End of the Summer: Dar Williams: Amazon.ca: Music

1. Are You Out There

2. Party Generation

3. If I Wrote You

4. What Do You Hear In These Sounds

5. The End Of The Summer

6. Teenagers, Kick Our Butts

7. My Friends

8. Bought And Sold

9. Road Buddy

10. It's A War In There

11. Better Things

Product Description

From Amazon.co.uk

Dar Williams's End of the Summer finds her following in the techno-folkie footsteps of Suzanne Vega and Rickie Lee Jones. Most of the tracks feature muscular rhythms provided by Sammy Merendino's programmed drum loops, and thickened textures provided by layers of electric and acoustic guitars. This new approach pays dividends for a singer-songwriter whose thin soprano and coffee house lyrics have often proven underwhelming in the past. Here she is encouraged by producer Steven Miller to cram as many words as possible into the herky-jerky verses and then release the tension with a chorus of simple statements and catchy melody. This allows her to run verbal riffs on slackers in "Party Generation", on therapy in "What Do You Hear in These Sounds", and on middle age in "Teenagers, Kick Our Butts". Some of these riffs are witty and some aren't, but they pay off in satisfying refrains where Williams's wispy voice is surrounded by belt-it-out harmony singers. While the title tune is Williams at her dreary, maudlin worst, another ballad, "If I Wrote You" (with harmonies by Richard Shindell), proves the techno-folkie formula can work even at slow tempos. --Geoffrey Himes

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Customer Reviews

32 Reviews

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars End of The Summer, April 9 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: End of the Summer (Audio CD)

Dar Williams has long been my favorite singer. This CD was my most recent purchase from Dar. I wanted to find out how she sounded when she was 20-something. I found her to be pretty good! (...)
Also, her songwriting now has matured a lot. However, young people will apreciate the issues it adresses.
This CD might not be terriffic for new fans as it doesn't showcase a lot of her talent. But for people who liked songs such as "are you out there" it's fun to see how they've changed.

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Dar Williams Album, Oct 9 2002

By

Carl Johnson "living the non-urban life" (Rensselaer, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: End of the Summer (Audio CD)

Maybe it was just the right album at the right time for me, but to me this is Dar's finest work. She gets some sophisticated production and detailed arrangements, but it only complements her work. There's depth, sadness, and wild fun all on one album. "Are You Out There" is a great shout to anyone who ever stayed up late waiting for the distant stations to come in through the static. The title track remains poignant every time I listen to it. There was a time when this was the ONLY album I wanted to hear as the train rolled along the dark Hudson River on winter evenings.

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5.0 out of 5 stars she strayed, Sep 6 2002

By

Argyllsox (New jersey shore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: End of the Summer (Audio CD)

Dar was slammed for veering from the "folk" path. Yes, she did veer, but with great results. This CD is awesome. She lets her voice, which is haunting, uplifting, and beautiful, be heard here.
She seems to be just having fun and letting go. Don't get me wrong, I love her "folk" stuff, but this CD is still a must own for TRUE Dar fans. The lyrics are just as soul searching and often funny as her other works, just with a slight twist.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars my thoughts
I don't know what kind of music reviewer I am, but I can say taht this CD has seen me through some difficult times. These sounds, and If I Wrote You...whew... Read more

Published on Aug 13 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars Dar Williams Rocks (if I was straight, I'd marry her)
I love this CD END OF SUMMER. I first caught Dar on Public TV in a show where she followed David Gray. Read more

Published on April 8 2001 by Dwight Okita (THE HOPE STORE)