Search - Hayes Carll :: Little Rock

Hayes Carll
Little Rock
Genres: Country, Pop, Rock

Track Listings (11) - Disc #1
1. Wish I Hadn't Stayed So Long
2. Take Me Away
3. Down The Road Tonight
4. Good Friends
5. Hey Baby Where You Been
6. Rivertown
7. Little Rock
8. Leave Here Standing
9. Sit In With The Band
10. Long Way Home
11. Chickens

CD Details

All Artists: Hayes Carll
Title: Little Rock
Members Wishing: 14
Total Copies: 0
Label: Highway 87 Music
Release Date: 3/8/2005
Genres: Country, Pop, Rock
Styles: Americana, Roots Rock
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPCs: 783707017907, 712136182320

Synopsis

Product Description

Hayes Carll is still in his 20s, yet he's already attained the whiskey-drenched, world-weary sound of someone who's battled a lifetime of demons. The Houston native employs that compressed experience to achieve near perfection on his second album, Little Rock, an Americana tour de force that gracefully straddles melancholic gloom and bubbly buoyancy. There's not a weak song here, which is saying something considering the album's range. From the wistful lamentation of Wish I Hadn't Stayed So Long to the silly wordplay of Down the Road Tonight, Carll exhibits a deft lyrical touch across the widest possible range of human emotions. And yet Carll is more than just a songwriter. His rough, thickly accented voice and exquisite acoustic guitar work are what really drive the album. While Carll is the clear star, he benefits from some help along the way. Guy Clark co-wrote the haunting Rivertown. And Clark's guitar work from The Randall Knife clearly inspired the similarly elegiac Long Way Home. Ray Wylie Hubbard co-wrote the riotous Chickens. In the liner notes, Carll adds the following disclaimer: 'Ray and I felt that what the world really needed was a song about chickens. There is a good chance that we were wrong.' Perhaps, but the world definitely could use more songs as enjoyable as this one. Guest vocals from Allison Moorer and stellar instrumental work from producer R.S. Field, Jimmy Lester, and Kenny Vaughn add depth and texture, confirming Little Rock as something more than just standard singer/songwriter fare. Indeed, Little Rock is anything but ordinary. It is an energetic confirmation of Carll's status among the state's most promising young artists. -This Is Texas Music, March 2005

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Member CD Reviews

Jimmie D. (Starbuck) from FORT WORTH, TX
Reviewed on 12/5/2006...

Really good young singer/songwriter with help of Ray Wylie Hubbard.

CD Reviews

Nice varied tempos & messages keep us rapt & attentive

J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 04/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Playing Time - 40:11 -- Hayes Carll is a Texas singer/songwriter who describes himself as a "twisted folk singer." I don't find him particularly perplexing because his songs reveal a fair amount about his life, friends, and wry wit. The places he's lived over the years are mentioned in the opener, "Wish I Hadn't Stayed So Long." He wonders about some of his closest high school buds in "Good Friends." And just about everything else is referred to in the tongue-twisting "Down the Road Tonight" from thrift store cowboys to panty droppers, and pill poppers to his grandmother. Little Rock is a followup to Carll's 2003 release "Flowers and Liquor," and this latest effort offers a nice mix of varied tempos and diverse messages to keep a listener rapt and attentive. The title cut, about Arkansas, is a rocking story about Carll's search for "a piece of this earth for my peace of mind." With emotive voice, the singer also ably handles the rawboned ballad, "Long Way Home," or quiet lullaby "Take Me Away." Of special note are the compositions written in collaboration with Ray Wylie Hubbard ("Chickens"), Guy Clark ("Rivertown") and John Evans ("Sit in with the Band" and "Take Me Away"). Some songs have a tender side, while others are raucous.

While Carll chose to independently release Little Rock, his personalized sound and work eithic (over 200 appearances in 2004) have attracted the interest of major labels. Produced by R.S. Field, Little Rock features a bevy of good musicians. Alison Moorer and pedal steel player Bucky Baxter assist on vocals, and I wish that some of the songs had been arranged with a few more harmonies. Other musicians who lay down the Texas groove include Kenny Vaughn (guitar), Jared Reynolds (bass), Jimmy Lester (drums), R.S. Field (percussion, drums, guitar), Adam Landry (guitar), and George Bradfute (bass).

Carll has been on the road with Joe Ely, Todd Snider, Slaid Cleaves and Ray Wylie Hubbard. He's also played Merlefest and the "Texas Revolution" at the Southfork Ranch in Dallas. Hayes Carll is a bit of a renegade who is strongly individualistic, confident and independent. As long as he succeeds in getting his music out there and heard, Carll's on a certain road to headline status in the Texas music scene. He's well on his way as I understand that Hayes went #1 on the Americana radio chart in April, 2005 - a feat never before accomplished by a self-released artist. (Joe Ross, Roseburg, Oregon)

"

No Such Thing as a Sophmore Slump

Brad | Nashville, TN | 03/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hayes burst onto the Texas country/folk/singer-songwriter scene several years back with Flowers & Liquor, a wonderful collection of songs about mostly - you guessed it - love and alcohol. Several years later Hayes returns with a matured compilation of songs, not just emotionally, but also musically. But don't believe me...Hayes brings legendary songwriters Guy Clark and Ray Wylie Hubbard to the table with him, proving he can hold his own with two of the best. What strikes me as particulary good about the album is its consistency, seemingly becoming one of Hayes' trademarks.

From the opening single "Wish I Hadn't Stayed So Long," rolling through to the fun country rocker "Down the Road Tonight," drifting through the haunting "Rivertown," into the wistful "Long Way Home," and closing out with the excellent barn buster "Chickens," you won't find a throw-away track on this cd. Do yourself a favor and grab one. You won't be disappointed."

Hayes is the real deal

Michael R. Wilson | Houston, Tx | 03/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I prefer seeing Hayes Carll in a live performance where his charisma and sense of humor shine. Second best is sitting back with friends and beer listening to Hayes at home. He is a true poet with a wicked sense of humor. My wife absolutely loves his music and this is a major breakthrough for her. She had considered Barry Manilow the voice of America.There is no sophmore jinx here. It is more refined than the first album with his well chosen guest musicians."

An absolute treat

gary shepherd | nw ohio | 01/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am admittedly not the ideal person to review music, especially singer/songwriter music, as I tend to be overly forgiving. That being said, this disc just rocks! I bought it due to his association with ray wylie and others and they must all be proud. His uptempo songs are, as one would expect, fantastic, but the slower, more introspective tracks are really special,with each listening bringing more dimensions, I just love it, and am awaiting delivery of more Hayse Carll. give this one a try, you won't be sorry"

The future of texan singer songwriters

Miquel Botella Armengou | Barcelona, Catalunya | 05/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"La escena de cantautores tejanos goza de buena salud pero, seamos realistas, esta algo envejecida y no puede permitirse el lujo de desaparecer cuando el inevitable paso del tiempo haga mella en sus exponentes mas destacados. Por eso, hay que empezar a buscar relevos, y Hayes Carll es un excelente candidato. Con 28 anos, de el ya se ha dicho que "evoca a Townes Van Zandt liricamente, a Guy Clark emocionalmente, a Steve Earle estilisticamente y a Ray Wylie Hubbard espiritualmente". Y solo ha editado un par de albumes.

"Little Rock" es el segundo trabajo del cantautor de Houston, y no defrauda en absoluto. Al contrario, supera todas las expectativas: Carll escribe excelentes letras repletas de ironia y agudas observaciones que le situan al mismo nivel de los grandes story tellers, donde retrata a multitud de personajes (de Michael Jackson a Ray Wylie Hubbard en "Down the Road Tonight"), describe los lugares donde ha vivido ("Wish I Hadn't Stayed So Long"), o critica a los cantantes sin talento que venden millones ("Sit In With The Band"). Por si fuera poco, maneja con soltura el blues ("Chickens") y el western swing retro ("Good Friends", con las angelicales armonias de Allison Moorer), pisa el acelerador en arrolladores himnos de carretera ("Little Rock"), y evoca al mejor Earle, el de las baladas desgarradoras ("Take Me Away", "Long Way Home") y el del country rock mas poderoso ("Hey Baby Where You Been"). Si senor, el futuro de los cantautores tejanos tiene un nombre: Hayes Carll.

"