Plain Bad Luck and Innocent Mistakes - Charlie Sexton, K., Tonio
Home Sweet Home - Charlie Sexton, K., Tonio
Railroad - Charlie Sexton, Sexton, Charlie
Spanish Words - Charlie Sexton, Sexton, Charlie
Broken Dream - Charlie Sexton, K., Tonio
The only redeeming thing about the demise of the Arc Angels, who flamed out in classic drugs-and-rock-&-roll fashion in 1994, is that they freed this preternaturally gifted 26-year-old to establish himself finally as a... more » major-league star. Joined by a crew of Austin soulmates, Sexton delves for surprisingly mature, though restrained, and deceptively hard-hitting rockers unlike anything he's done before. Coproducer Malcolm Burn's risky and indelible spirit haunts the music, which conjures dreamy images of Dylan ("Billy"), Del Amitri ("Everyone Will Crawl"), Mellencamp ("Sunday Clothes") and ultimately no one but Sexton himself ("Neighborhood," "Wishing Tree"). --Jeff Bateman« less
The only redeeming thing about the demise of the Arc Angels, who flamed out in classic drugs-and-rock-&-roll fashion in 1994, is that they freed this preternaturally gifted 26-year-old to establish himself finally as a major-league star. Joined by a crew of Austin soulmates, Sexton delves for surprisingly mature, though restrained, and deceptively hard-hitting rockers unlike anything he's done before. Coproducer Malcolm Burn's risky and indelible spirit haunts the music, which conjures dreamy images of Dylan ("Billy"), Del Amitri ("Everyone Will Crawl"), Mellencamp ("Sunday Clothes") and ultimately no one but Sexton himself ("Neighborhood," "Wishing Tree"). --Jeff Bateman
"The Austin of 1995 isn't the Austin of 2004, that's for sure. But thankfully it's still mostly intact.Whenever I have friends come visit, this is one of the first records I play for them to get them "into" what Austin is all about. Anybody living here will totally identify with and understand what Charlie is talking about.The beautiful thing about this LP is that Charlie isn't just "representin' Austin here, this music's language is universal in scope and feeling.Still his best work as an artist, by far. It makes one proud to live and work in this city, knowing we have people of this caliber."
An Engrossing Emotional Experience
John Andrews | Manchester, NH USA | 06/05/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Like most great albums, this one is best when all you're doing is listening to it - not Web surfing, not doing dishes, not reading a book - just listening for 73 minutes. It's also not just a collection of random songs; there are clearly discernible arcs of character development, social commentary and emotion.The songs seem to get more passionate as the album goes on, from the more straightforward (but by no means mundane) rock of "Neighborhood" and "Wishing Tree" to Sexton's poignant stories about his family in "Sunday Clothes," "Plain Bad Luck and Innocent Mistakes" and "Spanish Words" to the intense expression of hope in the face of despair in "Home Sweet Home" and "Broken Dream." "Home Sweet Home," in fact, does an amazing job of continuing the story and keeping the tone of the album going after the immersive experience of the 12-minute epic "Plain Bad Luck and Innocent Mistakes" could've ended a lesser collection. The entire album is exquisitely produced, with tracks weaving in and out of audible range at the perfect moments.If I were forced to insult this CD, I could only point out the rather odd dividing line between tracks 9 and 10. Everything else is quite simply marvelous."
Truly one of the best albums ever!
John Andrews | 11/01/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"An album by a super-talented virtuoso named Charlie Sexton and his compatriots brought home this possibly once-in-a-lifetime achievement. I have literally played this CD into the bedrock since its release in 1995. An epic of sorts that is long as it is broad in scope, encompassing many moods, colors and textures, but mostly of an earthy variety. Afterall, this is a CD that, in this reviewer's opinion would make a great soundtrack to the exceptional Texas-based film Lone Star. Charlie takes us thru his neighborhood and along the way we meet it's inhabitants as we make it out the other side: thru the neighborhood, past the fields up to the wishing tree, past the woodframed house and the prison, across the railroad tracks to the nightclub called Sanctuary where Charlie declares God is watching over this broken dream of all of ours."
Truly brilliant, beautiful, rich music
John Andrews | 09/01/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is an amazing CD - I cannot believe that more people have not discovered Charlie Sexton. The songs are personal and beautifully written. The music rocks, and yet it's different than any of Sexton's other music. He is a brilliant artist and this is a brilliant work"
Wired and Rippin'
Chacodog.com | 07/19/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"They were going to make a superstar out of Charlie Sexton when he was 17. They took him in a studio, obliterated anything he had to offer and then forgot about him. I guess he went home and played his guitar. Then he made this record and toured it in a ratty van. Saw him in New Orleans in 1995 at the Howling Wolf when he toured this record. One of the hottest live shows I've ever seen! Bar none! This is a record you can go back to time and again. The next time I saw Charlie, he was on stage with Mr. Dylan and nobody knows how to assemble a band like Bob does. Listen to the tracks they offer here. I hate to make lame comparisons about how one guy sounds like someone else. Charlie doesn't sound like anyone else. This is good stuff!"