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Monsters of Folk (James, Oberst & Ward)


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Yikes this has been disappointing (granted I haven't herd the whole thing). The thing that stood out to me was how great M. Ward really is. Too me his musical presence is felt more then anyone elses on the record.

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Yikes this has been disappointing (granted I haven't herd the whole thing). The thing that stood out to me was how great M. Ward really is. Too me his musical presence is felt more then anyone elses on the record.

 

not the only one my friend :thumbup

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and thankfully Dear God wound up being the worst song on the record... :whew

 

I'm just starting my first listen, but man, I really liked Dear God when it was first still released. Still sounds great now. It's kinda like an Evil Urges track but more tasteful... not a fan of Conor's verse though.

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Man Named Truth aside, the Oberst & M. Ward stuff is miles better than the rest or the junk on here. Overall I like it a lot.

 

It's funny that you mention that song, because it's the only song I actually knew before this collaboration. I heard Bright Eyes do that song in 2006, but I enjoy it a lot at that time. Aside from my previous comment, it's a very likable record, and I still can't wait to see them live again together. At the same time, I know how awesome all these guys can be as musicians and I feel like we didn't get it all combined properly with this album.

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I dunno, it's not amazing - but I still like it quite a bit.

I have read some hate for this around the web, but I think it's a fun record. I will be definitely be listening to it many times I'm sure.

Pitchfork is probably going to eat it alive though.

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I'm just starting my first listen, but man, I really liked Dear God when it was first still released. Still sounds great now. It's kinda like an Evil Urges track but more tasteful... not a fan of Conor's verse though.

 

Dear God is a sad attempt at a Gil Scot Heron cover for me

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Dear God is a sad attempt at a Gil Scot Heron cover for me

 

You are probably right.

But Jim wears his influences on his sleeve these days, and you can tell he is just really having fun.

That is good enough for me.

In fact that is what makes this cd appealing to me - it never feels like some sort of cash grab, you really get the sense everyone is just chilled out, digging each other's music and having fun.

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Given that I have not been a fan of reverberated Jim James things and am entirely unfamiliar with anyone else, it's not a bad record. Hm.

 

I was slightly worried because anyone who decides that they are a "Monster of Folk" (I suppose here I see "Monster" as someone really important) means they are cocky as shit. And I don't like that, haha.

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Given that I have not been a fan of reverberated Jim James things and am entirely unfamiliar with anyone else, it's not a bad record. Hm.

 

I was slightly worried because anyone who decides that they are a "Monster of Folk" (I suppose here I see "Monster" as someone really important) means they are cocky as shit. And I don't like that, haha.

 

The name was definitely meant in jest. I'm pretty sure they had said that when they toured together previously, they jokingly referred to themselves by that name and it stuck.

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I agree that it's pretty much what you'd expect, mediocre I guess.

 

I find that Jim James is the weakest part of the album, his voice doesn't really work well Conor and Matt's, whereas I feel both their two voices work very well together.

 

Song wise I'm the most impressed with Conor, lyric wise especially, but Matt definitely has the best "tunes".

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im into my second listen and i like it much better now. i agree with above post about Jim James, i guess i was hoping his contribution was going to be like the Yim Yames record but i guess it like it. M Ward can do no wrong in my book though.

 

im excited for this group because they sorta take over for Golden Smog for me, younger, fresher supergroup.

 

hopefully many records to follow

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Good to here the positive vibes for M.Ward. I'm a big fan of Matt but I thought his last record lacked a bit of spark. Certainly not as good as 'Vincent' or 'Transistor Radio'. Looking forward to the guys hitting the UK in the near future.

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I don't really think any of them mailed it in. Magic Marker and Man Named Truth (which sounds a lot worse here than it did when Bright Eyes was playing it...that vocal when he says Diablo makes me cry) are easily the worst tracks on the record, and I don't have the urge to, say, skip over them. I'm at the point where any record dominated by Oberst and M. Ward is going to be good, and this obviously falls into that category.

 

I have to wonder how many, if any, of these songs date back to the Ward & Oberst recording session that was supposed to result in an album but has so far only resulted in a handful of Bright Eyes b-sides. I lust for that stuff to see the light of day.

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