[.ca] Wallflowers

From Amazon.com:
Anyone who saw the Wallflowers perform live in the early '90s surely could tell the band had a good shot at making it big. With their folk-rock tunes led by the vocals of Jakob Dylan and Rami Jaffee's swelling Hammond organ, they sounded like nothing so much as the Band playing with Jakob's dad, Bob. The songs on their self-titled debut weren't quite there, however, so the Wallflowers breakout was deferred until 1996, when they released Bringing Down the Horse. Still, there are some fine moments on The Wallflowers, including "Shy of the Moon," the rocking "Ashes to Ashes," and the rambling "Sidewalk Annie." --Daniel Durchholz

so good....so good:
I started listening to the wallflowers in 2000, when i got breach. i worked my way backwards from then, and when i got to 1992's "The Wallflowers" i said why didn't i get here sooner. J.D's rich vocals are a delight! with the crafty guitar work traded between Tobi miller and Jakob Dylan, and the frequent crescendos, this is something you can't miss. every song is great. this is also a very daring album. some of the songs, are so long. but they are good. believe me. get this. there are three daring albums of 1992-2003. COUNTING CROWS-ACROSS A WIRE, JOHN MAYER-ANY GIVEN THURSDAY and this album. the other two, most people don't release a double live album with only one or two major label releases. but The wallflowers, that's a different story. do yourself a favor and buy this album.

If you like Bob:
This my third review of a wallflowers CD. I was lucky to find it at the store since the wallflowers aren't vary popular with the teenage fans in my town. In fact nobody at my school knows who they are. This Is a wonderful album that makes me wonder why they changed their style. It got the folk and down home roots that make an awesome combination. It almost sounds like songs that Bob Dylan would write. In fact my dad who is a Bob Dylan fan fell in love with CD and wanted to keep it for himself. With Jakob's trademark use of captivating lyrics and a more toned down band this has to be the best wallflowers CD.

Debut Is Quite Different From The Albums That Followed:
This debut album by The Wallflowers may confound some fans of their subsequent albums. Originally released in 1992, it did not sell well, and it was several years before Jakob Dylan returned with a revamped line-up of musicians to hit the big time with the breakthrough 2nd album, "Bringing Down The Horse". By that time he had tightened up the formula, updating the sound and reining in some of the excesses of the debut. The Wallflowers known to most of their fans make crisp, consise pop-rock songs, but this early incarnation of the band had a much more freewheeling, loose approach, with little apparent regard for radio-play or the trends of the day. The Wallflowers have always had a retro/classic rock sound, but on the later albums this is filtered through a modern-rock sensibility. Not so on the debut, which sounds like it could have come out in 1970. The songs are often quite long here - 3 of the 12 cuts clock in at 7 minutes or longer, and the average song length is almost 6 minutes. The shortest, "Shy Of The Moon", is the only one on the album that's less than 4 minutes, and not coincidentally, it's probably the only song that could have had any chance as a single. But unlike many long rock songs, they do not feel bloated, padded or stretched out needlessly. In fact, the 3 longest songs are arguably the best, all 3 of them managing to achieve a hypnotic groove that justifies the length. One reviewer said the album sounds like it was recorded in a garage, and I'd agree, as long as you can accept that sometimes that's a good thing. The band is loose without being sloppy, and the sound is direct, rootsy and organic, yet still very well recorded. In a lot of ways this album reminds me of Bruce Springsteen's debut, "Greetings From Asbury Park, New Jersey". Springsteen started out making a wild, sprawling, uncommercial record before learning to shorten the songs, rein in the manic lyrics and give his music a chance to be heard by a wide audience. The Wallflowers have had a similar evolution, and as much as I love their more popular later albums, I love their debut, too. Maybe more, in fact.

All Alone:
While it may be easy to compare Breach to Red Letter Days or Red Letter Days to Bringing Down the Horse, the debut album for the Wallflowers cannot be compared. It totally rocks, of course, (hello, it's the Wallflowers) but it's just different. Not bad different, not so different you can't tell this is Jacob, but it really is amazing in a completely different way. Songs like Shy of the Moon, After the Blackbird Sings and so on are so mindblowing I wish I'd wrote them. But the same can be said for their next three albums. Anyway, this is a great CD and a must for a Wallflowers fan, but don't expect it to be anything you've already heard.

A hidden gem:
The debut of the legendaryworthy 'Flowers, is WELL worth getting. This album has it all, and it showcases beautifully the raw unbridled talent of the band at it's beginning. The songs on here are still begged for by fans at current concerts, they have and will stand the test of time. You will NOT be dissapointed, at this beautifully crafted gem. Get it!! and tell everyone you know! :)

• Shy of the Moon
• Sugarfoot
• Sidewalk Annie
• Hollywood
• Be Your Own Girl
• Another One in the Dark
• Ashes to Ashes
• After the Blackbird Sings
• Somebody Else's Money
• Asleep at the Wheel
• Honeybee
• For the Life of Me