Search - David Ball :: Freewheeler

Of course 5 stars...it's David Ball!

M. Braddock | 02/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I buy every David Ball CD as soon as it's released. This man has SUCH genuine talent--and he's not cranking out the cookie-cutter "pop" country that's so popular today. I especially like "Dessert Luau" and "Mr. Teardrop"...oh, and "Girl I Used To Know"...and...



Very highly recommended."

A voice as clear and strong as a bracing drink of bourbon

loce_the_wizard | Lilburn, GA USA | 05/05/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Freewheeler" showcases David Ball in top form, his voice as clear and strong as a bracing drink of bourbon. This follow-up to "Amigo" veers more toward country tradition as Mr. Ball runs the gamut from songs that would reverberate in any cow palace or perhaps provide some balm from any poor heartbroken soul driving the backroads alone in his or her truck. Mr. Ball embraces the tradition of great country singers from a previous generation, eschewing the Nashville formula here for his own vision. (The one time I heard him perform many years ago, he prefaced his songs with brief explanations how those older performers influenced him.)



His band of players provides the precise, tight mixture of country ingredients that do more than just underpin Mr. Ball's singing---the pairing is sublime on tracks such as Tell Me with Your Heart, Yours Truly Blue, or I Can See Arkansas. Desert Luau chronicles an usual party, bringing to mind the kind of fun that Asleep at the Wheel was capable of evoking. Mr. Ball's rendering of the title track, a Jesse Winchester tune, is nearly strong enough to cause one to just keep on driving toward the sunset.



Although "Freewheeler" likely will not catch the ears of those steeped in the strictures of the Nashville-dominated prefab music scene, it will prove a rewarding experience for those who don't want their music sounding like it came out of a factory. Let's hope David Ball keeps on freewheeling.



"

Back On Track

D. Wolf | Rochester, NY USA | 10/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was so disappointed with David Ball's Amigo because I did not think it a worthy follow-up to Play and Thinking Problem, and I was worried that David Ball had lost his way, but Freewheeler sets him back on course. I have never yet heard a CD in which every song is great, like so many reviews claim. I only ask a couple questions after I purchase a CD: am I glad I bought it? Was it worth the money? Are there songs that I will be listening to a year, five years, ten years from now? The answer in this instance is an unqualified "yes" to all three. Not every song is great, but there are some absolutely terrific ones."