About six years ago I received two copies of Hogtied Like a Rodeo from the man himself, Jake Smith: vocalist extraordinaire and guitar man, and it instantly became my go-to mellow, "play-for-everyone-I-know," acoustic album. As the title suggests, many, but not all, of the tracks off the now discontinued original are revisited on Hogtied Revisited with new recording and a slightly different approach, but there are a few newbies as well. Of the new tracks, "Damned," an acoustic guitar and piano backed piece, is the most powerful and showcases Smith's impressive baritone's emotion and range (think: Greg Brown with a touch of Eddie Vedder, but the comparison really doesn't do his voice justice). Of the "revisited" tracks, "Bar and the Beer," remains a personal favorite imbibing song, while "Today's Tomorrow," "Story," and "The Woods" encapsulate the exceptional vocals and pleasant country-americana instrumentation that has made The White Buffalo one of my favorite acts for the better part of a decade.
For a taste of his sound, check out this video for the song "Love Song 1" off of The White Buffalo Ep... if you like what you hear, you will love this album.
You know, I think that I am so accustomed to hearing the originals that I am still instinctively drawn to them. The pace and vocal tones of the new recordings are slightly different, so it throws off my vocal harmonies and air guitar (*ahem*).
With that said, the new recordings are pretty fantastic and have an increased depth and fuller sound. I'm sure I will get trained on the new recordings soon enough.
I highly recommend listening to the sample songs on the myspace page and, if you like what you hear, picking up the album.
8 Comments:
So do you like the new or old versions better?
Hmmm, good question.
You know, I think that I am so accustomed to hearing the originals that I am still instinctively drawn to them. The pace and vocal tones of the new recordings are slightly different, so it throws off my vocal harmonies and air guitar (*ahem*).
With that said, the new recordings are pretty fantastic and have an increased depth and fuller sound. I'm sure I will get trained on the new recordings soon enough.
I highly recommend listening to the sample songs on the myspace page and, if you like what you hear, picking up the album.
Uh, this is totally an acoustic "unplugged," if you will, version of that Pearl Jam singer.
Ok, in all seriousness, I really like this album (especially "Wrong"). I want to deedeley bop all around the apartment.
awmercy! Get your Brasilliant under control... she's commenting like a madwoman.
that was quite a comment bonanza...anywho, I'm goin to see White Buffalo this Friday. hopefully i can keep it together and produce a quality review.
Awesome! I'll be seeing him in April... I look forward to the review and your continuation of Gonzo journalism.
Looks like The White Buffalo is finally on eMusic.
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