Thursday 27 October 2016

Richard Shindell - Careless


Rating: 5/5

Review:
A very good album



I hadn't come across Richard Shindell before, but a friend recommended this to me and I'm delighted he did; I think it's exceptionally good.

Shindell largely tells stories, and he tells them brilliantly.  He has a fine voice, there's some very good guitar work and the whole thing is very well arranged and produced.  What makes these songs special, though, is the lyrics.  Set to lovely tunes which really bring out the meaning of the words, there are quite extraordinary images and references in songs like Infrared, quirky and amusing stuff like a blues narrated by a stray cow, and Careless, Your Guitar and especially All Wide Open all have me close to tears. 

It's not often I hear a new album and am quite so taken with it, but I'm genuinely impressed by Careless.  It's a fine, intelligent piece of work, and I can recommend it warmly.

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