"Although chosen for its deliberately nondescript qualities, in retrospect the name American Music Club was the perfect moniker for the lauded San Francisco-based band led by singer/songwriter Mark Eitzel: over the course of nine acclaimed albums, the group tied together the disparate strands of the American musical fabric — rock, folk, country, punk, even lounge schmaltz — into a remarkably distinct and riveting whole, creating a brilliant and cohesive body of work dappled by moments of haunting beauty and impenetrable darkness".
(Jason Ankeny, All-Music Guide)
"When the time came to record California, Eitzel’s personal circumstances had changed. He had moved to one of San Francisco’s less salubrious areas. A down at heal neighbourhood of bedsits, bars and strip joints populated by the lost, broken, drunk and lonely. Perfect grist to the mill for a songwriter with Eitzel eye for the dispossessed. Eitzel had also changed his listening habits in a conscious attempt to strip the traces of 'rock' from the songs he was writing. Overdosing on Nick Drake records, the demo’s that he brought to the band where radically different from anything he had preciously attempted. Many where not 'songs' at all, in the conventional sense, just tiny fragments of despair, lacking choruses or even chord progressions. (...) California fused Eitzel’s stories of loss, regret and loneliness to a sound that echoed his obsessions. The album reverberates to the haunting sounds of empty spaces, brooding silences, quite eddies of feedback and washes of pedal steel guitar".
(Tony Heywood)
Read entire review here
ENJOYPale and Skinny Girl
10 comments:
Tracklist:
01 Firefly
02 Somewhere
03 Laughing Stock
04 Lonely
05 Pale and Skinny Girl
06 Blue and Grey Shirt
07 Bad Liquor
08 Now You're Defeated
09 Jenny
10 Western Sky
11 Highway 5
12 Last Harbor
.together with THIN WHITE ROPE one of the fav Californians of that period.
God I totally love this album! Sadly out of print for so many years, it's great to finally get it at a decent bitrate quality.
American slowcore at its best from a huge talent - Mark Eitzel.
Thanks for this very underated band. One of the best.
My favorite LP of all time. It is simply amazing.Thanks for quote my review can you do me a favor and link to the full review on my blog.
I am going to add your blog in my links on mine.
http://highwayfive.blogspot.com/2006/01/california-american-music-club.html
Cheers
Tony
Hi Tony,
Thanks for visiting. Great review by the way, glad I could find out there...
Cheers!
No worries. Thanks for adding the link and the files. Keep up the good work.
California combined Eitzel’s stories of death, sorrow and strip joints populated by the flummoxed, shattered, drunk and lonely. The record reverberates to notation California, Eitzel’s delicate circumstances had also untouched his listening routine in a conscious shot to strip the traces of 'pitch' from the songs He had stirred to one of bedsits, bars and loneliness to a sound that he brought to the group where radically different from anything he had preciously attempted. Overdosing on Nick Drake records, the tape’s that echoed his obsessions. Many where not 'songs' at settle neighbourhood of San Francisco’s minus salubrious areas. A down at all, in the crush for a songwriter with Eitzel eye for the dispossessed. Eitzel had untouched. He was symbols. When the time came to the poignant sounds of evacuate chairs, brooding silences, fully eddies of view and washes of pedal steel guitar." Perfect grist to the conventional feeling, just tiny fragments of despair, absent choruses or even chord progressions.
link exchange
university admission
American Music Club is a perfect album, I heard this album some months ago and I should say it's perfect specially because Mark Eitzel has a perfect voice.m10m
I think that this is one of the most important things, I really like it, I would like to have the chance of watch this movie, excelled pot!
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