Search - Graham Parker :: Deepcut to Nowhere

Wow, etc.

wordnat | United States | 02/03/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"My wife (who is not a big music fan) came into the room while I was playing this CD and asked "Is this Bob Dylan?" I smiled as GP sang "Her cheap chipped black nails / pick the threads out of a suture / that was holding your life fast", and said "No, but Dylan probably wishes it was.""

Another great GP disk!

seth sherman | adamant, vt usa | 03/31/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm glad to see there are still some people out there willing to invest in and support artists like Graham Parker these "dark days". Hats off to Razor and Tie Records too for its support of GP and other commercial and artistic musicians. GP has always worked in a successful commercial framework and not sacrificed artistic vision. I think that's why he is still successful today. I agree that Blue Horizon is the best cut on the disk. It's beautiful. Possibly the culmination or swan song of a long career. But there's not a bad cut on the disk. I've been a fan of GP's since the 80's and often thought he never got the appreciation he deserved...speaking of which, anybody know if he's been nominated for the Rocknroll hall of fame yet? Enough said... Meanwhile, GP has one of the most consistent bodies of work in rock today and is still cranking it out. As with this cd his work never sounds old or dated. This is a great intro to GP's body of work and covers many themes of GP's records over the years. Love, politics, culture, sociology...Tough, angry, tender, funny, sometimes all at once. Few others artists today have such insight into the human condition or have done more with a rocknroll song while at the same time rocking with such minimal production. The flashes of mandolin on the disk were greatly appreciated. While I concur about how nice it would be to see him live with band I've seen him live alone twice and he's one of the few artists who captivates an audience with nothing more than his voice, songs, guitar, harmonica. Enjoy this disk."

Parker is certainly no "has been"

L. B. Ivarsson | Rock City | 05/21/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Graham Parker started out as a pub rocker, combining traditional rock with blues, pop, punk etc. Sometimes, he's compared to Elvis Costello but personally I don't think the similarities are that striking and Parker is without doubt so much better. In 2001, Graham Parker released "Deepcut to nowhere" and it is certainly a very strong album. The material shows a matured Parker but the energy is still present. The opening of this album is excellent with the mid tempo blues rock inspired "Darker days" on which Parker sounds rather rough. Then comes the faster and melodic rocker "I'll never play Jacksonville again", followed by "If it never stops raining" - a very catchy and attractive song in mid tempo. These three songs are about as good as it can be, and I would rate them all 5 stars. It's almost impossible to keep up with this start and the two following tracks: the slow "Depend on me" and light hearted "High horse" are both rather mediocre. But the treat isn't over as the very captivating "Cheap chipped black nails" clearly shows. And when the up tempo "Syphilis & religion" kicks off, a couple of songs later you'll release that Graham Parker have made one helluva record. The albums holds five excellent songs and a couple of good once like the almost rockabilly-like "Socks `n' sandals" (Parker's "When I'm sixty-four") and the quite laid back "Tough on clothes", on which Parker as a dad sings to his daughter. When the closing and slow "Last stop is nowhere" with its country feel ends, I wouldn't be surprised if you start playing this album again and again and again - right away!"