Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Scott Miller lives up to the legacy of his former outfit, the V-Roys, by delivering one of the most promising roots-rock breakthroughs since Steve Earle's
Guitar Town. Working with up-and-coming Nashville producer R.S. Field (Webb Wilder, Billie Joe Shaver), Miller's first solo album ranges from the Buffalo Springfield-like rock of "Across the Line" to the disarming piano spiritual "Room on the Cross." ("Take me with you when you go, I can't stand it here alone," he sings in an aching tenor. "Is there room on the cross for me?") Elsewhere, the Virginia singer-songwriter sets his great-great-grandfather's wartime letters to music in "Dear Sarah" and teams up with fellow Knoxville natives Superdrag for "Absolution," a track that recalls R.E.M. in their most Mike Mills-dominated moments. With intelligent songwriting and frequently inspired arrangements,
Thus Always to Tyrants marks Miller as a talent to watch.
--Bill Forman
Thus Always to Tyrants,Scott Miller and the Commonwealth,Sugarhill [Country],Pop,Pop/Rock,Rock,Rock/Pop,Roots Rock,Singer/Songwriter,United States of America
Thus Always to Tyrants
Average customer rating:
- What's Up with the Organ???????
- Always Rock Solid and Sometimes Brilliant
- Enjoyable roots rock
- Semper Ubi Sub Ubi
- Excellent
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Thus Always to Tyrants
Scott Miller & the Commonwealth
Manufacturer: Sugarhill [Country]
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
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ASIN: B00005J9YQ
Release Date: 2001-06-12 |
Tracks:
- Across The Line
- I Made A Mess Of This Town
- Loving That Girl
- I Won't Go With You
- Yes I Won't
- Dear Sarah
- Highland County Boy
- Absolution
- Miracle Man
- Daddy Raised A Boy
- Goddamn The Sun
- Is There Room On The Cross For Me
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Scott Miller lives up to the legacy of his former outfit, the V-Roys, by delivering one of the most promising roots-rock breakthroughs since Steve Earle's Guitar Town. Working with up-and-coming Nashville producer R.S. Field (Webb Wilder, Billie Joe Shaver), Miller's first solo album ranges from the Buffalo Springfield-like rock of "Across the Line" to the disarming piano spiritual "Room on the Cross." ("Take me with you when you go, I can't stand it here alone," he sings in an aching tenor. "Is there room on the cross for me?") Elsewhere, the Virginia singer-songwriter sets his great-great-grandfather's wartime letters to music in "Dear Sarah" and teams up with fellow Knoxville natives Superdrag for "Absolution," a track that recalls R.E.M. in their most Mike Mills-dominated moments. With intelligent songwriting and frequently inspired arrangements, Thus Always to Tyrants marks Miller as a talent to watch. --Bill Forman
Customer Reviews:
What's Up with the Organ???????.......2005-06-03
Most of the reviews listed on this page sum up "Thus Always to Tyrants" quite well, so I don't want to rehash what has truthfully been said. However, I noticed that one reviewer, Brad Ellsworth, has gotten knocked for some of his insightful criticisms of the disc, so I'd like to offer some support for and clarification of a few of his points. Overall, "Thus Always to Tyrants" is a solid effort that just barely misses being great. Songs such as "Across the Line" and "Mess of this Town" are clever rock-inspired songs that are catchy and well written. For those who enjoy Miller's acoustic efforts a bit more than the rock-oriented songs, "Dear Sarah," "Highland County Boy," and "Is There Room On the Cross for Me" all showcase a fine talent for creating great lyrical imagery and weaving it into a listenable song (something many artists are unable to do). Unfortunately, the brilliant moments are marred by the presence of a few bad instrumentation decisions and one terrible song. Whether hardened V-Roys fans or Alt. Country enthusiasts will want to admit it or not, there are some aspects of this CD that are lame. I've noticed the same problem on the latest Webb Wilder release ("About Time"), so I'm beginning to wonder if producer R. S. Field, despite his proven brilliance, might be the source of the problem. How anyone can convince themselves that terrible songs such as the inane "Yes, I Won't" (I hope Scott didn't believe such a title was a clever play on words) and the bland "Absolution" are worthy of being included on this CD is beyond my comprehension. Then, there are some selections that are brilliant but are ruined by the presence of an ORGAN for God's sake. "Miracle Man"--despite what a previous reviewer said--is a great tune with a powerful vocal delivery, yet the song loses its punch with the inclusion of a Bruce Hornsby-sounding relic of an organ. Whoever thought an organ in a rock-oriented song would be a good idea? I realize that Scott is a roots-rock/Americana artist who wants to utilize traditional instrumentation, but an organ just doesn't work. It's such decisions that allow a potentially great song to lose its momentum and become average at best. Such musical low points are what keep the CD from standing out from countless other releases that do the same thing. Overall, "Thus Always to Tyrants" is a CD worthy of purchase despite its shortcomings, but it unfortunately doesn't live up to its full potential.
Always Rock Solid and Sometimes Brilliant.......2003-11-27
Translated from the Latin, the title of course comes from the words of John Wilkes Booth after shooting the President and is also the state motto of Virginia. And all of sudden, smack in the middle of this CD, Scott Miller yanks us back to the Confederate 19th century with Dear Sarah and Highland County Boy, fiddle and banjo arrangements, letters of a soldier to his love and the story of a boy left back at home while his brothers all get themselves killed in the carnage. It's an astonishing stark throwback sound that feels like it's been lifted directly from more than a hundred years ago. The final cut, Is There Room on the Cross for Me, is similarly tinged in a distant, rural, southern past.
Nothing from either the V-Roys (where Miller first appeared) or the rest of this fine CD quite prepares you for those three great moments, but the other songs here, while not nearly as striking, measure up very well. Plenty of V-Roys-type material, including the in-my-beer I Won't Go With You, the cuckolded-again Loving that Girl, and the rocking I Made A Mess of This Town or Absolution. Across the Line sounds like the old Marshall Tucker Band and Daddy Raised a Boy is a fine take on the eternal struggle between father and son. One last note -- in this album's variety, energy and his willingness to take stylistic risks, it's clear that Scott Miller has learned well from Steve Earle.
Enjoyable roots rock.......2003-05-28
Scott Miller's "Thus always to tyrants" is an album of both roots rock (for example "Miracle man" and "I made a mess of this town") and traditional country (as in "Dear Sarah" and "Highland country boy"). There's even a bit of punk rock inspiration in "Goddamn the sun". For fans of especially John Hiatt and Steve Earle, this album should indeed be checked out. Even if you're big hero is named Ryan Adams, I guess there's a chance you'll like Scott Miller. "Thus always to tyrants" is a good album and it have enough variation to remain enjoyable, but do not expect a masterpiece.
Semper Ubi Sub Ubi.......2003-03-28
Scott Miller (ex of the V-Roys) returns as Scott Miller and the Commonwealth and puts out the great album the V-Roys always promised but never delivered. "Thus Always to Tyrants" will undoubtedly get filed under Alt.Country, but it may be more aptly descriptive to term it hard rock Americana. Miller's songwriting is assured and ambitious, and the Commonwealth backs him with scene-stealing zeal. This is a tour of American roots music deserving of a wider audience, and if there's any justice in the world Scott Miller just might tear away a chunk of Ryan Adams' fanbase.
Excellent.......2002-01-03
I wasn't too sure how this would be when I picked it up, but it just grabs a hold and won't let go. I find myself thinking of Drivin' and Cryin', pre-Green R.E.M., as well as older Southern rock and folk rock. And then there are the two Civil War songs, which are amazingly evocative. Miller's writing is incredible and the playing (both his own and the Commonwealth's) make for a fine package.
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