Hyped, yes. Fluff, not so much. With raw vocal power and smart, evocative lyrics, Long is a folksinger with a spirited intensity that puts him outside and above the masses of singer-songwriters roaming our cities, towns, and social networks.
His original voice comes through in a combination of factors. One is his solid guitar playing, which takes a lot from the hard-strummed sound of the early folk-pop crafters like Bob Dylan and Dave Cousins. A more unusual factor is that, unlike most modern songwriters, Long seems to really like language, layering and intertwining his thoughts and images. Meanwhile, echoes of Nick Cave and David Bowie and Leonard Cohen shoot through his melodies, though many of the songs are rooted in real traditional folk idioms (think the Child Ballads).
Long's debt to traditional and Dylan-esque folk is evident in "Who Have You Been Loving," where detailed imagery in the verses alternates with a repeated one-line chorus – but with the composition juiced up by delaying that chorus. "The Bounty of Mary Jane" resembles an old, sad ballad: "I will fall upon this town / To call your name, my sweet suffragette / my sweet Mary Jane." Songs like the waltzing "Being a Mockingbird" would fit right into an Americana playlist today, but Long's undisguised working-class British accent reminds us, as Billy Bragg did, how the American Appalachian music tradition is deeply rooted in ballads from the British Isles.
Some parts of some songs don't always seem to quite make sense together, but, because Long sings with such an honest tone, the discontinuities mostly serve to hold the listener's interest. The melody of "Penance Fire Blues" at first echoes Bowie's "Jean Genie" and the song (coincidentally?) contains yet another curious mention of "suffragettes." Then it resolves into a cry to "let me run" and a worry about finding one's feet.
Though the songs don't always hang together, and a few are forgettable, this is a perceptive and rich collection. "I'm afraid to die," Long writes in "Left to Lie," the most powerful track on the disc: "I'm nearly old / I'm almost young / So I'm told." Shades of Dylan's My Back Pages, yes, but clinging to and building on those hoary roots in his own way. The CD will be released shortly via Long's Myspace page, where several singles are already available including "The Bounty of Mary Jane."
Article comments
1 - Cynthia in KY :)
I got the feeling that the author didn't want to say anything nice but couldn't help himself.
2 - cwebster22
I got that feeling, too, Cynthia. Very good article, though. I found myself thinking things like "I know, right?!?" when the author would explain the way Bobby writes and plays his songs.
3 - cwebster22
just goes to show ya that no one can resist Bobby's music ;)
4 - Beth
that's the definite truth, for sure!
How can you resist His music? :)
5 - Jkops
Bobby Long's music is just amazing. Tell me which songs are forgettable ? Because I am pretty damn sure you remember each and every one of them !
And Go see him Live. He's even better. Just breath-taking !
Of course he couldn't help saying nice things about this young amazing new artist.
Really, who could ?
6 - Muriel LZ
That's an awesome shitty CD revue, really. If you want to write s**t about an artist, at least have the politeness to listen to him. It will avoid you looking like a dumbass who does not know what he's talking about. FYI, Bobby is an awesome artist and has nothing to do with Twilight. If your judgement stops here, you don't understand anything to music and miss something great!
7 - Jordan Richardson
Muriel,
From the sounds of your comment, your judgment of this review stopped at the first page. There's a second page.
8 - Muriel LZ
Phew. Much better. All my apologizes then ! :XD