David Ackles

Product Description
Ackles’ 1968 debut was his most rock-ish, featuring backing by members of the band Rhinoceros, and had the closest thing to a hit he ever had, the first-person drifter narrative "The Road to Cairo." Also on the album: "When Love Is Gone," "Sonny Come Home," "Blue Ribbons," "What a Happy Day," "Down River," "Laissez Faire," "Lotus Man," "His Name Is Andrew" and "Be My Friend."

David Ackles,David Ackles,Collector's Choice,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop,Singer/Songwriter

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David Ackles

Average customer rating: Piano Bar/Lounge Singer Montana Song rates it a 5, the rest is almost as good. The Sgt. Pepper of American Rural Decay The Scene Behind Grant Wood's Painting Not as cool as I remembered

American Gothic David Ackles Manufacturer: Collector's Choice ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Death Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Singer Songwriters | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: David Ackles Subway to the Country Ananda Shankar Crossing the Red Sea With the Adverts Greetings from L.A. ASIN: B00006RYIX Release Date: 2003-02-11

Tracks:

1. American Gothic
2. Love's Enough
3. Ballad Of The Ship Of State
4. One Night Stand
5. Oh, California!
6. Another Friday Night
7. Family Band
8. Midnight Carousel
9. Waiting For The Moving Van
10. Blues For Billy Whitecloud
11. Montana Song

Product Description

1. American Gothic
2. Love's Enough
3. Ballad Of The Ship Of State
4. One Night Stand
5. Oh, California!
6. Another Friday Night
7. Family Band
8. Midnight Carousel
9. Waiting For The Moving Van
10. Blues For Billy Whitecloud
11. Montana Song


Format: CD

Customer Reviews:

Piano Bar/Lounge Singer.......2007-06-22

OK, we all know that Piano Bar Lounge Singers are at the bottom of the food chain, mostly loud, boring and untalented. Bill Murray aped them very well during his Saturday Night Live days. When I listen to American Gothic, I can picture David Ackles playing these songs in a piano bar, and finding myself completely captivated by the performances. The songs feel close and personal, almost embarrassingly so, especially little gems like "One Night Stand," and "Waiting for the Moving Van." These songs are not all hummable, nor will the melodies necessarily stay with you. It is the overall performance that cuts through any initial resistance to his style of presenting songs. He is more a showman than a folksinger.
But if you listen, and close out the outside world, he has you. I end up wanting to hear more. Montana Song is a great magnum opus for closing this album - makes me want to go revisit the farm where I grew up. This is a kind of music that doesn't fit any popular classification, but if you let it in, you will somehow feel enriched.

Montana Song rates it a 5, the rest is almost as good........2006-12-03

This is one of those albums that is destined to be a critic's favorite but not a best seller. It is distinctly American in its subject matter, but to me sounds more European in its formality. It is a classic. It has elements of blues, country, gospel, and especially classical, but is probably too varied, idiosyncratic and intelligent to be number one on the charts. Montana Song is a song that could be make made into a movie; it addresses the universal longing of finding one's roots on a farm that is now foreign to the city boy who writes about it. It's music is sophisticated, classically based and is romantic in its poetry of finding lost generations in a place removed from the present reality. "California Song" sounds to me like it should be in a musical of some sort. "Love's Enough" is one of the prettier songs you will hear about the subject of being in love. There does tend to be a theme of loneliness throughout the songs, but there is also humor and hope to bring some emotional balance. If you are one into songs that are piano based, formal, sophisticated, varied, and yet still accessible, Ackles may be your man. It certainly is a great work looking for a broader audience, and deserves the critical praise it has received over the years.

The Sgt. Pepper of American Rural Decay.......2006-07-13

Like one of the other reviewers here, I first heard of Ackles, from reading about him in the book "American Troubadours". He was singled out as the only singer-songwriter in the book whose recorded output was consistently of the highest quality. Unfortunately, he never found a large enough audience as the foremost practicioner of what can only be called Ackles-rock. I would hope with the slough of films about obscure pop, rock or miscellaneous musicians, that have come out recently, someone will decide to tackle Ackles (this rhyme was accidental). His music and vision seem as literary as they are musical, and are satisfying as both. His music is like the little ant you see crawling on what had just a second-before been a wholesome and joyful pancake, drenched in glossy syrup. I think every song on this album is great, he seems to have quite a gift for deepening and extending a song's peak. I especially like the piano ballads which lure you in, and maybe on your second or third listen you'll realize that the shadow and lights in his world are given in equal proportion, and the lyrics have a wise and weary cynacism.

The Scene Behind Grant Wood's Painting.......2005-10-03

Ackle's penultimate album contains the consumate rural romance,'Montana Song', whose 10 minutes alone makes this a rewarding collection. It's not the expressive voice rising directly from its rural source. It's the urban striving to recuperate a faded vision,filtered through a city sophisticate's sensibility. Richie Unterberger, writing the liners, is right on the pulse in describing Ackle's vision as a blend of 'rock instrumentation with a Brecht-Weillian theatrical sense and dark Americana. 'Montana Song's' mini-operatic reach appropriates themes from Aaron Copeland's,'Appalachian Spring'. Despite announcing at the outset that he's found what he went looking for, we sense the narrator's desperation as he seeks ancestral connexions on a remote and ruined farm, armed only with the family bible as a guide to the C19th. Ackle's voice, in great shape throughout, hits some of its tenderest notes as this anxious journey discloses generational repudiation of the land in favour of fin de siecle city lights. A poignant roarness emerges as the grandmother, Leantha McKinnon, becomes resigned to widowhood in 1921, echoing her husband's regret when his sons departed. The narrator is soothed by his discoveries. The bible entries are made more meaningful as he moves about in the prairie breeze. No matter how close the strings and horns follow the narrative, Ackle's emoting is closer to us and a little apart, so that the music swells, rolls, clouds and clears as landscaspe in dialogue with the narrator's conscience. His shifting tonalities save the story from cinematic schmaltz: a remarkable performance that will always live for me. This is an album of considerable rear vision.'Family Band', the eerie,'Ship of Fools','Another Friday Night', 'Waiting for the Moving Van' - the varied themes of each are shaped by a profound sense of loss. The raucous,'Midnight Carousel', and the cruel lament for,'Billy Whitecloud', with its cabaret mockery, expand Ackle's take on small town Americanan misfits. He's successfully animated the woodworms in Grant Wood's stuffy, iconic skeletons, pressed close to us on the cover.

Not as cool as I remembered.......2005-08-22

We bought this because we were talking about records we knew from college, and while we remembered enjoying it, we couldn't really remember any of the music. Now the music and lyrics seem sophomoric, embarrassing, and not really worth listening to again.

Average customer rating: Criminally Obscure Against the stream what a happy day indeed Uplifting Melancholia Review of David Ackles

David Ackles David Ackles Manufacturer: Collector's Choice ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Death Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Singer Songwriters | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: American Gothic Subway to the Country Guitarra Portuguesa Moments from This Theater Ollabelle ASIN: B00006RYIV Release Date: 2003-02-11

Tracks:

1. The Road To Cairo
2. When Love Is Gone
3. Sonny Come Home
4. Blue Ribbons
5. What A Happy Day
6. Down River
7. Laissez Faire
8. Lotus Man
9. His Name Is Andrew
10. Be My Friend

Product Description

1. Road To Cairo, The
2. When Love Is Gone
3. Sonny Come Here
4. Blue Ribbons
5. What A Happy Day
6. Down River
7. Laissez-Faire
8. Lotus Man
9. His Name Is Andrew
10. Be My Friend


Format: CD

Customer Reviews:

Criminally Obscure.......2006-07-17

I would call this one of those mature debuts. Even though he would reach greater heights in later recordings, the blueprint was laid down here. The Brecht/Weill drunken carnival music alternating with quiet piano songs creates a fascinating atmosphere of unease, grotesques & quiet reflection. Like some of the Syd Barrett albums where the instruments were added after the singer was finished recording vocals, the notes often chase the rhythym like a flock of birds, not quite arriving at the same time. But, it doesn't seem to matter much. The songs are that good. I think the songs most often cited by critics are the strongest, "Down River", "The Road to Cairo" & "His Name is Andrew". But, I think all the songs are good.

Against the stream.......2004-08-20

By the standards of any time during the last forty years, David Ackle's writing would stand pretty much alone. Laughing Lenny Cohen, in some ways, charts similar territory to Ackles. But the zones he sets his lyrics to must have seemed really perverse in the late sixties & early seventies when, as another reviewer astutely remarks, the nearest gifted equivalent was Jimmy Webb. Webb's star was on the rise though (through interpreters of his songs to be sure,pre-eminently Glen Campbell, as his own albumns received much the same end as Ackles). This is the disc I've most often returned to though. 'Down River', Road to Cairo, & the awesome,'His Name Is Andrew'. Hardly a rollicking affair & none of it bouncing back into mind like the Webb catalogue with the perfume of the bouyant side of the 60s. Ackles was tuned to the darker undercurrent. For subtle nuance of lyric to piano, and range of feeeling in the darker, and tender zones of relationship, I feel he hasn't a rival. Comparisons, I note in other reviews, with Laughing Lenny Cohen do injustice to Ackles, who is far less cumbersome.

what a happy day indeed.......2004-05-14

This must be one of the most haunting debut albums of all. There are some songs by this dignified, rough-edged romantic which are so heartbreakingly moving that words fail - eg. Love`s Enough (if only Sinatra had heard that instead of My Way) and Waiting For the Moving Van, both from a later collection and, from this album, the peerless Down River. If I`d ever been able to see a dream concert featuring Ackles, Tom Rush & Tim Hardin - well, I would have died of pleasure. (Look after yourself now, Tom.)
Four-and-a-half stars, mate? Huh!

Uplifting Melancholia.......2004-03-16

This is the first of David Ackles' four albums, and arguably the best. The songs capture you, drag you in, hold you at knifepoint, and then, breathlessly, let you go. The Road to Cairo... Sunny, Come Home... Blue Ribbons (written for a very young Cher, who never recorded it, about the Watts riots)... even the tender songs will have you clutching your heart. If you're a music lover who doesn't care that the music isn't MARKETABLE, this album will be the centerpiece of your collection. If you're a songwriter, poring over these contents will either make you a better songwriter or leave you wishing you were and knowing you'll never make it.

After you've immersed yourself here and are wanting more, pick up David's 3rd album ("American Gothic", produced by Bernie Taupin) and drink deeply. Then you'll want to finish your collection; the 2nd album, "Subway to the Country", is available, although I find that less satisfying; and have fun finding the vinyl of the 4th Album, "David T. Ackles' Five and Dime", which Columbia has yet to release to CD.

I am very thankful for finding this in vinyl for 50c at a Salvation Army Thrift Store in Denver in the 70s. (This album was also re-released on vinyl as "The Road to Cairo".) All of David's music has meant a lot to me. His death in 1999 was a blow to many of us.

Review of David Ackles.......2003-02-13

I think that this album is generally good with a couple of strong points.

Average customer rating: Another Gem Rescued By the Raven Only the truth About time! Ackles' final LP available 1st time since 1974 Waited 30 years for this one! Well Worth It!

Five & Dime David Ackles Manufacturer: Raven [Australia] ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Similar Items: Subway to the Country American Gothic David Ackles Tim Rose/Through Rose Colored Glasses John the Wolfking of L.A. ASIN: B0002YCUWA Release Date: 2004-10-18

Tracks:

1. Everybody Has a Story
2. I've Been Loved
3. Jenna Saves
4. Surf's Down
5. Berry Tree
6. One Good Woman's Man
7. Run Pony Run
8. Aberfan
9. House Above the Strand
10. Photograph of You
11. Such a Woman
12. Postcards
13. Down River [*] - Spooky Tooth
14. Road to Cairo [*] - Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & the Trinity
15. Blue Ribbons [*]
16. His Name Is Andrew [*] - Martin Carthy
17. Subway to the Country [*] - Harry Belafonte
18. Your Face, Your Smile [*] - Stacy Sullivan
19. Down River [*] - The Hollies

Product Description

Five & Dime (1973):
1. Everybody Has A Story
2. I've Been Loved
3. Jenna Saves
4. Surf's Down
5. The Berry Tree
6. One Good Woman's Man
7. Run, Pony, Run
8. Aberfan
9. House Above The Strand
10. A Photograph Of You
11. Such A Good Woman
12. Postcards

Bonus Tracks - Ackles Rendered:
13. Down River - Spooky Tooth
14. Road To Cairo - Julie Driscoll, Brain Auger & the Trinity
15. Blue Ribbons - Louisa Jane White
16. His Name Is Andrew - Martin Cathy
17. Subway To The Country - Harry Belafonte
18. Your Face, Your Smile - Stacy Sullivan
19. Down River - The Hollies

Format: CD

Customer Reviews:

Another Gem Rescued By the Raven.......2005-08-02

I find Ackles's final dig, while none the less satisfying, to be the most uneven of his four recordings. The tenderness of his love songs have the compassion and breadth of vision that characterise his greatest pensmanship. 'I've Been Loved', 'Berry Tree', 'House Above The Strand','Photograph', and'One Good Woman's Man' testify to easier relationships and the lighter feel of the album might have made inroads to a broader,populist market.'Aberfan' is a fabulously ambitious piece about a Welsh mining incident, somewhat at odds with this intimate company. It would have worked better in the more operatically inclined masterpiece,'American Gothic'. The impending catastrophe builds suspensefully to its tragic conclusion; story-telling and musical painting I have only Ackles own work to measure against.(Think Bee Gees,'Mining Disaster', if you need to). The Brechtian flavoured,'Everybody Has a Story', the morality tales,'Run Pony Run' and'Jenna Saves' and the Brian Wilson spoof,'Surf's Down' replete with Jan and Dean falsettos, while not engaging me, all strike courageous new territory for Ackles. None of these moves galvanised a contract for the gruff, gravelly-voiced musician. He was in un-chartered zones where no one else would tread. Raven Record's archivist, Glenn Baker feretted some truly obscure renditions that largely confirm the difficulties of following Ackles. Spooky Tooth's,'Down River' is surprisingly spare, leaving little of Ackles flesh on the bones of this remarkable song. Check the original on its author's first album. Julie Driscoll is in brilliant charge of 'The Road To Cairo' in spite of battling against the appallingly mixed support of'The Trinity' which all but drown her. The pleasant surprises are Louise Jane White's,'Blue Ribbons', and of all people, Harry Belafonte's,'Subway to The Country'. Why the Hollies would want to cover,'Down River' completely escapes me. Mostly these versions, on parole from the vaults, reveal that(like Jimmy Webb & Bob Dylan) despite questionable purity of note-making, Ackles inflects his material with probity and nuance unreachable by interpreters.

Only the truth.......2005-06-06

The truth is that this album will never appeal to most people. It's simply too unusual, too idiosyncratic, too deceptively simple, and too deep. Songs like "Photograph Of You", "One Good Woman's Man" "I've Been Loved", and "Postcards" have a haunting magic and leave a lasting impression on the hearer, comparable with Robbie Burns poem "John Anderson My Jo John", while it's safe to say that there's never been a song written like "Everybody Has A Story" - brief and unbearably pungent. The wit of "Jenna Saves" and "Surf's Down" are equal to anything else in satire. "Berry Tree" has a poignant homeyness that will repell many while entrancing others, and "Aberfan" and "Run Pony Run" are as powerful protest/social-concern songs as one will ever hear. But the gentleness of that voice, and the understated masculinity, who else sang like that? Anyone? Conclusion: As good as it gets.

About time! Ackles' final LP available 1st time since 1974.......2004-10-31

Well, it's about time...This, David Ackles' fourth and final album, was originally issued in 1973 by Columbia Records in the US (and nowhere else) with no promotion. Predictably, it sank without a trace and has been out of print since 1974.

David Ackles only released four albums before retiring from the music business. The first three of those were on Elektra (and were reissued in the US last year). He then jumped labels for this final stab. Two of the four albums (the self titled debut and the 3rd album, "American Gothic") are among the best albums of the all time, and belong in any record collection of substance. "American Gothic" was, in fact, the subject of unmitigated critical raves upon its 1972 release. It made countless year-end "top 10" lists and got praised to the skies as groundbreaking and brilliant. [And yet, a few years later it was out of print and all but forgotten except among discerning record collectors, musicians and critics. (Such is the fickle nature of popular culture)].

Which brings us to "Five and Dime". In the wake of the waves of critial praise for "American Gothic", Ackles felt under incredible pressure to create another masterwork. Instead of rising to the challenge, however, he downsized his ambitions. So in place of the complex productions and uber conceptual high art of American Gothic, "Five and Dime" is essentially "just" a collection of songs. It includes good songs and some great songs, yes. But overall, this album was (and remains) something of a disappointment in the wake of the (perhaps unsurpassable) "American Gothic".

The best songs here do rank easily with the best that Ackles has ever written, the first in class among these being the devastatingly sad "One Good Woman's Man". There worst song here is probably the surf music parody "Surf's Down." Though it features help from authentic surf music veteran Dean Torrance (Jan & Dean), it's simply not that funny or that musically adept, and it hasn't worn well. But outside of that misstep, this a very solid album. In the short but striking Ackles discography, it would rate 3rd, behind "David Ackles" and "American Gothic", but ahead of "Subway to the Country."

As for the bonus tracks:
Well, I guess it would have been too much to hope for unreleased David Ackles tracks from the vaults, so instead we get a hodge-podge of David Ackles songs as covered by other artists. These are interesting, and surely a nice bonus to fans. However, what comes out very clearly from these covers is that Ackles was, in fact, his own best interpreter. It is worth noting that one bonus track, "Your Face, Your Smile" by Stacy Sullivan, is of a song that David Ackles never recorded for release and so this represents the closest thing to a "song from the vault".

Waited 30 years for this one! Well Worth It!.......2004-10-28

Well, okay, CDs haven't been around that long, but I've worn out two copies of this LP and feared this final piece in the David Ackles puzzle might never make it to CD. Bravo to Raven Records for getting the rights to place Ackles' final -- and arguably finest -- album on CD. It's been long overdue.

Admittedly we tend to view the quality of a CD through the blinders of our own personal taste. But I can't see how anybody could not be touched by the beauty of the music and lyrics of "House Above the Strand" -- the only song my wife of 20 years and I call "our song." It's both lyrical and melodic poetry of the highest order. "A Photograph of You" always touches me -- it really captured how I felt when my girlfriend left me for a guy at graduate school, way back in 1974. "Such a Woman" and "Postcards" offer two more tuneful, lyrical testimonies.

But Ackles, who died of lung cancer March 2, 1999 at age 62, had a cynical and mischievious side too. The Beach Boy's almost serious "Surf's Up" album was all the rage with critics in 1972-73 -- and Ackles brought them back to earth with "Surf's Down" ("How can you hang ten when you've lost your little toe?" he sings). "Everybody Has a Story" and "Jenna Saves" are hard to beat for caustic humor with a beat.

The CD features seven covers of Ackles tunes from his previous albums by the likes of Harry Belafonte, The Hollies, Spooky Tooth, Juliee Driscoll, and Brian Auger & The Trinity. Frankly, Ackles, despite regarding himself as a songwriter, sings them best. They're generally good cover versions, but Ackles was the master at interpreting his songs.

All-in-all, an extremely worthwhile CD that will move you and entertain you. Well worth the wait. Thank you Raven of Austrailia for the pristine remastering and excellent liner notes.

Average customer rating: Unique but Difficult Like Finding a Long Lost Friend brillant a true original that few have ever heard

Subway to the Country David Ackles Manufacturer: Collector's Choice ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Death Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Singer Songwriters | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: David Ackles American Gothic Tim Rose/Through Rose Colored Glasses Ollabelle Sweet Little Mysteries: The Island Anthology [2-CD Set] ASIN: B00006RYIW Release Date: 2003-02-11

Tracks:

1. Main Line Saloon
2. That's No Reason To Cry
3. Candy Man
4. Out On The Road
5. Cabin On The Mountain
6. Woman River
7. Inmates Of The Constitution
8. Subway To The Country

Product Description

1. Main Line Saloon
2. That's No Reason To Cry
3. Candy Man
4. Out On The Road
5. Cabin On The Mountain
6. Woman River
7. Inmates Of The Constitution
8. Subway To The Country


Format: CD

Customer Reviews:

Unique but Difficult.......2005-11-27

I respect David Ackles enormously and feel lucky to have discovered his music. That said, I just could not get into this album as much as his self-titled debut and "American Gothic" and I find myself neglecting this one in favour of those others. The songs are dense and complex and, for me, not as engaging as on his self-titled album or "American Gothic." Also, even though Collector's Choice is responsible for all of his reissues, I found the sound on this one to be a little lacking. Maybe that's just the original album, I don't know. Don't get me wrong, this is a good album but it's very idiosyncratic and I would suggest not a good place to start for the uninitiated. I would recommend either his self-titled debut or "American Gothic" instead.

Like Finding a Long Lost Friend.......2005-09-25

Back in the 70s, around the time I graduated from college, I had somehow found the albums American Gothic by David Ackles, and his earlier self titled album. To this day American Gothic is one of my top 10 albums. But he was a rather obscure artist, and I never came across his other work. Then recently, scanning the internet I learned that he had died back in 1999, and his total album output was only 4 issues. I ordered the 2 I did not already possess, and was pleased with the quality and integrity of his craft in both "Subway to the Country" and "5 and Dime". "Subway to the Country" grew in sophistication from "David Ackles", both musically and lyrically. The music is increasingly in debt to the atonal style of Kurt Weill and his lyrics echo the abrupt mood swings and pervasive irony characteristic of Bertolt Brecht and the experimental theatre of the 1960s and '70s. Strangely, I like the more simple and less shocking material, specifically the title song, Main Line Saloon, and That's No Reason to Cry, more than I do the more dramatic material. As a stepping stone to his masterpiece, "American Gothic", this is a very fine prelude indeed. Hearing this CD, with 8 songs I had never heard before, was just like hearing the voice of a long lost friend. I only wish he were still with us to challenge our musical intelligence some more.

brillant.......2005-09-04

been trying to get this cd for ages, had the LP and left it behind. he's awesome. Less i couldn't say.

a true original that few have ever heard.......2005-05-22

David Ackles song, "Down River" was covered by two English groups, Spooky Tooth and the Hollies, who deserve some points for having the taste to record it.

My familiarity with that song (which is a great one) led me to investigate Ackles' early albums when they were re-released by Collector's Choice Music. Of the three albums originally released on the Electra label, this one is my favorite, with "American Gothic" a close second. I prefer "Subway to the Country" because it seems like Ackles 'wears his heart on his sleeve' a little bit more on this album than on "Gothic".

Ackles gets categorized as a 'folk musician', but he is an anomaly in many respects. He was a pianist who sang in the manner of a cabaret performer, in a rich baritone voice. Each Ackles song is a carefully polished narrative. After listening to an Ackles album, you feel as if you've just been treated to a fine set of short stories by a master writer. Billy Joel got very rich styling himself as 'the Piano Man', but Ackles is the real, true poet, and he never got his due.

What a shame that people like Ackles and Nick Drake never were appreciated during the years that they recorded. If there is any justice in the world, maybe someday, someone will do a Broadway production of Ackles songs. Actually, there is enough material in his albums to produce several plays.

Buy this cd, find a day when your world is moving slowly, and give it the attention it deserves. It will sound 'different' to your ears at first, but as you listen, you may begin to feel things you had forgotten about for years.

Average customer rating: in praise of melancholia A Voice in the Night A LOST TREASUE A Classic Hidden Gem

David Ackles David Ackles Manufacturer: Import [Generic] ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Death Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music Folk | Imports | Stores | Music Hard Rock & Metal | Imports | Stores | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B0000257OW Release Date: 2001-07-24

Tracks:

1. Road to Cairo
2. When Love Is Gone
3. Sonny Come Home
4. Blue Ribbons
5. What a Happy Day
6. Down River
7. Laissez-Faire
8. Lotus Man
9. His Name Is Andrew
10. Be My Friend

Album Details

The Late Acclaimed Singer / Songwriter's 1968 Debut Album also Known as ' Road to Cairo'. Produced by David Anderle.

Customer Reviews:

in praise of melancholia.......2002-11-17

I've owned all the Acles catalogue on vinyl & was thrilled to discover the availability of, what I consider his most consistent, if forlorn collection. Though I, like some other reviewers,would like to see the 4 recorded sessions out there again, its too an exclusive and intimate taste now, as it ever was prior to his slipping from the market place in the late 70s. For subtle nuance of lyric to piano, and range of feeling in the darker, and tender zones of relationship, I feel he hasn't a rival. Comparisons, I note in other reviews, with laughing Lenny Cohen do injustice to Acles, who is mostly far less cumbersome.

A Voice in the Night.......2001-04-16

I first found this album in a pile of cast-offs from a local radio station in the late 60's. I've kept the LP (large disks that rotate at 33-1/3 rpm) with me through college, grad school, marriage, and many job changes. Many cassettes were made to play in the car. The words and music are timeless.

From the same mold as Leonard Cohen, Ackles has a purity of his words and stylings that set a mood and allow you to fill in the details, the colors in your paint-by-number dream.

Other reviewers have covered their view of the major songs, I always tended toward "Laissez Faire" (give me my money for cigarettes/pennies for wine) and "Down River" (down river when you're locked away).

A LOST TREASUE.......2000-12-23

All of David Ackles albums have their share of powerful songs intermingled with some lugbriously pretentious ones. Don't let that turn you off. "Road To Cairo","Down River" & "Be My Friend" are Ackles at his finest. The likes of "Blue Ribbons" capture him at his most haunting.

I suppose Ackles could best be described as a sort of melancholy cross between Randy Newman & Leonard Cohen with echoes of Kurt Weill & Sondheim thrown in. He also has a strange way of drawing you in even on his more awkward lyrical excursions like " My Name Is Andrew" & "Sonny Boy Come Home". Neither are destined to be your favorite but with repeated listens they grow on you.

His other albums AMERICAN GOTHIC and SUBWAY are also highly recommended. Ackles was a terrific songwriter who went on to influence the likes of Elvis Costello & on down to the insipid likes of Phil Collins. A dreamlike malaise of bruised vocals and lonely sentiments. A must for early Leonard Cohen fans.

A Classic Hidden Gem.......2000-11-29

An album I listened to on long lonely nights. Every song is beautiful. I recommend this album for the unique.

Average customer rating: A TICKET FOR THE TRAIN elvis picked this in top 500

Subway to the Country David Ackles Manufacturer: Import [Generic] ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Death Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music Folk | Imports | Stores | Music Hard Rock & Metal | Imports | Stores | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B000007X1A Release Date: 2001-05-08

Tracks:

1. Main Line Saloon
2. That's No Reason to Cry
3. Candy Man
4. Out on the Road
5. Cabin on the Mountain
6. Woman River
7. Inmates of the Institution
8. Subway to the Country

Album Details

1970 Release from the Legendary Singer / Songwriter who Never Got his Due! Guests Include: Lonnie Mack, & Session Greats Victor Feldman, Jim Gordon, Larry Knechtel, Jim Horn & Louie Shelton.

Customer Reviews:

A TICKET FOR THE TRAIN.......2000-12-14

Out of the three David Ackles discs I've purchased, this is my favorite. A friend backstage tossed his name my way, knowing my penchant for Leonard Cohen and Fred Neil.

There is only one song on this album that didn't thrill me. Still, in it's own way, "Candy Man" has a compelling narrative. How many songs do you know of that are about a wounded soldier turned candy salesman slipping porn to the kiddies? The rest of the record however, is great.

"Mainline Saloon" starts things off with a Kurt Weill-esque invitation to a bar where vice is a commodity. It has all the intensity of LOVE & HATE era Cohen. The kid gloves are off but Ackles' strong sense of melody and melancholy keep the patrons in line.

Next to "Down River"(off of his self-titled debut), "Out On The Road" & "Cabin On The Mountain" rank as some of Ackles the finest songs. "Out On The Road" just soars with passion. "Mountain" is an old fashioned murder ballad offering up a slight nod to Steven Foster and Ackles' gruff baritone rising up with lines like, "wish I never seen a knife" .

"Woman River" is enough to make you swoon: grey sunday skies and weeping willows by the Seine at dusk. There's a strong undercurrent lurking behind the surface of the lyrics here. Namely, that Love is one of the more rewarding forms of suicide.

Though,"Inmates Of The Institution" verges on pretentious territory, he manages to salvage it for me with the sincerity of his delivery. Perhaps he gets a touch over dramatic, but so what. Call it a guilty pleasure.

The last track, "Subway To The Country" wisely takes the edge off. Sure, it's sentimental but it grabs you. At his best, Ackles is haunting and this song could soothe many a woe if you gave it the time of day.

Vocally, if I were to make a comparison, a derranged Neil Diamond comes to mind. A bit more grizzled, and less overblown, but he's definitely got that rasp thing going on.

Musically, I'm reminded of Sondheim, with flashes of Randy Newman, early Tom Waits & Jimmy Webb . All of which does Ackles some disservice. He's just as or far more original than any I might have named. While it might not occur to fans of say, Nick Cave, and Tom Waits---Ackles may be right up your alley. In addition, Elvis Costello has mentioned him as a major influence.

After over 20 years of being out of print, a big hand should go to Electra records for re-issuing Ackles'catalogue. DAVID ACKLES & AMERICAN GOTHIC are also heartily recommended.

elvis picked this in top 500.......2000-10-19

Elvis Costello called David Ackles "perhaps the greatest unheralded songwriter of the late 60's". Vanity Fair Nov 2000

Average customer rating:

Complete Elektra Recordings David Ackles Manufacturer: Wea/Rhino ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Sweet Warrior ASIN: B000MRA7GS Release Date: 2007-05-28

Tracks:

1. The Road To Cairo
2. When Love Is Gone
3. Sonny Come Home
4. Blue Ribbons
5. What A Happy Day
6. Down River
7. Laissez-Faire
8. Lotus Man
9. His Name Is Andrew
10. Be My Friend
11. Main Line Saloon
12. That's No Reason To Cry
13. Candy Man
14. Out On The Road
15. Cabin On The Mountain
16. Woman River
17. Inmates Of The Institution
18. Subway To The Country
19. About Subway To The Country
20. (Hidden Track)
21. American Gothic
22. Love's Enough
23. Ballad Of The Ship Of State
24. One Night Stand
25. Oh, California!
26. Another Friday Night
27. Family Band
28. Midnight Carousel
29. Waiting For The Moving Van
30. Blues For Billy Whitecloud
31. Montana Song
32. There Is A River (Previously Unreleased)
33. I'm Only Passing Through (Previously Unreleased)
34. One Night Stand (Single Version)
35. Be My Friend (Single Version)
36. Hold Me In Your World (Previously Unreleased)
37. Such A Woman (Previously Unreleased)
38. Old Shoes (Previously Unreleased)
39. The Grave Of God (Previously Unreleased)
40. La Route A Chicago

Album Description

Long-awaited two CD set that combines three of the singer/songwriter's Elektra albums (The Road To Cairo, Subway To The Country and American Gothic) and then adds 11 bonus tracks, most of which are previously unreleased! During this time with Elektra (1968-72), Ackles was a critical success but record sales barely pushed him into 'cult figure' status. Over the years, his popularity has grown, even more so after his death in 1999. Ackles dark and somber songwriting has influenced artists like Elvis Costello, Elliott Smith and many others. 40 tracks total. Rhino UK. 2007

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Rap Music

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