Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0783707017907
Label: Highway 87 Music
Manufacturer: Highway 87 Music
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Highway 87 Music
Release Date: 2005-03-08
Studio: Highway 87 Music
MPN: 8701

Hayes Carll is still in his 20s, yet he's already attained the whiskey-drenched, world-weary sound of someone who's battled a lifetime of demons. The Houston native employs that compressed experience to achieve near perfection on his second album, Little Rock, an Americana tour de force that gracefully straddles melancholic gloom and bubbly buoyancy.

There's not a weak song here, which is saying something considering the album's range. From the wistful lamentation of Wish I Hadn't Stayed So Long to the silly wordplay of Down the Road Tonight, Carll exhibits a deft lyrical touch across the widest possible range of human emotions.

And yet Carll is more than just a songwriter. His rough, thickly accented voice and exquisite acoustic guitar work are what really drive the album.

While Carll is the clear star, he benefits from some help along the way.

Guy Clark co-wrote the haunting Rivertown. And Clark's guitar work from The Randall Knife clearly inspired the similarly elegiac Long Way Home.

Ray Wylie Hubbard co-wrote the riotous Chickens. In the liner notes, Carll adds the following disclaimer: 'Ray and I felt that what the world really needed was a song about chickens. There is a good chance that we were wrong.' Perhaps, but the world definitely could use more songs as enjoyable as this one.

Guest vocals from Allison Moorer and stellar instrumental work from producer R.S. Field, Jimmy Lester, and Kenny Vaughn add depth and texture, confirming Little Rock as something more than just standard singer/songwriter fare.

Indeed, Little Rock is anything but ordinary. It is an energetic confirmation of Carll's status among the state's most promising young artists.

-This Is Texas Music, March 2005

Customer Rating:
Summary: Hayes "Little Rock" Carll
Comment: Love the sounds on this CD. Country, Rock, Blues , HC can to it all at the same time and make this old country boy feel at home. Can't wait for more.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Put this in your collection!!
Comment: This album is a deserving purchase for any hipster that holds fast to his opinion that he / she knows the real deal. Very impressed. There is no need to partake in a detailed evaluation of the music on "Little Rock". I hold fast that competition is a sin within the art of music. To me, simple appreciation holds the candle to light the way, and this is truly an album to appreciate and enjoy. Enough said. Good luck Hayes.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Hayes Carll Rocks
Comment: If you like country music, the real kind, buy this album. I live in Alabama but as soon as I can catch this guy live, I will. All good!!!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: An absolute treat
Comment: I am admittedly not the ideal person to review music, especially singer/songwriter music, as I tend to be overly forgiving. That being said, this disc just rocks! I bought it due to his association with ray wylie and others and they must all be proud. His uptempo songs are, as one would expect, fantastic, but the slower, more introspective tracks are really special,with each listening bringing more dimensions, I just love it, and am awaiting delivery of more Hayse Carll. give this one a try, you won't be sorry

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Customer Rating:
Summary: the future of texan singer songwriters
Comment: La escena de cantautores tejanos goza de buena salud pero, seamos realistas, esta algo envejecida y no puede permitirse el lujo de desaparecer cuando el inevitable paso del tiempo haga mella en sus exponentes mas destacados. Por eso, hay que empezar a buscar relevos, y Hayes Carll es un excelente candidato. Con 28 anos, de el ya se ha dicho que "evoca a Townes Van Zandt liricamente, a Guy Clark emocionalmente, a Steve Earle estilisticamente y a Ray Wylie Hubbard espiritualmente". Y solo ha editado un par de albumes.
"Little Rock" es el segundo trabajo del cantautor de Houston, y no defrauda en absoluto. Al contrario, supera todas las expectativas: Carll escribe excelentes letras repletas de ironia y agudas observaciones que le situan al mismo nivel de los grandes story tellers, donde retrata a multitud de personajes (de Michael Jackson a Ray Wylie Hubbard en "Down the Road Tonight"), describe los lugares donde ha vivido ("Wish I Hadn't Stayed So Long"), o critica a los cantantes sin talento que venden millones ("Sit In With The Band"). Por si fuera poco, maneja con soltura el blues ("Chickens") y el western swing retro ("Good Friends", con las angelicales armonias de Allison Moorer), pisa el acelerador en arrolladores himnos de carretera ("Little Rock"), y evoca al mejor Earle, el de las baladas desgarradoras ("Take Me Away", "Long Way Home") y el del country rock mas poderoso ("Hey Baby Where You Been"). Si senor, el futuro de los cantautores tejanos tiene un nombre: Hayes Carll.

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