Shawn Mullins - 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor
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Music CD Cover Artist: Shawn Mullins Edition: Music CD CD Release Date: 2006-02-14 Music Label: Vanguard Records Soundtracks:
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Free Music Notes for 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor Album
Free Music Review: Confused....but satisfied
Hit: 3 Stars
I love Shawn Mullins. I think he is one of the most talented singer/songwriter/guitar players making music today. I have all of his albums and thoroughlly enjoy each of them for what they are, individually. I, for one, never understood why "Beneath the Velvet Sun" (as "pop" as one may say it was) didn't take off as a gigantic success. The sheer amount of radio-friendly material on that album is staggering. Literally every person I ever let listen to that album went out and bought it.
That being said, I was less than 100% thrilled when I listened to "9th Ward Pickin' Parlor". "Blue As You", in my humble opinion, is the wrong choice to open this album. It sets a tone for a laid-back, acoustically-driven set of songs, but is misleading in terms of the album as a whole. The song is growing on me, don't get me wrong, but it lacks the power, growl and vocal presence of Shawn's better acoustic work. The lyrics feel pointless and it sets a mood that is completely changed on the very next song.
After "Blue As You", I can truly say that the next three songs ("Beautiful Wreck", "Cold, Black Heart" and "Faith" are some of the catchiest, most radio-friendly, ear-pleasing songs I've ever heard from Shawn. After those three songs, I had a completely different impression of where the album was headed. I had almost forgotten "Blue As You" and had settled in for a mixture of the rock-tinged, pop sensibilities of "Beneath the Velvet Sun" and even some of the anthemic, emotionally charged "Soul's Core". Then I was thrown for another loop, finding that the next half of the album had none of that to offer. With the exception of "All Fall Down", the remainder of the album is acoustic, never rising above a slow burn and never really even peaking during individual songs the way "Soul's Core" did. During "Soul's Core", Shawn's songs would take on a life of their own, delivering powerful moments, even in the quietest of arrangements. The songs on "9th Ward" never seem to deliver that "punch", either vocally or instrumentally.
This isn't to say that the instrumentation or the vocals on this album are sub-par, to say the least. There are beautiful arrangements and some fine "pickin'" to be found on this album; however, it left me wanting to hear only certain songs on the next listen and overall left me feeling a bit disjointed. It almost feels like Shawn couldn't decide who he wanted to play for, so he put a few songs for everyone on this album. That's fine, because I like pretty much everything he's done, but here's my big complaint with the album: The last three songs are almost completely devoid of a solid hook. There is nothing in those three songs that makes me want to listen to them. They are long, drawn-out and never seem to deliver on the promises that Shawn has made in his past work to at least make slow songs interesting and alive. I have heard reviews of this cd that say that the strength of the album is in these last few songs. I simply disagree.
If you're a die-hard Mullins fan, pick up this cd, but don't expect the 13-song "high" you're accustomed to from one of the finest voices in music today. Expect some toe-tapping and some classic Shawn Mullins moments, but also expect to be a bit disappointed with the album as a whole.
If you're NOT a die-hard Mullins fan, you'd be better off picking up one of his last two releases. They're much more unified in their musical approach and have a lot more of what makes Shawn Mullins great.