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New Will Hoge Record - The Man Who Killed Love

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New Will Hoge Record - The Man Who Killed Love

Postby trentm32 » 2/21/2006, 11:05 am

I got this as a reviewable press copy, and the album is flippin' AWESOME. My review hasn't went live yet, but woot...

Will Hoge – The Man Who Killed Love
Album Review for Sound The Sirens
Written by Trent Moore

You’ve heard it a thousand times, I’m sure: “Well, if you’d have just heard it live; you would understand!” Far too often, people defend bad albums, just because the artist puts on a good live show. I completely agree that live music can be a fantastic, live-changing experience; but it’s the album that people truly bond with. It’s the album that, after the millionth listen, that people make a connection with. If you can’t capture that intangible magic on tape; then it’s doomed to live on as nothing more than an ever-fading memory; drifting further from reality, and into nostalgia, with every passing day.

On his first two albums, Carousel and Blackbird On A Lonely Wire, Will Hoge proved, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was a talent to be reckoned with. Shattering conventions somewhere between folksy singer-songwriter, rockin’ Southern boy, and everything in-between; Will delivered two stellar studio albums. But, no matter how great those albums were, they never seemed to capture that something that you can only find by seeing him live. That swagger, that vibe that haunts the air both during and after his performance.

With last year’s release of Will’s first live album, During The Before and After, Will’s recordings seemed to have found something they had been missing. That spark, that live, loose feel that is so hard to recreate in the studio. That sound of every instrument meshing to the point that you could never even tell the difference between them all. You could tell there was something here, that wasn’t here before.

By taking a listen to his latest studio record The Man Who Killed Love, (the first since 2003’s Blackbird); it is obvious that Will heard it, too. For this first time in his career, Will Hoge has finally captured the passion and emotion of his unbeatable live performances in the studio. The feel of the band, the tapestry of songs; it all just feels so good.

Produced by Ken Coomer (Wilco) and Charlie Brocco (George Harrison), The Man Who Killed Love stands tall as one of the best records in the Will Hoge catalog (and, with such a high caliber back lot of music; that’s saying quite a lot). You can feel the strain of his voice, and feel the shaking of the club as you listen to this album.

Opening strong with the big-league record industry (they’ve been there, done that) kiss-off of “Pocket Full of Change,” things just heat up from there. The soulful “Love From A Scar,” the too sweet to be dirty “Wait ‘Til Your Daddy Get’s Home,” and the heartbreaking (in my opinion highlight of the album) “Woman, be Strong” opens the record stronger than you could ever expect. Things never stop, all the way through the rockin’ title track “The Man Who Killed Love,” and “Heart’s Are Gonna Roll.”

As with most of Will’s records, he closes it all out with a sweet, slowly pulsing ballad. On this record it comes as the haunting, piano-led “Lover Tonight.” Taking a welcome step forward in song-writing, this track is truly one of the best Will has ever penned. The similes and poeticism is truly quality stuff. Even coming out as early as February, I’d be hard pressed to find a better album in ’06 than what can be found here.
"When looking up there, I just felt whole, like I belonged. Like one day I too would shine my most brilliant. Sitting there also made me think about sitting through services at my little country church back home. About that never-changing congregation of the same sixty-seven people and everyone has known you since before you were born. Now, out here in the real world, everything just seemed more vivid than when I used to sit in that little pew. That pew that was now so, so far away from where I was. I feared I had somehow left God behind there, too. I feared he was somehow just sitting there, saving my seat on the fifth pew from the front row, just waiting on me to come back. I left so quickly, I worried that he may not have noticed I was gone. And, now, I’m just too far away to find. So he’s just sitting there, patiently waiting on me to come back. I closed my eyes and prayed a moment. I hoped more than anything that he could still hear me." -an excerpt from my novella, A Sea of Fallen Leaves.

<a href="http://www.soundthesirens.com">SoundTheSirens.com</a>
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trentm32
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Postby Random Name » 2/21/2006, 12:49 pm

Bah ha, I thought this was about William Hung.
-Sarah

Goodbye you liar,
Well you sipped from the cup but you don't own up to anything
Then you think you will inspire
Take apart your head
(and I wish I could inspire)
Take apart your demons, then you add it to the list.

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Postby trentm32 » 2/21/2006, 1:02 pm

eeeeeew.
"When looking up there, I just felt whole, like I belonged. Like one day I too would shine my most brilliant. Sitting there also made me think about sitting through services at my little country church back home. About that never-changing congregation of the same sixty-seven people and everyone has known you since before you were born. Now, out here in the real world, everything just seemed more vivid than when I used to sit in that little pew. That pew that was now so, so far away from where I was. I feared I had somehow left God behind there, too. I feared he was somehow just sitting there, saving my seat on the fifth pew from the front row, just waiting on me to come back. I left so quickly, I worried that he may not have noticed I was gone. And, now, I’m just too far away to find. So he’s just sitting there, patiently waiting on me to come back. I closed my eyes and prayed a moment. I hoped more than anything that he could still hear me." -an excerpt from my novella, A Sea of Fallen Leaves.

<a href="http://www.soundthesirens.com">SoundTheSirens.com</a>
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trentm32
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Postby magicseamonkey » 2/21/2006, 2:39 pm

I saw Will Hoge open for Marc Broussard last year, and he was ok, but nothing that I got excited about.
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Postby trentm32 » 2/22/2006, 12:56 pm

really?!

I saw him open for Broussard, too; and thought Will outperformed him by a mile...
"When looking up there, I just felt whole, like I belonged. Like one day I too would shine my most brilliant. Sitting there also made me think about sitting through services at my little country church back home. About that never-changing congregation of the same sixty-seven people and everyone has known you since before you were born. Now, out here in the real world, everything just seemed more vivid than when I used to sit in that little pew. That pew that was now so, so far away from where I was. I feared I had somehow left God behind there, too. I feared he was somehow just sitting there, saving my seat on the fifth pew from the front row, just waiting on me to come back. I left so quickly, I worried that he may not have noticed I was gone. And, now, I’m just too far away to find. So he’s just sitting there, patiently waiting on me to come back. I closed my eyes and prayed a moment. I hoped more than anything that he could still hear me." -an excerpt from my novella, A Sea of Fallen Leaves.

<a href="http://www.soundthesirens.com">SoundTheSirens.com</a>
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trentm32
Oskar Winner: 2005
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Location: my heart is in New York.

Postby magicseamonkey » 2/22/2006, 3:23 pm

His performance was nice. Very energetic and interactive. I just wasn't a fan of the music he played.

Different tastes.
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Postby trentm32 » 2/22/2006, 11:20 pm

*gets the 'Different Strokes' theme stuck in head*
"When looking up there, I just felt whole, like I belonged. Like one day I too would shine my most brilliant. Sitting there also made me think about sitting through services at my little country church back home. About that never-changing congregation of the same sixty-seven people and everyone has known you since before you were born. Now, out here in the real world, everything just seemed more vivid than when I used to sit in that little pew. That pew that was now so, so far away from where I was. I feared I had somehow left God behind there, too. I feared he was somehow just sitting there, saving my seat on the fifth pew from the front row, just waiting on me to come back. I left so quickly, I worried that he may not have noticed I was gone. And, now, I’m just too far away to find. So he’s just sitting there, patiently waiting on me to come back. I closed my eyes and prayed a moment. I hoped more than anything that he could still hear me." -an excerpt from my novella, A Sea of Fallen Leaves.

<a href="http://www.soundthesirens.com">SoundTheSirens.com</a>
User avatar
trentm32
Oskar Winner: 2005
Oskar Winner: 2005
 
Posts: 2272
Joined: 3/17/2002, 2:51 pm
Location: my heart is in New York.

Postby trentm32 » 3/24/2006, 8:59 am

...<a href="http://www.soundthesirens.com/articles/index.php?id=33,408,0,0,1,0">and the review's gone live</a>.

And the album get's better EVERY time it comes up on my iPod. oh yeah!
"When looking up there, I just felt whole, like I belonged. Like one day I too would shine my most brilliant. Sitting there also made me think about sitting through services at my little country church back home. About that never-changing congregation of the same sixty-seven people and everyone has known you since before you were born. Now, out here in the real world, everything just seemed more vivid than when I used to sit in that little pew. That pew that was now so, so far away from where I was. I feared I had somehow left God behind there, too. I feared he was somehow just sitting there, saving my seat on the fifth pew from the front row, just waiting on me to come back. I left so quickly, I worried that he may not have noticed I was gone. And, now, I’m just too far away to find. So he’s just sitting there, patiently waiting on me to come back. I closed my eyes and prayed a moment. I hoped more than anything that he could still hear me." -an excerpt from my novella, A Sea of Fallen Leaves.

<a href="http://www.soundthesirens.com">SoundTheSirens.com</a>
User avatar
trentm32
Oskar Winner: 2005
Oskar Winner: 2005
 
Posts: 2272
Joined: 3/17/2002, 2:51 pm
Location: my heart is in New York.


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