Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conor Oberst, 7 Aug 2008
Conor Oberst is the frontman, songwriter, guitarist, lyricist, mastermind, and pretty much everything else behind the alt country masterpiece of a band known as Bright Eyes. This is unlikely to be news to anyone. However, this is Conor Oberst's fourth solo album to be released, and I'll be honest with you I didn't even know he had any previous solo work - such is the rarity of the older work. They were never released on CD, but on cassettes in limited stock.
I'm a huge fan of Bright Eyes; from the country stuff to the more indie mainstream stuff, I love the lot. However, I found myself writhing a bit with their last release Cassadaga. It wasn't that the music was bad, it was the level of production that had seemingly made it's way onto the album. I've always loved the raw folky sound, and the whiney vocals accompanying to dramatic affect. With this release you see Conor Oberst doing a more stripped down show yet again, very reminiscent of 'I'm Wide Awake it's Morning'. The album contains his more countryish, acoustic pieces accompanied by his beautiful, knowledgable lyrics. Opening song 'Cape Carnaveral' is simply stunning.
If you're a Bright Eyes fan, then this review will have made no difference to you whatsoever, I'm sure you'll just get it. If you're new to the world of Conor Oberst, then you really can't go wrong with this album. Think Ryan Adams crossed with Elliott Smith, and you'll understand what you're getting. Honest lyrics, soaring acoustic guitar chords, and in depth stories creating a superb return to the solo stand.
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Diamonds and Sand, 4 Jan 2009
Mr Oberst is a man of many incarnations.
Good to see him hunker down therefore and wrestle
with his not inconsiderable muse.
This spare set of twelve tracks deserves our attention and admiration.
The songs are by turns whimsical and affecting;
the arrangements terse and economical;
his voice an instrument with a considerable capacity
to transform potentially mundane musical material into
polished gems.
The gently percussive opening to 'Cape Canaveral' evolves
into a ballad of considerable emotional intensity.
'Danny Callahan's naive melody belies a composition
of subtle complexity.
The hallucinatory images of 'Eagle On A Pole' define
perhaps the strongest song on the album.
Mr Oberst's occasionally wayward vibrato emphasizing
the surreal nature of the subject's strange terrain.
'Lenders In The Temple' and 'Milk Thistle' are powerful
acoustic interludes. Well played - well sung.
'Moab' rocks out in a Dylanesque sort of way.
The truncated hoedown of 'NYC - Gone, Gone'
and the very silly and unmystical 'Valle Mistico (Ruben's Song)'
are disposable.
A worthy set and more than worth a listen.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another solid, enjoyable album from Conor, 16 Dec 2008
Recorded on a mountain in Mexico with the Mystic Valley Band at the start of 2008, Conor Oberst's self-titled album is a pretty fine effort, almost up there with his last couple of releases under the guise of Bright Eyes. To be honest, there is no real difference between the sound of this record and the sound of his material when it is released as Bright Eyes, so if you like Bright Eyes, chances are you'll like this album. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed when I heard the album for the first time, but on subsequent listens it sounded better and better - so I would definitely classify this album as a "grower".
There are plenty of very good songs here, excellent even, such as the effortlessly catchy 'Get-Well Cards', the toe-tapping, extremely pleasant country-rock of 'Danny Callahan', the raucous, amusing 'I Don't Want To Die In A Hospital' and the short square-dance stomp of 'NYC - Gone Gone', but it is during the moments when there is hardly anything other than the stripped-down honesty of artist and guitar in 'Lenders In The Temple', 'Cape Canavarel' and 'Milk Thistle' that this album truly arrests you and demands your complete attention. It could be said that there aren't enough songs which actually attempt to connect with the listener on this album, instead of purely entertaining them, but perhaps, when the songs do connect, that makes them all the more special.
Fans of Conor Oberst will, undoubtedly, enjoy this album - some to a lesser extent than others, I'm sure, but this is a solid and enjoyable record with a handful of compositions which really do make this a worthwhile and satisfying purchase.
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