Misguided Roses

Amazon.com
Edwin McCain landed a major-label contract on the strength of his sets opening shows for his old South Carolina buddies, Hootie and the Blowfish. McCain's major-label debut, 1995's Honor Among Thieves, featured a duet with Hootie's Darius Rucker, and closely resembled the Blowfish formula of earnest soul vocals over acoustic-led folk-rock. On the followup, Misguided Roses, McCain tries to put some distance between himself and his famous mentors by adopting a fuller, more amplified pop-rock sound. It's an approach that shows off McCain's handsome tenor and his knack for writing catchy choruses, even if it does nothing for his melodramatic lyrics.

Recorded in Nashville with session vets Matt Rollings and Kenny Greenberg producing, Misguided Roses gains its full textures from the tightly packed layers of guitars and keyboards. If these mid-'70s, Southern-California arrangements remind one of the second-generation Doobie Brothers, you won't be surprised to find Michael McDonald matching his grainy, blue-eyed soul voice with McCain's on two numbers. And when McCain comes up with a Top-40-radio hook as effective as those on "I'll Be," "Darwin's Children," and "Holy City," you might find yourself wishing you didn't understand English so you could enjoy the music without hearing lines as stilted as "Emeralds from mountains thrust towards the sky." --Geoffrey Himes

Misguided Roses,Edwin Mccain,Atlantic / Wea,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

Misguided Roses

Average customer rating:

Beautiful lyrics and great music
Edwin McCain = Amazing Music
One of my favorite albums
Edwin McCain...the "unknown"
Strong Performance

Misguided Roses
Edwin McCain Band
Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music

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Purists | Warner Brothers Records | Stores | Music
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Honor Among Thieves
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Lost in America
The Austin Sessions

ASIN: B000005J7L
Release Date: 1997-06-24

Tracks:

See The Sky Again
Grind Me In The Gears
Cleveland Park
I'll Be
How Strange It Seems
The Rhythm Of Life
Punish Me
Darwin's Children
Take Me
(I've Got To) Stop Thinking 'Bout That
What Matters
Holy City

Amazon.com

Edwin McCain landed a major-label contract on the strength of his sets opening shows for his old South Carolina buddies, Hootie and the Blowfish. McCain's major-label debut, 1995's Honor Among Thieves, featured a duet with Hootie's Darius Rucker, and closely resembled the Blowfish formula of earnest soul vocals over acoustic-led folk-rock. On the followup, Misguided Roses, McCain tries to put some distance between himself and his famous mentors by adopting a fuller, more amplified pop-rock sound. It's an approach that shows off McCain's handsome tenor and his knack for writing catchy choruses, even if it does nothing for his melodramatic lyrics.

Recorded in Nashville with session vets Matt Rollings and Kenny Greenberg producing, Misguided Roses gains its full textures from the tightly packed layers of guitars and keyboards. If these mid-'70s, Southern-California arrangements remind one of the second-generation Doobie Brothers, you won't be surprised to find Michael McDonald matching his grainy, blue-eyed soul voice with McCain's on two numbers. And when McCain comes up with a Top-40-radio hook as effective as those on "I'll Be," "Darwin's Children," and "Holy City," you might find yourself wishing you didn't understand English so you could enjoy the music without hearing lines as stilted as "Emeralds from mountains thrust towards the sky." --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful lyrics and great music.......2007-02-07

Ediwn McCain is a great songwriter, and he has the voice and the band to back it up.

One of my favorite lines from any of his songs is from "I'll Be":

"The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful stop me and steal my breath. Like emeralds from mountains, thrust towards the sky, never revealing their depths."

Edwin McCain is a very underappreciated artist. I don't understand why he isn't more popular. Maybe he is too hard to pigeonhole. He's not just folk. He's not just blues. He's not just soul. He's not just rock. He's not just pop. He's all of these things in a perfect blend. Whatever you want to call him, he's worth a listen if you like mature music with a cohesive range of styles and moods.

If you like this album, I would also highly recommend his album "Honor Among Thieves".

Edwin McCain = Amazing Music.......2006-03-13

If it has the name Edwin McCain on it, trust me its a great product to buy. The songs he writes are heart felt and true to every drop of ink used to write them with..

One of my favorite albums.......2006-01-27

I fried this sucker in the first few months I owned it. Had to buy another copy.

Edwin McCain is a storyteller. You can close your eyes and see what he sees. Holy City transports you to this beautiful place, haunting and mysterious yet in your back yard.

This is not a cookie cutter album either. The tracks are diverse and at times eclectic, which I love. A lot of times the entire CD sounds like the song playing on the radio SO WHAT'S THE POINT IN BUYING THE WHOLE THING? Not this time.

This is one of my all-time favs. I go back to it time and time again.

Edwin McCain...the "unknown".......2004-07-03

I had never heard of Edwin McCain until I heard the song "I'll Be" on the radio a little while ago. I fell in love with it and would sing it throughout the day. Still though, I didn't know who was the brilliant singer. It wasn't until I saw the soundtrack for "A Cinderella Story" that I finally found out who sang this! I HAD to have the CD! I must say, although my favorite song is still probably "I'll Be", I love all of the songs on this CD. (Now I have more songs to sing throughout the day!!) Each song is different--and beautiful--in its own way. If you like "I'll Be", I'm sure you'll like the CD!

Strong Performance.......2004-03-04

Edwin McCain stepped up the acoustic rock formula for his "Misguided Roses" album, provide a soul-filled album that stands out. His songs are more than just lyrics, but are more stories set to music. The band provides a great vehicle to carry the songs. With Larry Chaney playing lead, Dave Harrison on drums, Craig Shields picking up everything else from horns to keyboards, and Scott Bannevich on the bottom provide the upbeat music on this release.

The album begins in a great groove with "See the Sky Again" with a great opening riff from Chaney shortly followed by McCain's gruff voice. Chaney and McCain play off of each other well with vocals and guitar, and acoustic and electric guitars, building to a powerful end. Another great tune is "Cleveland Park" a much more laid back song relying on arpeggio chords from the acoustic guitar double with a strummed rhythm. "I'll Be" is the ballad of the album, and McCain croons well. "How Strange It Seems" has a good baseline from Bannevich, and a bluesy feel from Chaney. The same formula works again on "Darwin's Children", but I like McCain's voice better here, plus there's a good sax work from Shields here as well. Add in the cover of James Taylor's "(I've Got to) Stop Thinkin' `Bout That" and you have a pretty good album here.

McCain and crew have a lot of talent, and lay down some great music. I think McCain is one of the better bands in this genre of music, and they are fun to listen to. Definitely worth the price of the disk, and worth a listen.

Misguided Roses
Average customer rating:
Misguided Roses
McCain , and Edwin
Manufacturer: Atlantic
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000LXCI4W