New album sound

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kingball
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New album sound

Postby kingball » Tue Jul 28, 2009 2:54 am

Sounds like Ellis has gone back to his roots with his new album. I think it's a step back though. At first, AJF took a little getting used to but after repeated (very repeated) listens I think it is over all Ellis's strongest album - with "home" being probably his all time best song. There wasn't a single weak track on the whole album.

I feel TDAEC is a commercial step backwards and the formula is starting to feel a little tired. Of course, Ellis is the greatest song writer ever so the songs are still amazing...it's just that I felt Ellis was starting to grow and branch out, maybe even finally getting some commercial recognition he deserves. The new stuff is, to be honest, a bit of a disapointment. The only really stand out tracks are Paper Doll and Rose Tattoo...the former being a song in a style he doesn't normally do.

I just hope Ellis pushes a few boundaries and gets out of his comfort zone...

paddyinthepub
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Re: New album sound

Postby paddyinthepub » Tue Jul 28, 2009 6:44 am

Oh Flynn, always the kidder!!! :P

Okay, I'll play along long enough to say that I'm enjoying the samples this morning alongside morning coffee and it sounds mighty good to me. Ellis, Slab, Ralph and all involved kind enough to allow a free preview of all the songs here so we can get a taste of how the latest batch of songs were laid down.

I'm listening on mediocre at best laptops speakers and it's sounding plenty good to me and my suspicion is once I get this CD in the house and in the car it will be even more enjoyable.

Ya know, different day, place and time....mood, windows down, radio up.....how you can say on one hand that AJF took a beating for style change yet you grew to view it as one of Ellis' best ever -- then slam the songs or production values here on The Day After Everything Changed seems to fly in the face of reason.

And why you would want to come out here and slam the CD hours after the first chance to hear it for free is perplexing to me. To me what you get with most artists worth their salt is an evolution of their craft that combines something old and something new. It seems to me Ellis and co. have created another work of art here that will in all likelihood garner Ellis new fans and lead them back to the back catalog and the according to you best record Ellis ever made in American Jukebox Fables.

I heard folks lambasted that record as Ellis selling out. I never got that and while I noticed the change I and my sonically sensitive ears embraced the difference and enjoyed the living shift out of those songs for weeks and months on end as I do every good record that comes in the house that I just can't seem to get enough of.

So, thanks for those songs, Ellis and Flynn

And Ellis and co. for these....sounding good from where I listen.

And to you kingball, pardon my irish this morning as I go check the expiraton date on the sour grape juice I woke up to and spit out this morning. I much prefer the taste of a day not wasted so with that I offer aplogies to all and will close this by saying: Welcome Aboard!! :D
"once we're inside, it's a carnival ride" ~ ellis paul
paddy

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KarenZ
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Re: New album sound

Postby KarenZ » Tue Jul 28, 2009 9:18 am

kingball, first of all, welcome. Secondly, I'd be interested to hear a bit more of what you mean by the statement below. It's been a while since we've had a good discussion. :)

KarenZ
kingball wrote:I feel TDAEC is a commercial step backwards and the formula is starting to feel a little tired.
"Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see." -- Ann Patchett in Bel Canto.

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bonuela
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Re: New album sound

Postby bonuela » Tue Jul 28, 2009 1:56 pm

welcome kingball!

i fell in love with ellis because of ajf. change is always a risk, but if it weren't for blacktop train, i would not know about maria's beautiful mess or angel in manhattan.

:mrgreen:
I let my music take me where my heart wants to go. ~ Cat Stevens

kingball
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Re: New album sound

Postby kingball » Tue Jul 28, 2009 9:14 pm

Thanks guys for such a warm welcome :)

First of all, I am certainly not slamming the new album or even saying anything negative about it. It is a brilliant new album full of great songs...all of the songs are classic ellis and I know that when I get the cd and play it through my wonderful set of meaty speakers it's gonna sound amazing!

AJF took a bit of getting used to because it was SO different from anything Ellis did before. For the first time when listening to ellis I wasn't listening to the lyrics, but the production, and that never happens normally. My 1st impression of AJF was that it was an album of catchy radio fluff. None of the songs stuck out (except home) - they all seemed like a quiet verse, catchy chorus pop template. But then I started to actually listen to the lyrics and wow - how often do you hear a pop song that has deep lyrics??

So that's what I meant - I can make a first impression judgement on the new albums "sound" and I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just saying it sounds like all his other albums - we know he can write the best folk songs ever but I loved hearing him branch out and try some other styles because he is bloody good at those too. I've got umpteen albums of him singing folk, I wanna hear him do something different. There aren't many artists out there that have produced as many albums as Ellis, and the ones that have changed their style over time. AJF came at just the right time, it was refreshing and different - listen to the album essentials, all the songs are amazing, all of them fantastic but all of them sound the same. The most different track on the new album is paper dolls and I think that is going to probably end up being my fav track, I would really like to hear more of that.

We all agree that ellis should be a multi-millionare, that he should be flying to 80,000 people concerts in his solid gold private jet. He has more talent in his toe nail clippings than 99% of the other artists out there - but he doesn't have the money, fame and recognition he deserves. If you want different results change what you are doing. I just feel that nothing is gonna change for Ellis if he keeps doing the same thing. Yep the new album is fabulous, the new songs are great - but it's not gonna make Ellis rich and it's not gonna make him as famous as he should be. AJF proved that Ellis can do songs in a completely different style and still sound amazing. I felt that that was a step in the right direction for him and if he continued in that direction, well, who knows. If he keeps releasing albums that sound like his old stuff he's always just gonna be "music's best kept secret"...

I just want Ellis to meet a producer with an equal talent to his, to keep the power of ellis's voice and strength of his lyrics but combine it with a pop sensibility...He would be huge! He needs the dust brothers or the matrix to produce his next album :)

kingball
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Re: New album sound

Postby kingball » Tue Jul 28, 2009 9:27 pm

Maybe he doesn't want to alienate his current fan base...but hey, even if he released a death metal album I'd still buy it (and if he wrote it I'd probably like it!!).

paddyinthepub
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Re: New album sound

Postby paddyinthepub » Tue Jul 28, 2009 11:18 pm

Now I'm really mad!

But mostly at myself for jumping the gun and jumping all over the newest member of our little discussion board when I should have exercised far more restraint than I was able to. So it's with a degree of humility this evening I say to you kingball, mea culpa. :oops:

When I read back over your initial post here and my response to it I see that I overreacted in some "how dare you' come out here and say this or that about Ellis and or his new release.

Reading on this evening it's clear that you are on Ellis' side and as big a fan as the rest of us and your commentary this morning and tonight were aimed at voicing a frustration you share with the rest of us on the 'Ellis should be more well known than he is' front. So what i want to say tonight is that you may actually be on to something here with your ideas about how Ellis might break out of the constraints of what his wheelhouse has allowed him in the way of a career and launch into another realm of popular music that a record like American Jukebox Fables showed Ellis, with Flynn's production, was capable of reaching for.....I get that. I totally get that, and it's a wonderful point the more I think about it.

Only trouble with that kind of meteoric launch is that it's hardly sustainable these days. The big boys would get there hands all over Ellis and his time adn he couild be a whirlwind sensation for the better part of a year or two and then it's what have ya done for me lately and how well is the new record selling and it's so sorry adios it's been nice to know ya and audiences move on to the next big thing. I agree Ellis could have been the next big thing at any given album in his career.

The biz being what it is today, it takes a ton of talent (Ellis has that part nailed), a ton of right place right time, (he's in agood place now making the kind of music his fans expect and new ears will enjoy hearing for the first time) and a bit of the music gods reaching into the you're the next James Blunt hat adn picking Ellis Paul's name out and saying okay Ellis, it's your time!

Make a crazy good record....tour the world....have a ball. Sounds like a plan if only the stars aligned to make it so. But know that eventually Ellis would be back at his regular job of being one of the most talented and hardest travelling troubadors the folk music world has ever known. He will be back to touring in the Honda with just his acoustic guitars and keyboard in tow.

And fans will be happy for the ride he was able to jump on and welcome him back to the fold of intimate one night stands all across the land doing what we love to hear him do best. HIs brand of confessional and observational stories put to music. Alone on a stage on any given night and the sky is the limit....

Take all the sky you need, Ellis. We'll be tracking your rise daily.

It's worth repeating kingball, Welcome Aboard! Your slant on this subject is, to me at least, a breath of fresh air on this forum or any. Your passion for Ellis' music and career direction is obvious and one I'd be happy to discuss til we get the word out across the globe that Ellis Paul is an artist worth their time and attention....

Starting with the new record, and all the ones to come.... 8)
"once we're inside, it's a carnival ride" ~ ellis paul
paddy

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KarenZ
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Re: New album sound

Postby KarenZ » Wed Jul 29, 2009 1:58 pm

kingball,

Thanks for continuing the discussion. What I've concluded recently is that I don't know anything about the music business. I only know what I like. I definitely don't know anything about what it takes to be a huge success/star. Talent alone sure doesn't ensure success.....although I do think talent is the foundation. It also takes luck. And luck isn't anything we can conjure up when we need it. The link to the article that I posted yesterday for the most part says the same thing:

Is music made too much for mass appeal? by Rege Behe

I remember saying to Ellis a few years ago that no amount of fancy brilliant production is gonna make a bad song good. On the other hand....IMHO, nothing can hold a good song back. It'll thrive on its own merits. That said, Ellis' songs will thrive. Whether they make him a millionaire remains to be seen. What I hope for Ellis.....and if I know him at all, I think this is what he hopes for too....is to continue to write good songs. Period. I hope he is never totally motivated by $$...but, of course, I hope the songs can bring him a comfortable living....and hope too that lady luck dusts her fairy dust on him and he has a #1 hit.....or some other artist records one of his songs and has a #1 hit. Thing is.....being "music's best kept secret" isn't necessarly a bad thing....especially if you're making the art you want to make....and making a comfortable living.

His newer stuff sounds nothing like the early releases....so I don't agree with your comment that he "keeps doing the same thing". But, like I said to start....I know nothing about the music business. I only know what I like. And I like Ellis Paul... in any size, shape or form. But I'm weird that way. :)

I wouldn't mind of he hooked up with Daniel Lanois. :)

KarenZ


kingball wrote:We all agree that ellis should be a multi-millionare, that he should be flying to 80,000 people concerts in his solid gold private jet. He has more talent in his toe nail clippings than 99% of the other artists out there - but he doesn't have the money, fame and recognition he deserves. If you want different results change what you are doing. I just feel that nothing is gonna change for Ellis if he keeps doing the same thing. Yep the new album is fabulous, the new songs are great - but it's not gonna make Ellis rich and it's not gonna make him as famous as he should be. AJF proved that Ellis can do songs in a completely different style and still sound amazing. I felt that that was a step in the right direction for him and if he continued in that direction, well, who knows. If he keeps releasing albums that sound like his old stuff he's always just gonna be "music's best kept secret"...

I just want Ellis to meet a producer with an equal talent to his, to keep the power of ellis's voice and strength of his lyrics but combine it with a pop sensibility...He would be huge! He needs the dust brothers or the matrix to produce his next album :)
"Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see." -- Ann Patchett in Bel Canto.

PotatoPicker
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Re: New album sound

Postby PotatoPicker » Mon Aug 03, 2009 11:29 am

I need to listen a few more times before I can usefully comment. I hear some old, some new, some borrowed, but not much blue..... Definitely liking the overall CD though. It was on for the drive down to the Cape, the driving around the Cape, the drive home from the Cape.....
Jeff

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Re: New album sound

Postby Patti » Thu Aug 06, 2009 6:46 am

Jeff I agree... I have only been able to listen while driving in the car... without full attention to the track list.. a song would start and I would think , oh it sounds like an old song, only to realize it is a new song that I all ready know due to hearing him perform it live, or from Eddie's Attic CD.. so really it is new song :)
"Embrace what you have in common, celebrate what sets you apart" Ellis Paul

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KarenZ
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Re: New album sound

Postby KarenZ » Thu Aug 06, 2009 7:02 am

Folks,

Let's talk about the new album (sound or otherwise) in the thread for the new album. I'm gonna lock this particular thread so that we can keep things contained. :)

KarenZ
"Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see." -- Ann Patchett in Bel Canto.


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