (Stacy Sullivan) / Down River (The Hollies).
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
in the early 1990's i traipsed along new york streets, in and out of record stores, large and small, searching for the missing 4th david ackles album which had never been issued back in blighty - but nobody knew anything and i received no information beyond what i already knew..... it certainly was missing
now thru the wonders of the cd and the necessity to be complete (well, i now have so few vinyl albums that have not been issued on cd!) the missing 4th album is available, all the way from oz - with intriguing bonus tracks!
excellent cover notes too...
i think this is even better than american gothic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The sadly late David Ackles was someone special. He made just four albums over a five-year period 1968-73, when he was already in his thirties. All of them are indispensable, especially if you appreciate idiosyncratic singer-songwriters who are both musically and lyrically literate (eg. Tom Waits, Randy Newman, Loudon Wainwright...).
It was years before I got to hear this last recording of the richly dark-brown voice of Mr Ackles. (It was always a hard-to-get release.) With welcome extra cover versions, one of them - Your Face, Your Smile - never recorded by the man himself, this is a collection of treasurable songs.
Nobody breaks your heart like Ackles in lovelorn ballad mode. Here we have I`ve Been Loved (up there with his best), One Good Woman`s Man, A Photograph of You and Such a Woman. These alone are worth the price.
The first two tracks, Everybody Has A Story and I`ve Been Loved, exemplify Ackles` compassion and big-heartedness. The jaunty Berry Tree and Beach Boys pastiche Surf`s Down (hear it to believe it - DA even changes the timbre of his voice for this one) are great fun. And there is more, nearly all of it up to the high standard of his previous albums.
Of the covers, it`s disappointing that Down River - arguably Ackles` greatest song -
is sung by a Hollies temporarily without their usual lead singer Allan Clarke. Still, it`s better than the ruinous version here by the fast-rotting Spooky Tooth.
Julie Driscoll`s thrilling Road to Cairo is present & correct, as is a rather literal reading of His Name is Andrew by Martin Carthy, of all people.
The revelation is Harry Belafonte`s sensitively & gloriously sung Subway to the Country - a match even for Ackles` own version!
An artist like David Ackles is rare. An artist who writes and sings with such dignity, gravitas, and his own brand of laughter-in-the-dark humour, is to be cherished. Would he were still with us.
Raven are to be applauded for this lovingly assembled release, with its generous sleeve-notes. David Ackles deserves no less.
It was years before I got to hear this last recording of the richly dark-brown voice of Mr Ackles. (It was always a hard-to-get release.) With welcome extra cover versions, one of them - Your Face, Your Smile - never recorded by the man himself, this is a collection of treasurable songs.
Nobody breaks your heart like Ackles in lovelorn ballad mode. Here we have I`ve Been Loved (up there with his best), One Good Woman`s Man, A Photograph of You and Such a Woman. These alone are worth the price.
The first two tracks, Everybody Has A Story and I`ve Been Loved, exemplify Ackles` compassion and big-heartedness. The jaunty Berry Tree and Beach Boys pastiche Surf`s Down (hear it to believe it - DA even changes the timbre of his voice for this one) are great fun. And there is more, nearly all of it up to the high standard of his previous albums.
Of the covers, it`s disappointing that Down River - arguably Ackles` greatest song -
is sung by a Hollies temporarily without their usual lead singer Allan Clarke. Still, it`s better than the ruinous version here by the fast-rotting Spooky Tooth.
Julie Driscoll`s thrilling Road to Cairo is present & correct, as is a rather literal reading of His Name is Andrew by Martin Carthy, of all people.
The revelation is Harry Belafonte`s sensitively & gloriously sung Subway to the Country - a match even for Ackles` own version!
An artist like David Ackles is rare. An artist who writes and sings with such dignity, gravitas, and his own brand of laughter-in-the-dark humour, is to be cherished. Would he were still with us.
Raven are to be applauded for this lovingly assembled release, with its generous sleeve-notes. David Ackles deserves no less.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
What a wonderful surprise! I have been an Ackles fan since hearing his first album when a student in 1970. I was delighted to be able to get DA's first three LPs on CD a few years ago, and now to receive this one as a surprise present. I'd never heard it before, but on just two listenings I'm pleased to report it is up to the same high standard as the others. Great variety of arrangements, from orchestral to his sparser style, and all showing off his great lyrics and voice. Excellent informative sleeve notes and an interesting selection of 7 cover versions of David's songs, only one of which (the Julie Driscoll/Brian Auger Road to Cairo)I have heard before.
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