Search - Charlie Robison :: Beautiful Day

A lovable rogue laid flat by divorce

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 06/25/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's been five years since we last heard from Charlie Robison. After a run on Sony's Lucky Dog label and a live album on Columbia, Robison moved to the indie Dualtone for 2004's Good Times. Though he continued to perform live, the CDs he'd been releasing every year or two dried up. Perhaps now we know why: in 2008 his nine-year marriage to Dixie Chick Emily Robison ended in divorce. Rather than writing through the dissolution, he saved up his emotions for this post-divorce album. Only he and his ex know if the venom is righteous, but whether it's well-founded criticism or angry lashing-out, it still packs a sting. One takeaway: don't leave a writer feeling you've wronged them.



No doubt many of these songs were written in the final throes of Robison's marriage, but the wreckage is viewed as aftermath rather than from the eye of the hurricane. Robison charts many of the classic stages of recovery, including shock, confusion, denial, anger, depression, and uneasy acceptance. He doesn't bother to cloak his emotions in songwriter's allusion, but there's artfulness in the way he opens up the main veins to purge his bitterness. Given that his marriage had officially "become insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities," it's unsurprising that Robison would castigate his ex for the lightweight echo of her former self he believes she's become, and the broken promises with which he's left.



Robison begins his reappraisal with the title track's scathing portrait of superficial life in Los Angeles, and continues with a bitter spit of words in "Yellow Blues." The latter has a terrific country-psych arrangement, complete with Eastern influence, twangy and backwards guitars, and a thumping "Tomorrow Never Knows" styled bass line. The lyrics suggest that in an effort to bolster favorable public perception, Robison's mate kept their marital problems quiet rather than facing them down. A pair of Keith Gattis songs, "Down Again" and "Reconsider," covers the merry-go-round of depression and forlorn denial. Robison writes of self-pity, barroom self-medication, and tentative steps towards recovery, the latter is most healthily heard in the chiming mandolin and social reconnections of "Feelin' Good."



By album's end Robison's far from healed, and a defeated cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Racing in the Street" begs the question of whether failure has permanently short-circuited opportunity and hope. While Springsteen's lyrics could illustrate the stunted adolescence of American Graffiti's John Milner, Robison's version suggests he's stepping outside his own misery to consider the broader impact of his divorce. Either way, the roguish abandon of younger years has given way to middle-age doubt and regret. This isn't nearly as depressing as it might seem, and though the processing isn't pretty, the raw turmoil provides Robison the basis for this powerful album. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]"

Charlie Robison Triumphs with Beautiful Day

'Rebel' Rod Ames | Ingram, Tx | 06/28/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first time I heard Charlie Robison was on the Dallas community radio station, KNON's Super Roper Redneck Review back in the mid 1990's. The song was Sunset Boulevard from his debut record, Bandera. "Wow", was all I could say after hearing it. It was a song about wanting to be a rock star and being on the cover of Rolling Stone, and wishing the tabloid writers would write rumors that he was gay. All of the things we hear and see stars, whether they are film or recording stars, constantly complain about. Charlie's song was about wishing he could be a part of it all. It all sort of came true.



He has become somewhat of a star. His 1998 album Step Right Up hit the Top 40 on the country album charts and Good Times (Dualtone) released in 2004, enjoyed the best sales of his career. The video for the song El Cerrito Place made it as a Top 10 hit on CMT. He married a Dixie Chick, Emily. They lived on a nice ranch in Bandera, Texas, and they had children. Five years later there was a divorce. The difference with the Robisons and other big stars is they were somehow able to keep it all out of the media spotlight. Your never saw them on the cover of anything really. They kept their marriage and their divorce private, just like it should be.



On June 23rd he released his long awaited record that some have called his divorce record, Beautiful Day (Dualtone). I prefer to call it, brilliant. It's probably his best record yet, and he has assembled a great cast of musicians that help to make it so. The core group is, of course, Charlie Robison (vocals) with Keith Robinson (drums), Scott Esbeck (Bass), Rich Brotherton (acoustic guitar/mandolin), Charlie Sexton (electric guitars), and Bukka Allen (Hammond B3 organ). Did I say "cast of musicians"? Hell, this is an Americana super group if I ever heard one.



The record starts out with the title cut, Beautiful Day. It's a song about your wife, your lover, your girlfriend. Make it what ever you want. Let's just say it's about losing someone, but you're still observing everything about her. The lyrics tell us everything she's doing, the way she's dressing and how happy she is. We can all assume who we think he is writing about, but the fact is we can all relate to what this song is about to some degree. Most of us have been right where he's coming from. The lyrics are simple yet you can feel its yearning - Well she's leaven Colorado/Leavin' San Antone/Leavin' everybody/Goin' all alone/Her sister says she might/Need a little more glow/Before she goes. It all has a sense of finality to it. Maybe it's about closure. Maybe it's all about moving on. One thing for sure, it's real.



Another one of my favorite tunes on the record is Reconsider, written by Keith Gattis and Charles Brocco. I love the chorus to the song which is ideal -But if I tried would you reconsider/Would you reconsider comin' home/and if I cried would you reconsider/Would you reconsider coming home. A lot of feeling along with a lot of heart and soul is pumped into this song.



Feeling Good is a song about recovery from broken relationships. It's about recognizing life has dealt you a hand that's not just hard to play, but seemingly impossible to recover from, but you do. You do what you have to do to get better, to get to where you can love again, where you can trust again. It's not only a beautifully written song lyrically, musically it's a triumph.



Just when you think the record can't get any better than it already is. It does. Mr. Robison chose to end the album with Bruce Springsteen's east coast urban anthem, Racing in the Street. No offense to The Boss, but Mr. Robison out does him here, and on his own ground. Mr. Robison may disagree with me on this but I don't care. I prefer his version over the original. Don't get me wrong, I like Bruce Springsteen's version. It's his song. I just prefer Charlie Robison's voice more. I like the way he has simplified the song without taking anything away from it. He remains devoted to the way the song was intended. He just sings it better. My opinion, but this is my review, so I get to do that.



Musically the album is absolutely perfect. Every song is not just listenable, every song is remarkable. It's a rarity when I listen to a record, where I'm not hitting the skip button at some point. I did not ever have the desire to do so on this record. In fact, I could barely wait to hear the next song. It is safe to say this record is almost flawless. The reason I say almost? I truly believe there must always be room for improvement no matter how good something appears to be.



Beautiful Day is expertly produced by Charlie Robison. He has, in my opinion, put together his best work yet. I've been a huge fan of his since Bandera was released in 1995. He has consistently gotten better and better. I can't wait for his next record. Hopefully it won't be another five years before we get new music from this master.



`Rebel' Rod says forget everything else. Skip a meal at McDonald's, drop one of your channels on cable. Do what you have to do, but whatever you do, go buy this record. You will not be disappointed.

"

Another strong, near-flawless effort.

DanD | 08/04/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What is it about a singer/songwriter in pain that attracts us so much? "Misery loves company" indeed, though you would never catch Charlie Robison using such a cliche, unless it was followed by something witty and cynical. This album, written and recorded during/after his divorce with wife Emily (yeah, of the Dixie Chicks), is a pain-soaked ode to...well...pain. And getting over it. And drinking to avoid it. The album is at times tender (the finale, a stellar cover of Springsteen's seminal "Racing in the Streets") and tough; the album is laced with such lines as "Maybe 'cause you're yellow that's the reason that I got the blues," "I'm in love with you 'cause I've got nothin' better to do," "She changed her name what's wrong with that/I promise you she's never gonna get real fat," and other sentimental peons of love.



Robison has crafted one of the strongest catalogs of country music today (perhaps only equaled by lil' bro Bruce), and he's done it by making music that doesn't fit solidly into any one mold. It's country, no doubt, but it's too country for radio, yet at the same time too rock. Or too blues. Or too whatever. His excellence as a songwriter is perhaps shown best in his choice of covers; here we have two Keith Gattis tunes, one by Bobby Bare Jr., and the afore-mentioned Springsteen anthem. Robison manages to live within the lyrics, though naturally he shines best on his own material: the dirty "Yellow Blues," the ironic title track, the absolutely stellar "If the Rain Don't Stop/Middle of the Night," and the rest.



BEAUTIFUL DAY is easily one of the best country records of the year. It won't get any air-time, but Robison won't complain too much about that; unlike other Texas singer/songwriters who shall go unnamed, he's never yearned for the limelight that much (we'll ignore his stint as a judge on "Nashville Star"). He's simply spent his career crafting honest, heartfelt music that knows when to rock and when to roll and when to do both at the same time. If you have any doubts about country music today, purchase a copy of BEAUTIFUL DAY. It will restore your faith. And maybe make you yearn for a cold beer. Drink's on you."