Soul Journey

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Sample Album
ALBUM INFORMATION

Total Tracks: 10   Total Length: 39:05

eMusic Review

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Amelia Raitt

eMusic Contributor

Amelia Raitt is a former writer for the television program Mr. Belvedere and has been writing about pop music of all colors and stripes for eMusic since 2005. S...more »

04.22.11
Gillian Welch, Soul Journey
Label: Acony Records

A return to form of sorts, Soul Journey sees Gillian Welch and long-time collaborator David Rawlings coming back to modern instruments after the stripped-down Time (The Revelator). “Modern” and Welch, however, only means that someone brought the magic of a drum kit and an electric guitar back to her attention. She uses both to stunning effect on the closer, “Wrecking Ball,” while the opener “Look at Miss Ohio” only needs a steady drum beat, an acoustic, and a sturdy bass guitar to convey the freedom of driving with the “rag-top down.” Rest assured, purists. There's still plenty to chew on: “Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor” and “I Had a Real Good Mother and Father” are bluegrass traditionals rendered solely by voice and guitar.

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what haunts me

hightouchmegastore

in this album is the simplicity of the songs and how they get at something essential. "Look at Miss Ohio" is a perfect example. The song moves at a stately, almost draggy, pace, and could not be more bare, both in terms of the performance and the structure. But the picture of a woman who was once something who's "fallen"--she wants to do right, but not right now--wow. A perfect song on a darn good album.

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Her only nonessential release

keronian

It's surprising/typical to read all of these glowing reviews of the album I always considered to be the only mediocre misstep in the Gillian Welch catalog. I liked Wayside, but deleted the rest. To each his own.

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Her Best

Branflakes

This is my favourite Gillian Welch album. I don't like the repetitive 'Appalachian' blues stuff that seems to make up every other track on Time the Revelator and this album has none of that. It has a great mood and melodies, every track's a winner. The only thing that comes close is the Songs from the Revelator album, also on here.

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Gillian Delivers

lattad

Gillian is the best. You can't lose with her if you are looking for country/folk/rock that sounds like it oozed right out of the Appalachians.

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My Favorite Welch/Rawlings CD

Cat-NYC-77

I have played this one over and over for years. Miss Ohio is so wonderfully rebellious, on the brink of some youthful tragedy. I like every song on this CD. Wayside/Back in Time and Wrecking Ball have a more upbeat sound while the others are quiet, humble, but never boring.

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To address "Wrecking Ball" specifically

RadioBug

it sings of fog in eucalyptus, a non-native strangely acceptable tree, and it sings of big moments like busting loose and little ones too. Have you been to "Hardly Strictly Bluegrass" yet? Uh, try.

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Her best album

poopiechow

I could listen to this album forever and ever. It never gets old because it's beautiful and sad and yet it puts you in such a great mood. Every song is perfection. Really.

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one of her best!

QG

Soul Journey is hands-down one of Gillian Welch's best CDs, and I truly believe it should be a 'pick' like the others listed on her music page on eMusic. Like Lucinda Williams, Welch has a way with a guitar and words, and she shows her strengths on every single track. There is not a dull or insincere one in the bunch.

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151 kbps

marcB71

Nothing else to say...

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A Departure Of Sorts

Monkeyrodeo

Though the roots country and bluegrass sound isn't here, two things remain, great songs and a beautiful voice. I appreciate artists that take chances and expand their musical horizons, and when it works, as it does here, it is an absolute bonus.

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They Say All Media Guide

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings may, in fact, shock and appall folk purists with their fourth album, Soul Journey. “Are those drums?” “Is that an organ?” “Wait a minute, is that an electric bass?!?” The album uses these musical elements to drive home a living-room, lazy-summertime jam-session feel that hasn’t really shown itself on Welch’s previous releases. The album’s opener, “Look at Miss Ohio,” evolves into her toughest rocker since “Pass You By” on her debut, Revival, and the whole album culminates in the relative cacophony of “Wrecking Ball,” a drunked-up barroom stumble highlighted by Ketcham Secor’s loping fiddle lines and Rawlings’ fuzzed-out guitar solo. Between these bookends is a mixed bag of traditional folk songs (“Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor,” “I Had a Real Good Mother and Father”), loose blues phrasing (“Lowlands,” “No One Knows My Name”), and a number of trademark Welch/Rawlings near-whispered murder ballads and orphan love songs. The thing that shines through most clearly is that the group had a lot of fun making Soul Journey, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into a terrific album. Aside from a handful of real solid honest-to-gosh gems, the whole album feels a little too casual and off-the-cuff to stand on equal footing with her other recordings. The choruses often become just repeated phrases over and over again (“Lowlands,” “No One Knows My Name,” “I Made a Lovers Prayer,” and the unfortunate “One Monkey”), and the songwriting seems less developed, as if the initial construction of the song has taken a back seat to the sheer enjoyment of performing it. That being said, it is a wonderful, dusty summertime front-porch album, full of whiskey drawls and sly smiles, floorboard stomps and screen-door creeks. While it does not exactly meet the impeccable standards that her previous three releases set, it is still a fine addition to her discography and well worth listening to all summer long. – Zac Johnson

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Activity

  • 02.10.12 Gill and Dave are up for two Grammys this year. Details on how to tune in, this Sunday, Feb. 12: http://t.co/wQzvfeqz
  • 02.01.12 Listen to Gill and Dave's recent interview and live performance on WFUV with Rita Houston! http://t.co/kQKbMLrX
  • 01.27.12 Gillian to play Warren Hellman tribute concert in San Francisco on Feb. 19th! http://t.co/tShCLUYE
  • 01.18.12 Click to view our favorite End-of-Year lists for 2011, featuring Gig of the Year, Album of the Year, and more http://t.co/69TCOwhA
  • 01.10.12 check out a collection of Gillian and Dave's favorite personal pictures from the 2011 H&H Tour http://t.co/c8w7b3Mz
  • 01.03.12 in-depth interview with John Dyer Baizley, creator of The Harrow & The Harvest album cover artwork http://t.co/Whdt1eQ0
  • 12.19.11 you can now listen to Gill and Dave's Saturday appearance on Prairie Home online! http://t.co/uOva7sFG
  • 12.14.11 setlist from 12/13/11 - Boston, MA - Wilbur Theatre http://t.co/m0qHcD55
  • 12.13.11 setlist from 12/12/11 - Boston, MA - Wilbur Theatre http://t.co/Per83KfV
  • 12.07.11 Leftover European Tour shirts added to webstore! Free US Shipping continues! http://t.co/hHodIlvt
  • 12.03.11 setlist from the 12/1/11 show in Nashville, TN, at the Ryman Auditorium http://t.co/pONeaeuY
  • 12.01.11 new products in the @aconyrecords store just in time for the holidays! and FREE SHIPPING in the US! http://t.co/0VF8qwSN
  • 12.01.11 The Harrow & The Harvest has been nominated for two Grammy awards! Best Folk Album and Best Engineered Album! http://t.co/zSeae8Ux
  • 11.29.11 setlist from 11/28/11 - Northampton, MA - Calvin Theater http://t.co/Cthj66PA
  • 11.28.11 setlist from 11/27/11 - Portland, ME - State Theatre http://t.co/df0qfzhL
  • 11.27.11 setlist from 11/26/11 - Portsmouth, NH - The Music Hall http://t.co/fYdCZqZJ
  • 11.24.11 setlist from 11/23/11 - London, England - Hammersmith Apollo http://t.co/tc8FB48v
  • 11.23.11 setlist from 11/21/11 - Manchester, England - Manchester Apollo http://t.co/eZwDKwQZ
  • 11.23.11 check out Gillian and Dave's performance of "The Way It Goes" from last night's episode of Later... With Jools Holland http://t.co/d8WbGWkJ
  • 11.23.11 setlist from 11/20/11 - Glasgow, Scotland - Clyde Auditorium http://t.co/txs7I7yw