Artist: Railroad Earth
Album: The Last Of The Outlaws
Bitrate: 261kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: Black Bear Records
Genre: Rock
Size: 139.03 megs
PlayTime: 1h 10min 27sec total
Rip Date: 2014-01-11
Store Date: 2014-01-14
Track List:
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01. Chasin' A Rainbow 4:06
02. The Last Of The Outlaws 6:31
03. Grandfather Mountain 8:56
04. All That's Dead May Live Again 2:15
05. Introit 1:50
06. Tuba Mirum 4:28
07. Lacrimosa 1:59
08. Dies Irae 0:54
09. Face With A Hole 5:37
10. In Paradisum 3:44
11. Monkey 4:01
12. Hangtown Ball 8:41
13. When The Sun Gets In Your Blood 5:58
14. One More Night On The Road 5:40
15. Take A Bow 5:47
Release Notes:
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In the center of Railroad EarthÆs seventh album, Last of the Outlaws, the band
unleashes a beast. The 21-minute, multi-part, string-band symphony ôAll ThatÆs
Dead May Live Again/Face with a Holeö may become Railroad EarthÆs identifying
recordingùthe moment where they laugh in the faces of the critics whoÆve lazily
dubbed them the ôfolk-pop-Celtic-bluegrass-roots-and-rock act from Jersey.ö The
piece finds this sextet beautifully, seamlessly weaving through distinct
movements and melodies that cover the gamut of styles and emotionsùlike The
DecemberistsÆ The Hazards of Love, but more focused. TheyÆre bravely staring
down a storm in the whipping third movement before a blissful, meditative,
piano-led calm takes over in the fourth, and an uplifting chant marches through
the fifth and sixth.
Is it impossible to pin down? ThatÆs the point. Recorded in a private home
studio in rural New Jersey, Railroad EarthÆs first new album in three years
plays into the bandÆs strengths: long songs, rich harmonies, layer upon layer of
acoustic picking and elastic electric, Tim CarboneÆs truly gnarly fiddle and
big, bright choruses. The album opens on a classic Railroad Earth note: the
big-smile, anything-is-possible sing-along ôChasinÆ A Rainbow.ö But the energy
quickly dips on the slow-creeping title trackùwhich couldÆve been shuffled to
the back, or forgotten altogether. Thankfully, ôGrandfather Mountainö brings us
back with a gorgeous, swirling ode to the ôoldest eyes upon the planet, watching
ages come and go.ö
ItÆs a perfect segue into that 21-minute juggernaut, and the band emerges on the
other side with ôMonkey,ö which hits like a string-band cover of the best song
that Jackson Browne never wrote. The soaring ôWhen the Sun Gets in Your Bloodö
is all road-tripping, open-sky glory. As Todd Sheaffer crows, ôWhen the sun gets
in your bloodàPeople everywhere will seek out all your love,ö his light is
infectious. With straightforward shuffles like ôOne More Night on the Roadö or
ôHangtown Ballö bookending the albumÆs more experimental material, Railroad
Earth ensure that both classicists and letÆs-get-weird listeners can find
something to dig into.
But itÆs the more ambitious material that really impresses: When electric guitar
cracks the sky in the sixth movement, or when they shift from stomping rock to
the pieceÆs whispered finale, Railroad Earth is so much more than
ôfolk-pop-Celtic-bluegrass-roots-and-rocköùif that ever seemed possible.