Search - Larry Gallagher :: An Endless Chain of Accidents

The World's Smartest Songwriter In The World?

06/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Larry Gallagher has a gift for finding comic relief in the painful absurdity of every day life. Maybe he owes it to his years as a Zen monk, or maybe it's the time he spent "pulling rounds" in a slaughter house. His instrumentally rich melodies are a joy to listen to, but they're also so damned satirical, smart and funny, they'll make you cry laughing. I love this guy's music. You will too."

This album took over my brain

07/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Since a friend gave me this CD, I haven't been able to take it out of my player. Each morning I wake up with one of the songs in my head -- so I put it on again, and the cycle continues. There are two things I love about these songs. First is the lyrics. They are so smart and poetic that they make me relax -- I feel like I'm in the hands of someone I can trust not to resort to cliche or sentimentatliy or, in the funny songs (and they're hilarious), puns. He reminds me of Tom Lehrer in at least one song, and there's no higher compliment.
Second, every arrangement is different from what you usually hear, in instrumentation and sometimes structure. Usually just subtly different. His singing slides around the beat, there's lots of acoustic instruments, like a string quartet on one particularly beautiful tune, and the solos are understated and tasteful (again, except in the funny raucous songs).
You can actually get a good sense of the songs from the mp3 clips on this amazon.com page.
Anyway, I just got this cd by chance because my friend knows someone in this guy's band -- apparently he's not well-known or on a big label or anything. But if there's any justice in the world (there isn't), this guy should become famous. Not since I heard Elliot Smith for the first time have I been as happy to discover someone new."

Simply beautiful

T. Goldberg | 08/18/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My aunt first introduced me to "An Endless Chain of Accidents" while visiting her in San Francisco and I immediately fell in love the moment the first track came on. Larry's songs range from humorous and fun to deep and incredibly beautiful. Each song is perfected by the openess of his lyrics and vulnerability in his voice. When Larry sings about his darling Squeezletoe, there is so much love and devotion in there, you can't help but wish that he was singing to you. His more comical songs, such as "Nothing Left to Pierce" and "Show Me Your Flaw" will have you burst out laughing. You really can't compare this album to anything else, which is what makes is so worth listening to. Larry's unique style really sets him apart from everything else in the music world today. He doesn't sound like anything that came before him and he certainly does not belong in that long chain of "Wimpy White Guys with Guitars" I hear on the radio far too often. I hope musicians in the future will listen to this album and be influenced to be "the next Gallagher"."