Official UTS Review Thread

[face of glass]

Ok, let's give it a proper whirl:

Not Too Late: I know I complained about the lyrics earlier. With music like this I find them moving though. Disregard the two first lines and the rest is stuff that anyone can relate to at some point in their lives. The chorus hits really hard amidst the melancholy of the verses, the pseudo-classical picking and the middle eight. Almost as great as his previous album openers.

Show You How: Nuttily addictive thudding and a great song to boot. The panpipe outro at the end is still unnecessary though.

Under The Skin: I have the same problem with this one as I do with Flying Down Juniper; the verses are good but the chorus is the one that sticks in my mind more. However, it is a very atmospheric listen with all the echoes and stuff.

I Am Waiting: Loved this on Soundstage, love it here too. Beautiful layers. This is how peaceful desperation should be done.

It Was You: The throwaway piece of the album for some. For me it's just as important as the best of the serious stuff. A playful song with all the Beach Boys influences. Someone here mentioned that he heard some reggae in it, I do too, in Lindsey's vocalising especially. Some kind of parody going on here? Whatever, it's a thrilling pastiche in the best tradition of Buckingham.

To Try For The Sun: It's kind of hard to get used to add the "To" word to it, having written the title without it ever since I first heard GOS. This was a highlight there and becomes one here too, I don't even mind the editing at all.

Cast Away Dreams: I've warmed up to it even more but still think there are better songs on the album. The echoed production works better on UTS and FLJ.

Shut Us Down: Cutting down the entire instrumental bit wasn't a good idea, but other than that I don't really notice the editing. Another moving piece of music that gets nicely heated during the choruses. I've really warmed up to this after not having been too excited about the track last year.

Down On Rodeo: Call me a mainstream sell-out but this has always been perfection and remains so here.

Someone's Gotta Change Your Mind: Fits well to the concept of the album with the echoes and all. Really grown to like this one as well, but still think Holiday Road is better.

Flying Down Juniper: Definitely needs SGCYM as its pair. Ends the record on a beautiful, hopeful note.

Other things I noticed: The click tracks on digital recording software are pretty much on all the new songs that he recorded on tour. Not that I mind, I think it's kinda funny.

Cover art: Can't beat OOTC here, but still looks better printed than it did when I first saw a digital version of the cover. Really nice autumn colours.

Overall: GOS is still my favourite solo album of his (even though a part of it appears here), but I guess this one has hit some soft spot right now: I can't really find anything to criticise, except for a few details. Such as the editing of SUD, but never mind that. I'm really glad and grateful that he released something again. Together with Gene Clark's No Other that I just bought recently, these two albums are the true "Cosmic American Music". Gram Parsons, eat yer heart out!