How Can I Sleep? by Cordelia's Dad

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Traditional Folk | 90's Rock

12 tracks | 40 minutes

Released Nov 2002
on Cordelia's Dad

Click for a 30-second preview. All tracks are 192kbps high fidelity sound quality. Protected WMA $0.77 or unprotected MP3 $0.88.

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sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:58 Idumea lyrics BUY MP3 03:58 Idumea lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:58 Idumea

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:43 Narragansett Bay lyrics BUY MP3 03:43 Narragansett Bay lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:43 Narragansett Bay

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 01:53 Farewell to Old Bedford lyrics BUY MP3 01:53 Farewell to Old Bedford lyrics "GIFT MP3" 01:53 Farewell to Old Bedford

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:33 Imaginary Trouble lyrics BUY MP3 02:33 Imaginary Trouble lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:33 Imaginary Trouble

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:52 San Francisco lyrics BUY MP3 04:52 San Francisco lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:52 San Francisco

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:21 Bend to the East lyrics BUY MP3 02:21 Bend to the East lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:21 Bend to the East

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:02 Texas Rangers lyrics BUY MP3 04:02 Texas Rangers lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:02 Texas Rangers

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:49 Delia lyrics FREE 02:49 Delia lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:49 Delia

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:59 Sweet William lyrics BUY MP3 03:59 Sweet William lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:59 Sweet William

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:58 Little Margaret lyrics BUY MP3 02:58 Little Margaret lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:58 Little Margaret

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:57 Shallow Brown lyrics BUY MP3 04:57 Shallow Brown lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:57 Shallow Brown

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:16 Harvest Home lyrics BUY MP3 02:16 Harvest Home lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:16 Harvest Home

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Well-crafted mix of melodic rock and acoustic songs with compelling stories.

Editorial review

The second album by Northampton, MA folkies Cordelia's Dad is the definitive document of their electric early sound, and possibly the finest American folk-rock album of the '90s. The trio's roots in the Western Massachusetts hardcore scene (which also spawned the very different Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh) give the album a passionately electric sound that perfectly suits lead singer Tim Eriksen's powerful voice -- Eriksen has one of the best voices in '90s music, no matter what the genre -- while maintaining the integrity of the traditional folk melodies. Producer Dave Schramm (Yo La Tengo, the Schramms) strikes just the right balance between noise and clarity, as well as acoustic grace and electric noise. The songs are one of the strongest sets the group has compiled, including the relatively familiar murder ballad "Delia" (which Johnny Cash did in a similarly electric version later in the decade as "Delia's Gone") and "Farewell to Old Bedford," as well as more obscure choices like the peculiar "Swiss Nanny." The album's standout is "Narragansett Bay," which Eriksen, bassist Tom King, and drummer Peter Irvine turn into a surprisingly poppy sing-along (complete with killer hooks and a Richard Thompson-style guitar solo), considering it's about a child's death by drowning. Other highlights include the haunting "Sweet William" and "Harvest Home," two songs that prefigure the more acoustic sound of later Cordelia's Dad albums. As always, Eriksen seems to have chosen the most inexplicable lyrical variations of the songs, favoring evocative but discordant imagery over linear narrative. The resulting mystery is only one of the elements that makes How Can I Sleep? an endlessly fascinating piece of work. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide

Bio / Background

For over a decade, Cordelia's Dad has been on ongoing series of musical experiments. Beginning with an unabashed punk rock fury, evolving into the tender, intricate acoustic songs of Comet and Spine, and returning to bouyant, noisy rock on What It Is, the common threads have been powerful harmony singing, haunting melodies, and insistent rhythm.

Founders Tim Eriksen and Peter Irvine, along with long-time member Cath Oss, have travelled throughout North America and Europe, melding their passionate interpretations of early American hymns, ballads, and fiddle and banjo tunes with their own contemporary pop music sensibilities. Cordelia's Dad taps into deep veins of American experience and musical tradition, forging a sound that is just as surprising as it is familiar.