- Audio CD (April 29 2000)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Format: EP
- Label: Badman Recordings
- ASIN: B00004TVBW
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #64,001 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Details |
Track Listings
| 1. Find Me, Ruben Olivares |
| 2. Rock n' Roll Singer |
| 3. You Ain't Got a Hold On Me |
| 4. Metropol 47 |
| 5. Around and Around |
| 6. Bad Boy Boogie |
| 7. Ruth Marie |
Product Description
From Amazon.co.uk
It's been four years since Red House Painters' Songs For A Blue Guitar was released, with its near-legendary guitar solo on "More Like Paper" (allegedly the reason behind the Painters' parting of ways with their label, 4AD). Since then, legal difficulties have prevented the release of its follow-up, Old Ramon. Fans, therefore, must content themselves with this haunting, acoustic solo record from singer Kozelek in the interim. It's as solemn, slow-paced and simmering as one would expect from the man who invented "slowcore", but nowhere near as meandering as his main group could sometimes be. Songs like "Around And Around" and the poignant elegy "Rose Marie" have a Denver-esque quality to them, while Kozelek's cover of AC/DC's youth anthem "Rock'N'Roll Singer" is almost unrecognisable. It's amazing what a little minimalism will do. --Everett True
Amazon.com's Best of 2000
As the beating heart of the criminally overlooked Red House Painters, Mark Kozelek occasionally indulged in deconstructed cover versions of unlikely songs in which the source material was almost (and beautifully) unrecognizable. On his first solo album, he covers three AC/DC songs and a John Denver gem, throwing in a handful of his own compositions for balance. Kozelek's genius lies in uncovering a secret song hidden within the one we recognize: he highlights a hidden sub-melody on Denver's "Around and Around" and morphs the AC/DC anthems into tender folk studies, all delivered in his deep and expressive olive-oil voice. His own compositions are no less beautifully and uniquely rendered, making Rock 'n' Roll Singer a small, necessary masterpiece from an unparalleled artist. --Tod Nelson
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The most beautiful album of the year,
By Robert Crosbie (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Rock N' Roll Singer (Audio CD)
Being a Red House Painters fan, I could not wait for this album. A little taster before the has-to-be-classic-not-yet-released "Old Ramon", this is another testament to Mark Kozelek's huge talent. 7 songs, 4 covers, and one of the most beautiful songs ever written - but I'll get to that.The album starts with "Find Me, Ruben Olivares", which RHP fans should already have on the "Shanti Project" CD. Featuring some great finger-picking and a wonderful melody, this is the first of only 3 Kozelek originals on the album. But no matter, the covers are so far removed from the originals, they may as well be self penned. The 3 AC/DC covers are great, the best being the title track. The only weak moment is "Bad Boy Boogie", not a bad version itself, it just drags a bit. A John Denver cover and another harmonised orignal, Metropol 47 (featuring some odd percussion!) follow, before we get to "Ruth Marie". This song is probably the most beautiful, sad, and touching song you'll hear - written from the point of view of an old woman in a nursing home. Just a guitar and Mark's warm, full voice is all it needs. This CD is definitely worth owning in you like RHP, and worth getting if you like acoustic guitar music. What would have made it even better would have been the inclusion of the 3 other songs on the "Shanti Project" CD - it would be great to have all these songs together. So come on, release "Old Ramon"!! Whoever's delaying that album's release should listen to this and wise up.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
For Those About To Rock,
By A Customer
This review is from: Rock N' Roll Singer (Audio CD)
We salute you Mark Kozelek. For fans waiting anxiously for new Red House Painters material this is quite a treat. Naturally some will be quick to criticize this CD for its brevity (only about 30 minutes worth of music), and the use of nearly identical versions of "Find Me Reuben Olivares" and John Denver's "Around and Around" which appear on The Shanti Project Collection and the Kozelek-organized "Take Me Home: A Tribute to John Denver". And then there are the AC/DC covers - three of them in all. Luckily for us, it all works beautifully. As usual, Kozelek has stripped the covers to their essences, and rebuilt them as only he can. Even AC/DC's ridiculously cheeky "Bad Boy Boogie" resonates with sincerity. There is a fine line between sensitive and sappy, and with his own writing Kozelek negotiates this territory better than anyone. The beautiful originals on this CD "Find Me...", "Metropol 47" and "Ruth Marie" are what really make this CD a must-have. Yes, this CD is too short. No, it is not a true Red House Painters album. However, until "Old Ramon" is released (IF it is released), there are few better ways to spend 30 minutes than listening to this CD.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even more songs for a blue guitar?,
By
This review is from: Rock N' Roll Singer (Audio CD)
Mark Kozelek keeps up the good work that he started on the Red House Painters album "Songs for a Blue Guitar." While the odd covers thing is bordering on schtick- he pulls it off so well that I can't criticize him for it. The three originals here are great, too. I especially like "Find Me, Ruben Olivares" (which already appeared on the Shanti project compilation) and "Metropol 47" which features a nice soundboard tap beat. AC/DC's "Rock n' Roll Singer" is the only electric track here, and sounds a lot like his cover of "Silly Love Songs." It's not the best thing he's done, but not so awful as to detract from the overall quality of this brief record. "You Ain't Got a Hold On Me" is another AC/DC cover, this time sung in a falsetto I've never heard Kozelek use before. I love it I love it I love it. This is a perfect, painfully liberating song. "Around and Around" is a John Denver tune that is touching and (dare I say it?) confessional in a way that balances the bitterness of some of the other songs. As always, Kozelek's guitar playing is great: never settling for tired chord progressions, and varied enough to stay interesting. Like Neil Young, I've felt that Kozelek tends to repeat himself (recycling tunes for different lyrics), but that's avoided here. Mark Kozelek has developed a sound that's gorgeous and eloquent. Maybe the man doesn't fit the music (I remember watching him on stage with a black flying-v heavy metal guitar in utter horror) but this is absolutely great music. RIYL: Nick Drake, Ida, His Name Is Alive, Damien Jurado, etc.
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