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Stories Under Nails by Ben Weaver
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fave it Folky Pop | Acoustic Blues
12 tracks | 59 minutes
Released Sep 2004
on Fugawee Bird
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- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:23 Greive All You Want lyrics BUY MP3 04:23 Greive All You Want lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:23 Greive All You Want
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:40 Voice in the Wilderness lyrics BUY MP3 05:40 Voice in the Wilderness lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:40 Voice in the Wilderness
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 06:17 Old Mission lyrics BUY MP3 06:17 Old Mission lyrics "GIFT MP3" 06:17 Old Mission
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 07:52 Sway With Me lyrics BUY MP3 07:52 Sway With Me lyrics "GIFT MP3" 07:52 Sway With Me
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:19 John Martin lyrics BUY MP3 04:19 John Martin lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:19 John Martin
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:51 Cold House lyrics BUY MP3 03:51 Cold House lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:51 Cold House
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:40 Like a Wound lyrics BUY MP3 05:40 Like a Wound lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:40 Like a Wound
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:47 40 Watt Bulb lyrics FREE 04:47 40 Watt Bulb lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:47 40 Watt Bulb
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:00 Handed Down lyrics BUY MP3 05:00 Handed Down lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:00 Handed Down
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:17 Old Mule lyrics BUY MP3 05:17 Old Mule lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:17 Old Mule
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:18 Broken By 2 lyrics BUY MP3 03:18 Broken By 2 lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:18 Broken By 2
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:21 Ragged Words lyrics BUY MP3 03:21 Ragged Words lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:21 Ragged Words
Gutter pulpit sermons.
Editorial review
Ben Weaver appears to be from the eerier side of traditional or "mountain" music. Sounding like Steve Earle or Blanche with a bit of a hangover, Weaver gives a fine performance on the introductory "Grieve All You Want," a rather simple but quite alluring piece of music that slowly builds as he neither sings nor speaks the lyrics, rather doing some semblance of the two. He moves into a relaxing country mold on "Voice in the Wilderness," with his drawl selling the tune as well as the solid sway-inducing arrangement, ambling at a traditional country pace. Fans of groups like the Guthries would lap this music up immediately. "Old Mission" is a cross between Tom Waits and the Handsome Family, as Weaver is backed by guitar and a pedal steel that is heard at just the right times. Although the song itself is mundane, the singer pens some fabulous lines, especially "Got pitchfork dreams and typewriter prayers/The wind catches and turns the spades of your windmill heart." The despair is only matched, if not surpassed, by the quality of the song. "Sway With Me" has a barroom feel thanks to the piano opening and the almost Dylan circa Time Out of Mind approach, instruments off in distance but still vital to the number. One aspect of the album is how Weaver is deliberate with each song, as some easily surpass five, six, or even seven minutes. The first minor miscue is the spoken word narrative entitled "John Martin," as Weaver comes across more as a whiskey-soaked jazz singer than alt. country hero. A gem is "Like a Wound," a song possessing the world-weary vocal, the dreary arrangement, and the joyful despair that it evokes in the listener. It's perhaps the best song Wilco never had a chance to perform. The organ-laced midtempo "Handed Down" is another strong song, reeking again of the alt. country or Americana flavor, with some of Weaver's best lyrics and singing. Townes Van Zandt can also be heard as an influence on the dark and crawling "Old Mule." A troubadour to a fault, Weaver offers more of a contemporary folk mold with pop hues on "Broken By 2," perhaps the lone radio-friendly track. ~ Jason MacNeil, All Music Guide
Bio / Background
NEW YORK TIMES - "...country-rooted Americana full of weary determination and aphoristic clarity, somewhere between the Band and Tom Waits."
HARP - "Weaver sounds like a man who sees ghosts,
not his own reflection, in the mirror each morning. Damaged goods or adept stroyteller? Both, probably. But by locating the razor thin divide between a man's last glimpse of sunlight and his first sighting of hell's gates,
Weaver shocks the rest of us into facing what we might
otherwise turn away from."
Larry Brown (Author of Fay) - "Ben Weaver is the most exciting young songwriter I've come across, an American original whose voice and guitar are matched only by the power of his words. His songs are an incredible, haunting gift of music."
UTNE - "Weaver's been hanging out in America's forgotten corners, crafting these musical postcards that recall a rural Tom Waits, or Greg Brown in his dark, bluesy moments. He's like that spooky old guy who lives in a trailer but tells amazing stories.
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