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Elly Roberts reviews
Wichita Recordings
- Released: August 2008
- Rating: 6/10
- Vote and comment on this album:View Comments
Bright boy goes AWOL over the border.
Nebraskan born Conor Mullen Oberst, 28, is arguably the golden boy ofAmericana right now.
His alt-country talents have been gushing out for several years, principallyvia his band Bright Eyes. His zenith was with the release of Im Wide Awake, Its Morningin 2005 on his own label Saddle Creek. It featured two outstanding songs Luaand First Day Of My Life.
In 2007 Bright Eyes played a residency at NYs Town Hall, and then incrediblycancelled any future commitments with the band. Why? Well never know, otherthan, we can only assume to, just get away, and it seems Mexico was his choice.Was he desperate to try and create something new, extraordinary maybe?
This self-titled album is his first solo in 13 years, though it does feature aband The Mystic Valley Band. It was recorded with local musicians in Teoztlan,Morelos Mexico between January and February 2008. The region is synonymous withAztec Magic and extra-terrestrial sightings wow!, but could something magicalemerge from this temporary camp? Some new tracks?
A temporary studio was created for the ambience (its worked on that level alone),in a mountain villa called Valle Mystico at the outskirts of the town. The resultsare nothing drastic, falling much on his fascination with all-things Bob Dylanand country rock of the late ’60s early ’70s tboot. One thing that has emergedis a distinct sense of reflection and existence, possibly due to his new life inNew York.
His new found escapism, even if for a while, has created a rekindling for relaxation,or possibly therapy. Who wouldnt after being in the madness of the Big Apple?The tone and pace is cool and steady of the acoustic driven opener Cape Canaveral,though hes seems troubled because he drops in lyrics I felt your poltergeistlove like a savannah heat indicates, if taken literally, hes been dealingwith woman problems.
Lenders in The Temple is quite exquisite, a man and guitar in total unison.Hes positively on fire when he gets to Get Well Cards bringing some uplifting shifts,with Danny Callahan right outta Bright Eyes songbook, as is the sprightlyhoedown thrust of I Dont Want To Die In Hospital boosted by a piano thatsjust combusted this the sound of The Mystic Valley Band of fire, much likeBright Eyes.
Grungy hillbilly rocker NYC Gone Gone is a, short, indication for hisrunner into the hills. As it turns out, Milk Thistle is his best songhere, but doesnt match the aching beauty of Lua.
There are no new tricks. The magic isnt dazzling or spectacular. This is confirmationthat Oberst is having a break. Watch this space.
File under: Not great, but still some magical moments.
Weblink:conoroberst.com
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Cape Canaveral
2. Sausalito
3. Get-Well-Cards
4. Lenders In The Temple
5. Danny Callahan
6. I Dont Want To Die In Hospital
7. Eagle On A Pole
8. NYC Gone, Gone
9. Moab
10. Valle Mistico (Rubens Song)
11. Souled Out!!
12. Milk ThistleView the discussion thread.blog comments powered by Disqus= 0) {query += ‘url’ + i + ‘=’ + encodeURIComponent(links[i].href) + ‘&’;}}document.write(”);})();//]]]]>]]>
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.