Search - David Ball :: Amigo

Sallie G. from CONWAY, SC
Reviewed on 8/7/2006...

Great album by David Ball. Has my favorite "Riding With Private Malone".

I smiled when the first note was played. Great variety!

firmmarci | Bayfield, CO United States | 10/10/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This may not be totally objective, becuase I'm a huge fan of David Ball. But what a CD--well worth the long wait. David's voice sounds the same on this CD (wonderful) but I think he has a different group behind him, or the arrangements just expand their role a bit. It's a nice little tweak. I also love the fact that this is instantly recognizable as COUNTRY music. It's pretty bad when you don't know what radio station you're on (i.e., you hear several songs, assume you're on the pop/soft rock station, then look at the dial and, surprise!, it's a so-called "country" station. No thanks!)Amigo is a neat little song, easy to sing along to.Riding with Private Malone is bittersweet, considering recent events. Loser Friendly is about how easy the bar door swings open, the bartender sets up a tab real quick...it's all so loser friendly. Cute!Texas Echo was on his very first CD released years ago, before Thinkin' Problem. David sounds a little stronger this time.Trying Not To Love You is a nice change of pace and shows off his voice well.Linger Awhile is almost reminiscent of Bob Wills, David even does the little "Haaaaaaaa" that fades out. (If you're a Wills fan, you'll know what I mean...hopefully.)I also love Swing Baby--best listened to at near-maximum volume!The only one that isn't just really great is New Shiner Polka. But maybe it's just that I don't like polkas? They just make me laugh.No hesitations recommending this CD. David's one of the few real "country" singers left out there, and I'll keep buying his music as long as he puts it out."

Tried n' True Texas Swing.....

Patrice Webb | Georgetown, California USA | 10/19/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Those familiar with Uncle Walt's Band will remember David Ball's twangy tenor as being the perfect compliment to bandmate Walter Hyatt's cooly understated baritone. After the Band's break up and Walter Hyatt's tragic death, Ball struck out on his own with albums like "Thinkin' Problem" and "Starlit Lounge", albums that played the contemporary country game while staying true to Country's honky tonkin' roots. While both Albums were well received by critics and fans alike, neither album garnered Ball much radio airplay. In a better world, an album like "Amigo" would change all that. The name "David Ball" would be a household name and the album would be at the top of the charts with a Grammy Award for best Country Album.For those tired of the endless airplay of so called Country Music that has never seen a dance floor or tasted a cold beer, Ball's album will transport you back to a Texas honky tonk to a time when Country Music meant twin fiddles, broken heros, cryin'the blues, cheatin' lovin' and wrapping a long neck around your baby's neck for a swing around the dance floor.As with Toni Price's new album (Another Texas treasure) Ball draws from a variety of musical eras that explore Swing, Blues, and Tex Mex, mixing traditional Country with contemporary Country to form a style that is as distinctive as it is familiar. "Linger Awhile" a song originally done by the Count Basie Orchestra in the 1920s is given the Country Swing treatment in a way that would make Bob Wills proud. Ball takes Patsy Cline's lilting waltz "Just Out of Reach" out of the 1950s into the present and turns it into a languidly wistful song of lost love. "Amigo", a Ball original, is a love song that celebrates the love a musician has for his guitar. Ball gives a nod to contemporary Country in the form of "Saving Private Malone", which is a song about a soldier's lost dream becoming another person's reality and is a song that in these troubled times would become a number one hit if it was ever given a chance on the airways.Sounding at times like Dwight Yoakam, Jimmy Buffett, Willie Nelson, and Merle Haggard, Ball brings a fresh originality to the old, and keeps a sense of the old in the new in the original songs he co-writes with others. Ball's original Gospel number "When the Devil Comes to Wrestle" has the kind of foot stompin' guitar playing that sounds like it came directly from a Sunday afternoon revival meeting.If given a chance artists like David Ball could bring Country Music back to its rightful place. Here to hoping that Country Radio Programmers stand up and take notice."