This 2002 debut release from Nevada City's Golden Shoulders features group songwriter and mainstay Adam Kline collaborating with the likes of Joanna Newsom, Neal Morgan (Brightblack), Todd Roper and Greg Brown (Cake, Death... more »ray), Rich Good (the Pleased), Josh Klinghoffer (John Frusciante, Vincent Gallo, Beck, PJ Harvey), Rusty Miller and Dave Brockman (Jackpot), Jason Graham (Little Wings, Badical Turbo Radness) and Brett Shady (Badical Turbo Radness). All recorded at Sacramento's Brighton Sound Studios by Greg Brown and Victor Damiani. Thirteen tracks of music, with lyrics included at no additional charge.« less
This 2002 debut release from Nevada City's Golden Shoulders features group songwriter and mainstay Adam Kline collaborating with the likes of Joanna Newsom, Neal Morgan (Brightblack), Todd Roper and Greg Brown (Cake, Deathray), Rich Good (the Pleased), Josh Klinghoffer (John Frusciante, Vincent Gallo, Beck, PJ Harvey), Rusty Miller and Dave Brockman (Jackpot), Jason Graham (Little Wings, Badical Turbo Radness) and Brett Shady (Badical Turbo Radness). All recorded at Sacramento's Brighton Sound Studios by Greg Brown and Victor Damiani. Thirteen tracks of music, with lyrics included at no additional charge.
CD Reviews
Gets better with each listen
Noah D. Masterson | Austin, TX | 10/23/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Few people realize how hard it is to write good pop songs. If you assembled the best guitar player, vocalist, drummer, and bass player in the world, threw them in a room together and asked them to start a pop band, their music would be [lousy]. Just look at Yes, or Rush. (Okay, not even Rush fans consider Geddy Lee the world's best vocalist.) The point is, anyone can learn to play guitar. A few lessons, some hours spent [practic]ing in the basement, and you're there. You're a guitar player. You're good enough. But songwriting is a craft that requires instinct, knowledge, and, if you're any good, restraint -- you have to know when three chords is enough. Adam Kline excels at this. He's one of the very best. His old band, the Gears, played lean pop songs that drew mostly from early Beatles (but with a better sense of humor). They rocked.Golden Shoulders sound enough like the Gears to please old fans, but Adam's songwriting has evolved seven-fold. (I counted.) I hate trying to describe individual songs, so all I will say is that Adam and friends have made an album that sounds timeless but not derivative. Each song is different from the last while remaining true to Golden Shoulders' distinct esthetic. I hope "Let My Burden Be" becomes a classic. The pop world needs it."
Definitely worth checking out
Jeff Spicoli | Davis, CA | 08/12/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Well I don't write reviews very often but this album is well deserving. These guys are actually fairly local to me and heard about them after they played on my college radio station (KDVS Davis CA, www.kdvs.org Check it out they rock).
After hearing them I really think they deserve to be heard by much more than a local audience and was very pleased to see a review from someone in NY.
The album is kinda pop-ish, but don't be fooled into thinking it isn't varied and deep. It reminds me of Pavements Crooked Rain album which some people slam for being too poppy, but I still love grooving to when I'm in the mood for something upbeat.
Anyone looking for something new should definitely check them out. Some of my other favorite bands just for reference Modest Mouse, Grandaddy, Neutral Milk Hotel, Bright Eyes, Elliot Smith, Beau Kinstler, Pavement, Jets to Brazil, Wilco, They Might Be Giants etc."
Two great adjectives: Timeless & Brilliant
Mr. Maybe | Information Highway, USA | 08/22/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I was shocked and enthralled after a listening or two of this fine album. I threw it in my CD changer in my car and it has not left since (working on two years). The tunes are addictive, and the song writing is honestly nothing short of brilliant. Adam Kline is the great, unknown genius who's instincts in terms of lyrics and harmony are unmmatched in today's flooded market of aspiring musicians. Golden Shoulders stand above much of what's out there today, and they do so modestly and with patience. It would be a travesty for the curious to miss this gem. You won't be let down."
A welcome and refreshing change!
Ms. A. M. Dewhirst | Yorkshire, England | 10/02/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I didn't actually buy this CD from Amazon, i bought it off Adam Kline himself after i went to see him playing when i went on a recent holiday to california. I had bought "Friendship is Deep" a year before and didn't know this album existed until he started singing these (other) fantastic songs and said they were from the album "Let My Burden Be" - I was first in the queue to buy one!
What a refreshing change this group is, it isn't quite pop music and it definitely isn't rock, it's a kind of indie music, i think, but it isn't as whining and depressing as a lot of it is nowadays (think Coldplay, etc) , yet it's also got protest songs so it reminds me a little of Bob Dylan and the engaging and instantly likeable tunes that sound a bit like George Harrison. I apologise if I'm making it sound a bit complex here, but to sum it all up simply, this album is FANTASTIC! Buy it if you want something refreshing and cool to listen to, you won't be dissapointed (if this is your kind of thing)."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1