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 If the World Was YouSales Rank:2296List Price: $14.98 Lowest New Price: $9.98 Lowest Used Price: $9.98 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 Total Reviews: 13 Customer Reviews:Rating: 1 Buy the old ones I have been a fan of J.D. Souther for more than 30 years, from his time as a solo artist and then with Souther-Hillmen-Furay. To this day, I listen to those CDs regularly. This one is an enormous disappointment. It is tedious (e.g. 12:56 of The Secret handshake of Fate), the lyrics poor and contrived (love has a border, some kind of order), the production weak. lots of horns. I may try to listen to it again after a while, but the first go round was almost painful. Rating: 5 Old dog, perhaps not so new tricks I've always considered Souther the underdog of that 70's California sound, the guy that nobody knew, but whose songs everyone had heard and hummed. Other perfomers like Browne, Zevon, Henley-Frey, et al, got the lion's share of attention. But that was because they demanded it, and wanted it more. Souther took a slower, more sensible (at least for him, as it turned out) approach, and managed to create a pretty comfy existence writing for himself and others. There was little or no desperation evident in the albums he made. His songs did all the talking. I was tempted to only give this new one 4 stars, due to the (false) impression that he refused to be who he was. But then I realized that the music on "If The World Was You" represents a maturation of some earlier musical themes. Two tunes from "Black Rose", "Doors Swing Open" and the bass and acoustic guitar version of "Silver Blue" were early evidence that Souther's passion was jazz. The country rock hybrid was easier to put out there, and perhaps more lucrative. To those who long for those old ballads, like "Faithless Love" (arguably one of the greatest songs of the last several decades), I understand the longing. But I gave Souther that extra star for ambition, the good kind, and for feeling confident enough to say just as much (or more) with less, lyrically speaking. And yes, Eugene (see his review) I could have done without the epic-length track, too, but sometimes you get that on jazz records. That was a bit of a blemish, I admit. Old dogs who have been around for awhile, but who aren't ready to lay down, can use fewer words, and more meaningful silences, to say what they've always said. Rating: 2 Miss ya' JD...please come back! I love JD Souther, in fact he is one of my greatest musical heroes of all time, and I have a vinyl of everything he ever did in the past. So, I really looked forward to this one. I've gotta be honest. The songwriting is not there, like it once was, with the possible exception of In My Arms Tonight. His voice is sure on track,though. When I closed my eyes, I really couldn't tell the difference in vocal timbre from when he was much younger. Same delicate, melodious quality. But the songs really didn't move me. Most of them are blues based or minor modal things with jazz instrumentation, but the songs are not really jazz, at least harmonically. The supporting musicians are all great players, and I've seen Jeff Coffin in other contexts where he's amazed me, but really on this venture they are not playing very cohesively at all, and a few of the tunes don't feel "right" due to a vague noodling effect that seems to recur, nearly like they're trying to find a groove but don't quite get it. The soprano sax "scoops" are downright annoying, and I am a lover of free jazz, but this was just plain grating. The Secret Handshake of Fate, the final track is one of the poorest pieces of music I've ever heard from him, and I'm disappointed that Mr.Souther would put this on a recording, let alone allow himself to record this mess. It left me with a bad taste. So, yes I miss JD Souther, and I am thrilled that he is once again playing and recording, but please, next time, let's just hear the wonderful voice and guitar; some folk ballads, and some real emotion. Sorry, I can't give this more than 2 stars, and if it wasn't JD, I might not have given it that much. Rating: 5 Best CD 2008 Very simply. This is the best CD I've heard in 2008. As a longtime J.D. Souther fan, I am still amazed that he can sound this fresh, current, and cutting edge. WOW! His play-mates from the 70's may have released CD's lately, and really, did anyone care? I didn't, However, this CD sounds like a great, brand new, artist strutting his stuff for the very first time. Brilliant... By the way, I get to see J.D. live in Santa Fe next Monday, 12/8, EAT YOUR HEARTS OUT... Rating: 4 will the real j.d.souther please stand-up I was truly amazed, and delighted to throw on some new j.d.souther tunes for the head&soul to absorb his remarkable songwriting ability. To me, j.d's. voice is somewhere in-between, Glen Frey/ Jackson Browne, but he hold's his own on If the world was you cd, his songwriting is outstanding, particularly my fav's are track 3 journey down the nile, and also track 6 rain, but believe me this IS a complete album, no filling required. track 8 The border guard is the most commercial viable hit, I've heard him in year's. Go buy this cd, a little Steely Dan-ish horns to boot, ciao, Brian. |