Top tracks
Listeners also bought
Other Americana albums
Other Roots Rock albums
Put your hands on the remote! browse music »
Good Morning, West Gordon by One Star Hotel
view larger image
fave it Americana | Roots Rock
12 tracks | 41 minutes
Released Nov 2004
on Stereo Field
Click 
for a 30-second preview. All tracks are 192kbps high fidelity sound quality. Protected WMA $0.77 or unprotected MP3 $0.88.
listen album 30sec. shuffle buy CD review album promote album
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:29 Frustrated and Free lyrics BUY MP3 03:29 Frustrated and Free lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:29 Frustrated and Free
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:54 Can't Be Trusted lyrics BUY MP3 02:54 Can't Be Trusted lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:54 Can't Be Trusted
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:57 Starlight lyrics BUY MP3 02:57 Starlight lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:57 Starlight
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:49 Kings lyrics BUY MP3 02:49 Kings lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:49 Kings
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:45 Falling Down lyrics BUY MP3 03:45 Falling Down lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:45 Falling Down
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:30 Two and Four lyrics BUY MP3 03:30 Two and Four lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:30 Two and Four
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:06 Same Town lyrics BUY MP3 05:06 Same Town lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:06 Same Town
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:32 River Drive lyrics BUY MP3 02:32 River Drive lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:32 River Drive
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:03 This Fall lyrics BUY MP3 02:03 This Fall lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:03 This Fall
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:25 Thunderhead lyrics BUY MP3 04:25 Thunderhead lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:25 Thunderhead
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:58 Good Morning, West Gordon lyrics BUY MP3 03:58 Good Morning, West Gordon lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:58 Good Morning, West Gordon
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:39 In the Spring lyrics BUY MP3 03:39 In the Spring lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:39 In the Spring
"The sonic equivalent of an Edward Hopper painting, the band's Americana-flavored music displays haunted portraits of broken-down people and palaces, made more poignant by the occasional string and horn arrangements. Wilco fans will dig it." John Takiff,
Editorial review
In some cases, one shouldn't read too much into a band's name. Certain band names are simply meant to be fun and catchy, and they don't necessarily tell you anything about the band's music. But in the case of the Philadelphia outfit that is heard on Good Morning, West Gordon, the name One Star Hotel is appropriate. Think of a one-star hotel, and you think of being down on your luck -- you think of disillusionment, disappointment, the school of hard knocks, the bumpy road of life. And emotionally, the road that One Star Hotel describes on Good Morning, West Gordon (which is their second album) is indeed a bumpy one. Longtime Philadelphia Inquirer critic Tom Moon has described lead singer/guitarist Steven Yutzy-Burkey as someone whose musical approach "conveys torn-apartness without even trying" -- and, to be sure, there is hardly a surplus of optimism on this 2004 release. One Star Hotel's jangly, rootsy, melodic adult alternative offerings tend to have a world-weary outlook -- the kind of outlook that comes from being hurt and disappointed too many times. The Philadelphians also have a strong sense of pop/rock craftsmanship; melancholy items like "This Fall," "Can't Be Trusted" and "Frustrated and Free" aren't groundbreaking by any means, but they're solid, emotionally honest, tuneful and well constructed. Anyone who has spent a lot of time savoring Big Star, R.E.M., Aimee Mann or the Gin Blossoms will appreciate where Yutzy-Burkey is coming from; he sounds like he has lived every word that comes out of his mouth, and that sincerity is a definite advantage on this memorable sophomore outing. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
Bio / Background
"Conveys torn-apartness without even trying... transforming those overworked three chords into something almost magical again."
--Tom Moon, Philadelphia Inquirer
BIOGRAPHY
The year 2004 chased Philadelphia's One Star Hotel through lineup changes, anguished pre-production, floods (in their funeral parlor-turned-rehearsal space), car crashes and van breakdowns. Left only with a belief in their songs and a few drops of gas in the tank, they resolved to make a getaway: ditching meticulous demos, the band performed its new songs live at Miner Street Studios [Burning Brides, Mazarin, Bigger Lovers] for Brian McTear's vintage gear to capture. Good Morning, West Gordon displays the members at this, their most vulnerable-struggling to return to the heart of the city and music they love. Raw tracks in tow, the band spent months completing the mix with eclectic sounds found in churches, studios and in the very streets that inspired the songs.
↓ more ↓