Search - Max Stalling :: Comfort in Curves

Tells it Like it is

N. K. Shackelford | Southern Oklahoma | 02/16/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Max Stalling is, indeed, a real song writer. You can listen to his songs & picture exactly what they tell about, because this is real life for us, at one time or another. If you like Comfort in the Curves, there is an earlier album you'll be sure to love, & we can all look forward to more real-life "facts" by this real-live Texas man! However, don't forget to come back to yourself after heading south while listening to the title track & the rest of this "real" collection."

Mighty Fine, Mighty Fine

N. K. Shackelford | 02/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This debut from a very talented Texas Singer/Songwriter is phenominal. The songs are genuine, and provide a rich visualization that puts the listener into another time or another place. Most of the fake "country" coming out of Nashville has a couple songs that are OK, and the rest are throways. Not this genuine country/americana cd - every song is f"mighty fine.""

Stalling writes with a pen full of intimately detailed verse

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 06/07/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Stalling wears a variety of hats: rambling troubadour, cowboy, country crooner, all with a Texan's tilt. His twelve song debut takes you from the intimate campfire dreams of "Sparks" to the open-road escape of "I-35." Like fellow Texan Jack Ingram, Stalling is an old soul, with a pen full of unusually detailed stories. His music sparkles with touches of accordion, mandolin, pedal steel and superbly-placed female harmonies.Slower numbers like "Might Have Been in Austin" sport a country-folk feel, reminiscent of Lyle Lovett or Jimmy Buffett's earliest Nashville work, while "Come Around" matches the sundown tempo of the Sons of the Pioneers to a harmony reminiscent of Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks. But, in the end, it's Stalling's lyrics that grip the listener. Ranging from the existential despair and ragged worldly remains of "Time's Hand in Your Pocket" to the elemental musing of "Tadpoles and Eagles," Stalling crafts his words without overworking them. He conjures poetic laments with everyday imagery: "But my heart's like an old cat's tail and love's a rocking chair."The album closes with a wonderful remembrance of childhood, creating a warm view of the comfortable curves of time."