Williams and White wrote most of the twelve songs for this CD while they were still in the midst of a prolonged international tour in support of their first album, Barton Hollow, which was released in 2011. In retrospect, that may not have been the wisest of decisions, as living on the road and always "being on" for the media is grueling in and of itself. On the other hand, the hectic backdrop to their composing effort arguably enhances the emotion which pours out on so many of the songs heard on their new record. The recording took place last autumn, but the mysterious communications breakdown between the two partners made it difficult to mix, master and market a finished product until two weeks ago.
The strife between Williams and White notwithstanding, this is a very fine sophomore offering, with enough quality music to warrant a continued presence on the national music scene. The album is front-loaded, with three of the best songs among the first four tracks. The song that I keep replaying in my mind is Same Old Same Old, in which the singers know they're in a rut but, up to this point, have been unable or unwilling to talk about it with each other. They swear they won't throw in the towel, and yet if things don't change, who knows? One characteristic of the Civil Wars is that, unlike other guy and girl duos where they play off each other or sing response lines to their partner's lyric, Williams and White sing from the same perspective. It is two people taking turns with lines that could just as easily be sung by only one of the pair. Thus, although the song is directed to another person, that person is not necessarily the person with whom the singer is singing. Depending on the song, this kind of arrangement can be good or bad, but I mostly find it perplexing.
The lead-off track is a lament called The One That Got Away. It's a tale relating how things were better when they were at the flirting stage and she was playing hard to get. But sparks flew and now they're in too deep.
Oh if I could go back in time
When you only held me in my mind.
The accompanying sting instruments, including guitar, mandolin and dobro, lend a spooky feel to the music. Charley Peacock produced all but one of the tracks on this record. He is generally deserving of high marks, but I definitely do not like using vocal distortion on The One That Got Away. Williams' voice is too pretty to be subjected to that kind of production overkill.
Dust To Dust is one of the first songs Columbia chose to release for air play prior to the album's August 6 release. The singing protagonist is calling out the listener, declaring that his laughter and "perfectly delivered lines" belie his loneliness. Up to now it's all been an act. Later in the song the singer admits that the reason she's on to the charade is that she herself once behaved the same way. She offers a cure:
Let me in the walls
The accompanying sting instruments, including guitar, mandolin and dobro, lend a spooky feel to the music. Charley Peacock produced all but one of the tracks on this record. He is generally deserving of high marks, but I definitely do not like using vocal distortion on The One That Got Away. Williams' voice is too pretty to be subjected to that kind of production overkill.
Dust To Dust is one of the first songs Columbia chose to release for air play prior to the album's August 6 release. The singing protagonist is calling out the listener, declaring that his laughter and "perfectly delivered lines" belie his loneliness. Up to now it's all been an act. Later in the song the singer admits that the reason she's on to the charade is that she herself once behaved the same way. She offers a cure:
Let me in the walls
You've built around.
We can light a match
And burn them down.
There are a few other tunes on The Civil Wars which deserve positive mention. I admire the clever ambiguity in Eavesdrop, wondering what the singer is referencing when she sings,"Don't say it's over." Is she talking about their romantic moment under the stars, or does she mean their affair?
Devil's Backbone is a prayer in which the singer finds herself in the unenviable position of asking God to allow her children's father, who was "raised on the edge of the devil's backbone" and now has committed a terrible crime, to avoid capture by the authorities.
There are a few other tunes on The Civil Wars which deserve positive mention. I admire the clever ambiguity in Eavesdrop, wondering what the singer is referencing when she sings,"Don't say it's over." Is she talking about their romantic moment under the stars, or does she mean their affair?
Devil's Backbone is a prayer in which the singer finds herself in the unenviable position of asking God to allow her children's father, who was "raised on the edge of the devil's backbone" and now has committed a terrible crime, to avoid capture by the authorities.
Oh Lord, oh Lord, he's somewhere between
A hangman's knot and three mouths to feed.
This song, together with From This Valley, have a western frontier feel to them.
The album could use some better pacing. With the exception of From This Valley, all of the songs are slow tempo. That leads me to wonder what The Civil Wars' live concerts are like. It also casts doubt on the wisdom of including a cover of the Smashing Pumpkins' Disarm on this record. The overall tone and mood of the collection is already sombre enough, almost to the point of moaning.
Will there be another album? Is it possible the rift between Williams and White is merely a publicity stunt? It seems unlikely to me because, having won three Grammy awards, their star is rising. A phony tiff is something a publicity-starved, slumping band would be more likely to stage. According to several sources, including a Rolling Stone interview from earlier this year, neither side is willing to reveal what caused the duel. In fact, White isn't granting interviews at all, nor is he taking to social media to state his position. Williams, at least, has told the band's fans that she'd be open to a face-to-face. But as the saying goes, it takes two to tango.
White has a nice, although rather soft, voice, in the style of Art Garfunkel. This is particularly noticeable on D'Arline. Still, from my vantage point, White has more at stake here than does Williams. She has the stronger voice, and on those songs on which one is featured more than the other, she gets more spotlights than he. Additionally, Williams, at age thirty, is ten years younger than her singing partner, and would therefore have more time to rebound in her career should The Civil Wars never reach a truce. We know that singing duos don't last forever. Brooks & Dunn is one of the most recent examples of that. But those guys lasted twenty years, and won seventeen CMA Awards, twenty-six Academy Of Country Music Awards, and two Grammys. It would be nice to see The Civil Wars make a little more of a run before permanently calling it quits.
This song, together with From This Valley, have a western frontier feel to them.
The album could use some better pacing. With the exception of From This Valley, all of the songs are slow tempo. That leads me to wonder what The Civil Wars' live concerts are like. It also casts doubt on the wisdom of including a cover of the Smashing Pumpkins' Disarm on this record. The overall tone and mood of the collection is already sombre enough, almost to the point of moaning.
Will there be another album? Is it possible the rift between Williams and White is merely a publicity stunt? It seems unlikely to me because, having won three Grammy awards, their star is rising. A phony tiff is something a publicity-starved, slumping band would be more likely to stage. According to several sources, including a Rolling Stone interview from earlier this year, neither side is willing to reveal what caused the duel. In fact, White isn't granting interviews at all, nor is he taking to social media to state his position. Williams, at least, has told the band's fans that she'd be open to a face-to-face. But as the saying goes, it takes two to tango.
White has a nice, although rather soft, voice, in the style of Art Garfunkel. This is particularly noticeable on D'Arline. Still, from my vantage point, White has more at stake here than does Williams. She has the stronger voice, and on those songs on which one is featured more than the other, she gets more spotlights than he. Additionally, Williams, at age thirty, is ten years younger than her singing partner, and would therefore have more time to rebound in her career should The Civil Wars never reach a truce. We know that singing duos don't last forever. Brooks & Dunn is one of the most recent examples of that. But those guys lasted twenty years, and won seventeen CMA Awards, twenty-six Academy Of Country Music Awards, and two Grammys. It would be nice to see The Civil Wars make a little more of a run before permanently calling it quits.
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