New American Language: Bern*Dan: Amazon.ca: Music

1. Sweetness

2. New American Language

3. Alaska Highway

4. God Said No

5. Turning Over

6. Black Tornado

7. Albuquerque Lullaby

8. Tape

9. Honeydoo!

10. Toledo

11. Rice

12. Thanksgiving Day Parade

Product Description

From Amazon.com

"If you judge me tonight, judge me by the songs I write," Dan Bern sings in "Black Tornado," thus serving notice that he's sick of the comparisons to various iconic songsters. Bern has never suffered from a lack of ambition, tackling pop culture and personal foibles alike with fervor and an utter disregard for taboo. Bern takes on similar subjects here, but backed by a five-piece folk-rock combo and warmly produced by Chuck Plotkin (the Dylan and Springsteen vet who presided over Bern's 1993 debut), he strips away the sophomoric gags and cloying cleverness that have plagued his past. Only the title track falls for the easy, ironic cop-out (key lyric: "OK, I guess, whatever"). Cuts like "Turning Over" ("I can't find me one new leaf worth turning over") and "Albuquerque Lullaby" ("Don't let your heart get broken by this world") come off heartfelt and unforced. And while much of New American Language finds Bern mellowing into a newfound maturity, he's still happy to poke holes in hype and hypocrisy. "Toledo" offers wry tribute to "The Church of the Holy McDonald's," while the freewheeling "Alaska Highway" sucker-punches everyone from Eminem to God. --Anders Smith Lindall

Album Description

'New American Language' captures Bern in full-band mode, leading a propulsive five-piece through his finest set of songs yet. The combo injects a manic energy into the songs that makes their unique take on Americana come alive. These songs careen from one coast to the other, like the van he coaxes to each festival and show, finding new angles, new niches, and new modes of expression along the way. (Messenger Records)

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Customer Reviews

27 Reviews

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (27 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Living the dream, July 29 2003

By

Nada Adan (Lynchburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New American Language (Audio CD)

The title song in this collection recounts a hilarious he-said/she-said miscommunication about the meaning of love, prompting Bern's idealistic dream of a new American language, "one with a little bit more Spanish." While he's at it, he also dreams of a new pop music, one that "tells the truth, with a good beat and some nice harmonies."

Well, that in a nutshell defines the brilliance of Dan Bern: He tells the truth with a good beat. And any lack of nice harmonies in the background is more than made up for by the gorgeous melodies up front.

You want catchy melodies? Then take a listen to Turning Over, or Albuquerque Lullaby, or Toledo.

You want a good beat? Listen to Sweetness, or Alaska Highway, or Black Tornado, or (especially) Tape.

And then there's the closer, Thanksgiving Day Parade -- 10 minutes and 26 seconds of stream of consciousness that culminates in an ecstasy of pure sonic bliss. It is simply breathtaking, both for the arrangement and the performance.

You want the Truth? It's right here in every song.

If you ever have the good fortune of seeing a Dan Bern live performance, you'll come away realizing that he not only has dreams of a new American language and a new pop music - he's out there living his dreams.

Lucky guy.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks Dan!, Feb 20 2003

By

dan bern's capo (the left coast) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New American Language (Audio CD)

The one problem I've always had with Danny boy is that he loves to run off a stream of funny topical songs that by definition are dated as soon as he sings them. Too much pop culture makes it hard to take a guy seriously. (with exceptions like God Said No, what a cool song)This cd though is a step in the right direction. The tunes are great and different from one another, the band is tight, the vocals ride up nicely in the mix, and the lyrics are some of his best yet.

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3.0 out of 5 stars solid cd, Mar 5 2002

By

Garedt Marc (Oakland CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New American Language (Audio CD)

i read a review of a different album by a different artist that is very appropriate here. if you like dan bern's previous work, you will enjoy this album. it has a different musical backdrop but shares the same intelligent and humorous lyrics and the same distinct voice. if you have already purchased this cd and liked it you must own fifty eggs and if you haven't yet purchased it i highly recommend fifty eggs as a first dan bern album. great listening in either case

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Brilliant work
The past few years, I read more and more that music is dying or just sucks. Well, thank goodness that new, original, intelligent and witty acts like Mr. Read more

Published on Feb 28 2002 by DailoFan

5.0 out of 5 stars Turning Over
You can see from below that there's no need for another review of high praise for Dan Bern, but I wanted him to have another 5-stars under his belt. Read more

Published on Jan 30 2002 by Douglas A. Storm