Search - Graham Parker :: Your Country

He does it again

Larry Latham | Tulsa, OK United States | 08/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was a big GP fan back in the early days, but like a lot of people, I started to lose interest around the time of Another Grey Area and The Real Macaw. I totally lost track of him for twenty years, until 2003, when I got a bug to hear Life Gets Better Yet again. I ordered the Master Hits CD from Amazon, and then found a Best of..at the library. I was hooked all over again. I've obtained every GP album out there within the last year, and have obsessively listned to them all. I wonder what in the world I was thinking when I "lost interest." Your Country fits smoothly into his ouevre. Although there were a few songs on last year's Deepcut to Nowhere that I like better, this is overall the stronger collection, one of his best. (As an aside, one album that doesn't get any attention on Amazon is Loose Monkeys, which is only available from Razor & Tie. It's a collection of great songs that never made it onto albums. Give it a try, too.)

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Graham Parker, Countrified

tgfabthunderbird | York, PA United States | 11/09/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This was a bit of a departure, or so I thought when I picked up "Your Country." Used to Parker's hard-hitting, acidic vocal and writing style, I was surprised to hear an almost country sounding recording.



More of the old country that I grew up with, and not what you hear on radio now...but in any case Parker moved out with a very strong recording here, still incisive with his commentaries and a bit introspective too.



"Nation of Shopkeepers" may have been a look back at his roots, a very good story song and understated, very different from much of his past work. "Cruel Lips," which he did with Lucinda Williams was an exceptional duet and could have garnered some radio airplay if it had the right push. The cover of "Sugaree" was also an eyebrow raiser, but I liked Parker's approach to it.



Ending with "Crawling from the Wreckage" was a little reminder that Parker still rocks and wasn't gonna let you forget.



This might be a bit different for fans who expect stuff from his past bands like Shot and the Rumour, but it occupies a proper space for a fine writer and performer. Well done, Graham!"

A new twist from an old master

J. Lewis | Falls Church, VA United States | 08/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Have most of his (and the Rumour by themselves) early albums, and think they are great. This is as good, or better than any of the early work! The cover of Sugaree is terrific, as is the rest of the disc."