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Perfect City
Florence Dore
Perfect City
Genres: Country, Pop, Rock
 
  •  Track Listings (10) - Disc #1

Billy Joe Shaver managed to write some of the world's greatest songs with just a "good Christian raisin' and an eighth-grade education." Still, in her bio and press, much is made of Florence Dore's college professorship...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Florence Dore
Title: Perfect City
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Slewfoot
Release Date: 5/7/2002
Album Type: Import
Genres: Country, Pop, Rock
Styles: Americana, Outlaw Country
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 809812080923

Synopsis

Amazon.com
Billy Joe Shaver managed to write some of the world's greatest songs with just a "good Christian raisin' and an eighth-grade education." Still, in her bio and press, much is made of Florence Dore's college professorship and her specialty in Faulkner. She has been compared to Lucinda Williams, but lacking a musical resemblance (Dore rocks much harder), it might rather be the press picking up on the latter's scholarly parentage. Fortunately, for the most part Dore's songs owe more to an early epiphany at a Johnny Cash show than anything she might have picked up in grad school. The catchy hooks and rhythmic groove of her lyrics and singing are likely the product of good musical instincts and talent, not anything she learned in the halls of academe. A song like "No Nashville" paints a simple picture of family dynamics in the tradition of the best country music. Throughout Perfect City, her band rocks and twangs with infectious energy. Unfortunately, the mix obscures Dore's singing much of the time, and lacking a lyric sheet, we get only glimpses of her vocal and lyric talents. From what is audible, it is easy to hear that Dore's "learnin'" doesn't get in the way of her songwriting. Though it may not be perfect, this is a city worth visiting. --Michael Ross

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CD Reviews

Impressive country-rock debut from Nashville-born songwriter
hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 07/18/2002
(3 out of 5 stars)

"Though the Nashville-born Professor Dore (Ph.D. 1999, UC Berkeley; post-doc NYU; Kent State faculty) is known in academic circles for her work in American literature (most especially for her studies of William Faulkner's writings), her country-rock songs are anything but bookish. Her mix of narratives and poetic sightseeing bring to mind Lucinda Williams, while the catchiness of her presentation harkens to the breakthrough hits of Mary-Chapin Carpenter. But in contrast to Carpenter's folky beginnings, Dore starts with rock 'n' roll and leavens it with the introspection of folk, the twang of country, and the soul of blues.Dore first came to national attention with her song "Christmas," recorded in 1996 by The Posies, a Seattle-based powerpop outfit. The down-tempo tune, revisited here, provides an inner dialog of resignation on a lonely Christmas day. Dore's hometown conjures up the big-city longing in "No Nashville," but the song's examination of adult children's family tensions works well beyond its Tennessee hill-country setting. Dore's academic life show up fleetingly in the title track and the closing ode to Kent, OH, "Wintertown." The band turns upbeat for "Brain" and "Everything I Dreamed." The former borrows a Beatles riff and adds a twangy baritone guitar lead, the latter's rockabilly sound features guitarist Chris Erikson's flashy flatpicking and duet vocal.Producer Eric "Roscoe" Ambel (Bottle Rockets, Blood Oranges) brings his experience as a rock and roots-rock guitarist with the Blackhearts and Del Lords to balance the backings with the punchy drumming of ex-Smithereen Dennis Diken, acoustic and electric guitars, as well as touches of organ and piano. Combined with Dore's writing, and the years of gigging that preceeded recording, this debut is more highly accomplished than one would expect from a "new" artist.3-3/4 stars, if Amazon allowed fractional ratings."