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Tracklist (Vinyl)
| A | | Every Little Thing | | | | B | | I'm Gone | | |
* Items below may differ depending on the release.
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Review
Jeff Klein's music is the beautiful, cacophonous marriage of Emmylou Harris' poetics, Tom Waits' whiskey-drenched perceptions and the fractured melodies of Paul Westerberg. But Klein's full-length debut, Everybody Loves a Winner is solely his -- a powerful, often unhappy lullaby that is magnetic from start to finish. On "California," the Austin-based songwriter channels his inner J Mascis through distortion-laden guitars, as his former landlord Patty Griffin harmonizes on lyrics that look upon the dreaminess of the West with bitter cynicism:… Read More "If I get to California, before I lose my mind/I'll lay my burden on you for one last time." Klein clearly wears his influences openly -- "Another Breakdown" is his best shot at the working class, anthemic rock of the early Seventies -- but what's remarkable is that his style and delivery are firmly in the present day. His hushed, occasionally gravelly voice, revealed to great effect on the disc's best track "Five Good Reasons," brings heft and beauty to songs that make you unsure whether to smile or to cry. The irony of the album's title may perhaps be the world's worst-kept inside joke. Jeff Klein already knows he's good -- now he's ready for the world to figure it out. ANDREW STRICKMAN
(September 23, 2003)
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