Editorial Reviews
Music Review:
Music Review
Famous Czech Miniatures for Cello & Piano
Music: Riot Detonator [Enhanced]
Heart Go Boom [CD-single] [Enhanced]
Enfanta Soyez Meilleurs Que Nous [Import]
Holy Road: Freedom Songs [Enhanced]
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
A 21st-century denizen of Nashville with a deep affection and abiding respect for the music of the town's distant past, Paul Burch may not be the last of his kind, only among the most talented. Over the course of three previous albums, Burch has built a reputation as a country singer and songwriter who handles traditional forms with effortless facility yet always sounds thoroughly modern. It's a trick he turns with aplomb on the mostly acoustic Last of My Kind, which he wrote and performed entirely by himself. Inspired by his pal Tony Earley's Depression-era novel Jim the Boy, the disc contains not a note that couldn't date to the 1930s, but Burch's natural ease and his utter lack of irony combine to produce a mood and sound that's sophisticated but never stiff. Moreover, it's a diverse record, deftly incorporating a dozen permutations of wood and wire--guitar, banjo, mandolin, and more--across a variety of styles. Three instrumentals--a rag, a harmonica stomp, and a folk blues--serve to order and divide 10 songs sung from the perspective of the novel's various characters. Along the way, Burch effectively moves from thin falsetto to thick nasal drawl to gentle croon. --Anders Smith-Lindall
Album Description
Paul Burch returns with Last Of My Kind. His second LP on Merge. These songs were inspired by and composed as companion to 'Jim, The Boy', the acclaimed debut novel by fellow Tennessean, Tony Early. This release is scheduled to coincide with the novel's publication in paperback. Last Of My Kind was recorded and performed entirley by Paul. It is an ecclectic blend of blues, folk and old-tyme country traditions which creates a truly startling realistic tapestry of rustic enchantment. Destined to be a timeless classic. 13 tracks. 2001 release.