Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wicked and weird, 22 Jul 2004
Buck 65 live is a cross between a stand-up comedian, a Kerouac-style beat poet, a rapper and an indie rocker. Blasting out of your stereo at home, he's better. The strangeness, humour, creativity and emotion in his lyrics becomes clearer. You can also appreciate more the intricacies of the deceptively simple production, and the diverse musical styles and sounds he uses.It may help to approach Buck 65 without preconceptions. He's not really hip-hop, he's not really rock, and he's not really the reincarnation of Tom Waits. He seems to live in his own world, populated by the road hogs, shoeshine boys and drunken tramps of his songs. The last time I remember a songwriter opening a whole new world for me with his lyrics and the mood of his music, was when I first listened to Nick Cave. Buck 65 brings to life a fantasy world with humour and emotion. It's a world in which a shoeshine boy hilariously preaches about the art of shining shoes in 'Craftsmanship', while a man thoughtfully muses on the loneliness of his widower father ('Out of gas and lost in space') in 'Roses and Bluejays'. For some tracks on this album, I would have liked more hip-hop beats to go with the scratching and the flow of the lyrics, but that's just a minor complaint. The music is quite organic and intimate, with acoustic guitars, tinkling bells, and the sound of water dripping, all jostling for attention behind Buck 65's fine-flowing poetry. If you are a massive hip-hop fan and not that adventurous, you should be warned that in terms of mood, this album is closer in spirit to the likes of Nick Cave and Tom Waits than it is to the expansive, urban spirit of most rappers. If you are a fan of genre-defying music and you approach this with an open mind, it is almost guaranteed that you will love this album.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Magical Mystery Tour, 10 Sep 2003
In releasing Talkin' Honky Blues Buck 65 (aka Rich Terfry) has produced, the best thing I have heard this year so far. As with all his releases the lyricism is what intrigues, leaving the listener daring to separate fact from fiction, observation and imagination. The guy plays with words installing emotion / wit, you may even raise an eyebrow; put simply the writing is outstanding. On the flip side of this album is the music, which is out of this world, I won't even try to explain the assembly of styles here, each track mixes melody and beats and sounds in a way the is unique and complimentary. The 7 parts to Riverbed are deliciously nosy and observant, where as Protest, Exex, 463 and the first single Wicked and Weird and are catchy and animated, perhaps bringing an always welcome smile to the face. Roses and Blue Jays and Tired Out are melancholic and gentle. As an introduction to Buck 65 (and dare I say...it intelligent hip hop) this album will more than satisfy, but don't be afraid to go back and listen any of his previous releases: Synesthesia, Weirdo Magnet and Square, to name but a few, are wonderful, devious and quite possibly artful. If you like the direction of this album it might be a wise decision to check out the talents of Sage Francis, Sole, Sixtoo, Atmosphere and Boom Bip as well and the Sebutones (Buck 65 and Sixtoo collaboration) all of which are well worth your time. There is room in your life for this tricky little hobo, so make the effort to listen to his music and see his live shows, consider it a challenge, because Buck 65, like this album, is full of surprises.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buck 65, inspiration and influence, 8 Sep 2003
I discovered Buck 65 two years ago, and instantly got into his stuff. He is a very thought provoking poet, who does the beats, scratches, and probably most importantly, his own words. He gets some very angry, sad, and in a lot of cases humourous thoughts out through his music (which can be described as poetic hip-hop, but honestly doesnt do it justice), and his delivery of his views comes across better and better with each album. "Talkin Honky Blues" is no exeption.
Buck 65's voice and sound has matured considerably again, even after Square, his most previous opus, which finally saw him get recognition from critics, and i havent heard a bad word about him since.
He adopts a more folkier take on his traditional hip hop sound, with more guitar oriented loops, and his voice sounds more coarse and whiskey soaked, adding the whole flavour of the album.
He has stunned the hip hop world with his lyrical magicianship, and has even broken the black hip hop circle, with him now featuring on the new Wu Tang song, which is also a wicked track.
Buy this album, as well as the rest, it is honestly a must have for anyone interested in any kind of innovation, hip hop, rock, folk, spoken word, its all in there and its all good.
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