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the glorious decline by bob egan
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fave it Folk Rock | Americana
9 tracks | 39 minutes
Released Oct 2006
on GarCorps
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- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 07:37 An Airport Bar On Christmas Day lyrics BUY MP3 07:37 An Airport Bar On Christmas Day lyrics "GIFT MP3" 07:37 An Airport Bar On Christmas Day
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 01:51 Montreal lyrics BUY MP3 01:51 Montreal lyrics "GIFT MP3" 01:51 Montreal
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 06:12 Spalding's Lament lyrics FREE 06:12 Spalding's Lament lyrics "GIFT MP3" 06:12 Spalding's Lament
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:46 The Forgotten Waltz lyrics BUY MP3 02:46 The Forgotten Waltz lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:46 The Forgotten Waltz
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:04 Learn to Love Again lyrics BUY MP3 04:04 Learn to Love Again lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:04 Learn to Love Again
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 06:44 Pleasantville Bar lyrics BUY MP3 06:44 Pleasantville Bar lyrics "GIFT MP3" 06:44 Pleasantville Bar
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:56 Virginia lyrics BUY MP3 02:56 Virginia lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:56 Virginia
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:25 Drifitng Too Far From the Shore lyrics BUY MP3 05:25 Drifitng Too Far From the Shore lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:25 Drifitng Too Far From the Shore
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:04 Crawling Back to You lyrics BUY MP3 02:04 Crawling Back to You lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:04 Crawling Back to You
Egan's latest record, the Glorious Decline is a lush, steel guitar laden soundscape of confessional lament.
Editorial review
Bob Egan is one of the more underrated musicians when it comes to alt country or Americana circles. Yet this album, which looks at the bleaker side of life, is a rich and extremely thoughtful recording. The majestic introductory "An Airport Bar on Christmas Day" has some great pedal steel accents with Egan delivering the song in a deep, hushed monotone. In no hurry to conclude, the song is extremely pretty with many instrumental highlights. The song then evolves into a larger, bombastic and somewhat heady arrangement in the homestretch. From there, Egan, along with some assistance from Blue Rodeo bassist Bazil Donovan and Oh Susannah, shines on shorter pieces such as the haunting "Montreal" that feels complete despite being just under two minutes. Meanwhile, the artist hits gold with the tender, mid-tempo and inviting "Spalding's Lament" that strolls along as if it was influenced by Nick Cave circa "The Boatman's Call." It's a song that you can instantly get lost in. While the tone of the album isn't as poppy or upbeat as his previous release, Egan is more than capable of nailing these songs. A perfect example of this is the reflective, mournful "The Forgotten Waltz" that is only missing the vocals of Margo Timmins. The closest thing to pop on this album is the slightly up-tempo and shuffling "Learn to Love Again" that resembles something off Wilco's "Summerteeth." The first song that takes a bit longer to become endeared to is "Pleasantville Bar" which is a sullen and somber jazz-tinged number complete with trumpet and trombone. However, the album gets back to basics with a singer/songwriter effort dubbed "Virginia." The sleeper pick has to be "Drifting Too Far from the Shore" which contains a subtle Latin feel as Egan delivers his strongest vocal performance. ~ Jason MacNeil, All Music Guide
Bio / Background
It all started in the early 90’s when Bob joined the Chicago/Louisville alt country trio Freakwater. After a few tours of Europe and a critically acclaimed record Bob left to join Wilco for two years to record and tour “Being There” and “Mermaid Avenue.” In the mid-nineties Bob left Wilco and moved to Mississippi to release his first solo record (self-titled) and begin his career as a session steel guitar player.
His first record sold relatively well for an indie release (especially in Norway) and Bob’s studio work started taking off with sessions with the Tragically Hip, Neko Case, The Jars of Clay and several Fat Possum artists. In addition he toured with Billy Bragg between solo tours.
In 1999 Bob joined Canada’s Blue Rodeo and began touring with them for a healthy 100 or so days a year. He was welcomed into the studios of Toronto recording for the Cowboy Junkies, Hayden, Jason Collette, The Sadies, Matt Mays and many others.
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