Martin Devaney - Letters Never Sent
ARTIST.....: Martin Devaney
TITLE......: Letters Never Sent
LABEL......: Eclectone
URL........: www.martindevaney.com
RIP DATE...: Oct-22-2006
STORE DATE.: Oct-03-2006
GENRE......: Folk-Rock
QUALITY....: VBR / 44.1Hz / Joint-Stereo
SIZE.......: 53,7 MB
Track Listing:
01 - Flowers On The Doorstep 04:45
02 - An Open Letter 04:11
03 - Drought 03:59
04 - Almost Alone 04:24
05 - Five Day Affair 03:28
06 - On Learning To Love 04:22
07 - One For The Road 03:20
08 - Blessing And The Blame 03:28
09 - Soundtrack To Our Success 02:15
10 - Aftermath 02:57
─────
37:09 min
Release Notes:
www.myspace.com/martindevaneyband
www.eclectone.com
Devaney's "Letter" day
"It's amazing that Eclectone Records founder Martin Devaney - one
of the hardest-shilling guys in local show business - even found
time to make his own new album, "Letters Never Sent," which he's
promoting Saturday at the Turf Club. All the more impressive is
that "Letters" boasts the kind of poetry that most of us would be
lucky to produce just once in our lives.
Over a basic Americana soundtrack (a little piano, a bit o'
violin, loose guitar parts), Devaney offers a less-than-basic view
on a musicians' lifestyle. Things like "living for a ringing phone
or a printed page," as he puts it in "Five Day Affair." "An Open
Letter" finds him "clenched up like a fist." And in the tender
downer "Almost Alone," he sings to an either unforgiving or
unrequited love, "All I've got to give are these hand-me-down
dreams, pillow pardons and matchbook poems." The guy's truly on
fire here. "
- Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune
"The starting point for Martin Devaney is always Bob Dylan. Not
only does he look more than a little like the young Bard of
Hibbing, but Devaney's first album of folk-rock songs was clearly
inspired by Dylan. Nowadays, listening to the St. Paul native's
fourth solo album, Letters Never Sent, I hear Devaney's boyish
vocals, charming hooks, and appreciation of the opposite sex and
am reminded of a different Traveling Wilbury: Tom Petty. Devaney
celebrates the album's release on his own Eclectone label with
Mike Gunther & His Restless Souls and Big Trouble."
- Paul Demko, City Pages
"One would be hard pressed to find a harder working and nicer guy
in the TC music scene then Mr. Devaney. Modest to a fault,
Devaney's wry warm alt.country songs are equally effective whether
he's taking an electric rock 'n' roll approach (as on 2004's La
Mancha) or stripping it all back down to his acoustic essentials
(the dominant mode taken on his just-released album, Letters Never
Sent). The spare sound doesn't lack for local scene star power,
however, as the always lovely windpipes of JoAnna James grace
several tracks, as does the violin work of Jake Hyer from the Get
Up Johns. This gig celebrating Letters Never Sent's release is
sure to be memorable as Devaney's rounded up a particularly slick
set of players for the occasion, including his longtime guitarist
Josh Peterson and the always dynamic rhythm section of drummer
Peter Leggett and bassist Sean McPherson (known for their work in
live hip-hop outfit Heiruspecs)."
- Pulse of the Twin Cities
"St. Paul singer/songwriter Martin Devaney has spent much of the
year concentrating on his ever-growing label Eclectone and
establishing it as a homegrown, heartfelt brand with numerous
label showcases. But he also managed to find time to record his
own fourth album, "Letters Never Sent." It's his strongest release
to date and, despite a roster of special guests (including JoAnna
James and Heiruspecs' rhythm section), his keen, observational
songs remain the true selling point."
- Ross Raihala, St. Paul Pioneer Press