Folker Revisited

[FreeRider]

It's been 2 years since it's release and last month, I popped it in the car stereo to reminisce about the excitement of Paul touring behind its release.

I enjoyed the field recordings others have made and shared of the Folker tour---Paul really made some of those songs shine during the tour. But I wanted to give the studio/basement CD another listen and in having done so, I've actually grown fond of some songs I didn't initially like or was a little indifferent to. I was wondering if anyone else has a new found appreciation or found something that they missed the first go around.

I've discovered that I really dig the tone of Paul's electric guitar on "Now I Wonder", around the 2 minute mark, this little guitar fill he does sounds great. It's probably a semi-hollow body electric but I love the tone!

"23 Years Ago" has taken on a much deeper meaning, I'm really finding the lyrics to be haunting now....his singing and voice isn't great on this song, but I think I finally have moved past that and I finally get the whole sentiment behind the song (okay, I'm slow on the uptake...)

now I say it outloud
maybe you were the one
I should've holded onto...

"What About Mine" is still one I can't quite get. I still have problems with his voice on this song. "breathe some new life" is still just kind of like filler to me.

Anybody have any thoughts on this? Or has everyone else moved past Folker and I'm still stuck in the past?

p.s. someone asked if they thought this was a CD suited for the fall or something. for me it is because I will always associate this CD being released in September, and then Paul doing the Pantages shows in November....

[nowwesayitoutloud]

freerider said:

"23 Years Ago" has taken on a much deeper meaning, I'm really finding the lyrics to be haunting now....his singing and voice isn't great on this song, but I think I finally have moved past that and I finally get the whole sentiment behind the song (okay, I'm slow on the uptake...)

now I say it outloud
maybe you were the one
I should've holded onto...

I didn't re-listen to the whole CD yet, not a bad idea. I did listen to "23 Years Ago" though and at the 3:41 mark, I hear

now we say it out loud

It could be he's slurring the "w" sound from "now" into some vowel that's supposed to be "I" ... but I have always heard it as "we." That changes the song, because then it's not just one person but both who are finally laying their cards on the table. For me it's the turning point of the album, the middle (7th) song and the point in that song that the whole album hinges on.

[kgp]

Usually on the first listen, I go with the big, meaningful ballad ("Breathe Some New Life") and only after I've spent some time away from it, I pick a more dark horse candidate ("23 Years Ago"). I think it may be Paul's most unsettling song. ("O.D. Blues," notwithstanding.)

[A Regular]

I happened to listen to it in the car over the weekend. I liked it from day 1, and agree that 23 years makes me stop and listen every time...especially that last verse. Definitely a song for middle age, which much of that album speaks to, I think.

not wild about what about mine either, except the "yes" part. And I still hear gunshy and folkstar as a medley of sorts.

[deebee76]

I pretty much dug "Folker" on the whole as soon as I had a couple of close listens to it. Between "Anyway's All Right", "23 Years Ago" and the interludes, there's certainly a running theme, and Paul seems to be re-living some of his past here, which makes it a more personal record, and perhaps unsettling, for that matter. Another thing that's kinda different about "Folker" is the fact that a fair number of songs stretch into five minute territory, which is not a regular thing for Paul...

Besides all that, it's hard to go wrong with a record that has the likes of "Lookin' Up In Heaven", "As Far As I Know" and "Gun Shy" on it.

[FreeRider]

Thanks for your thoughts everybody...yeah, I liked Folker as a whole when it came out too but did find songs on there that I just glossed over. But now, I really dig it even more after giving it some time.

Oops! I'll have to go back and re-listen to 23 years; I think you're right, I think he is singing,

"now WE say it out loud..."

AReg - funny, I always thought Gunshy and Folkstar flowed really well together too. Never thought of it as a medley but it also seemed as if the pause between songs was shortened for Gunshy and Folkstar. Gunshy really does seem to move effortlessly into Folkstar, doesn't it?

[ClamsCasino]

Wow, people really don't like What About Mine? That and Anyway's All Right are by far my favorites off the album. I don't think my opinion about the album as a whole as really changed at all. I still think it's his strongest solo album despite a few weak tracks. I still can't get past his voice in Breath Some New Life. Just like Souvenirs on Dead Man Shake, I thought it was a really bizarre choice to sing in a key so far out of his register. It sounds like his head is going to explode.

[FreeRider]

clamscasino said:

Wow, people really don't like What About Mine? That and Anyway's All Right are by far my favorites off the album. I don't think my opinion about the album as a whole as really changed at all. I still think it's his strongest solo album despite a few weak tracks....

It isn't that I hate What About Mine, more like an indifference and I tend to skip it. I'm not crazy about the vocals either, but that's what I said about 23 Years Ago and I'm actually diggin' the song now.

Just curious, in what ways do you think it's his strongest solo album? Because of the themes?

I still can't get past his voice in Breath Some New Life. Just like Souvenirs on Dead Man Shake, I thought it was a really bizarre choice to sing in a key so far out of his register. It sounds like his head is going to explode.

Hahahaha! Funny way to describe it! "head is going to explode..."

why he chose to sing in such a high key and throw in all this reverb on that track does seem a little odd. But didn't he say in the Harp magazine interview that this is his first album that flows together as a unified composition? I thought he said someting about the songs' keys all go around and come back full circle. That might explain singing in a high key on that song.

[GoddamnJob290]

I love Folker in parts and I like it as a whole. A darkhorse for Paul's best solo album.

I've always thought since first hearing it that "23 Years Ago" was one of his best ballads ever. Paul has always been the best at nailing emotions down exactly and this one is Exhibit A. I'm only 21, but I can still relate to the feelings of regret that the songs hits on. It's really the hinge point of the album.

To me, the story of the record is a guy sitting alone in a room, brooding over his past mistakes, until he gets antsy in "Gun Shy" and comes fully alive with demon-exorcising screams of "Folk Star".

Only two drawbacks:

a) Paul's voice isn't in its greatest form, but the heart is at least there, so I don't mind so much

b) I still can't like "What About Mine" and I can't really get into "Breathe Some New Life", though the later isn't too bad. 50 minute albums usually give me a hard time; for me, it's either cut down to 40 or make it a double (70 minute length).

[ClamsCasino]

freerider said:

Just curious, in what ways do you think it's his strongest solo album? Because of the themes?

No, I wouldn't single out the thematic content as the reason I like it. I just think it's the strongest group of songs he's put on a single album. And unlike his other solo albums, it actually feels like a cohesive album and not a grab bag of songs and song fragments (Although I am aware that Lookin Up In Heaven was recorded back in the Eventually days). I'll concede that if I could condense Stereo/Mono into one 12-song album, I might rank it above Folker. And now that I think about it, my ipod version of Folker is actually missing two songs ($100 Groom and New Life), so I guess I'm cheating a little.

[bobb]

I'm with ClamsCasino in that What About Mine and Anyway's All Right are the favorites for me. I think it is overall an excellent Paul CD.

[bigbak]

I listened to Folker, 5, maybe 6 times as I drove out to California two weeks ago. I was also listening to Eventually, Stereo/Mono, Sucaine, and Come Feel Me Tremble.

Folker is second only to Sucaine. And I love $100 Groom.

[nowwesayitoutloud]

One thing about "What about Mine?" is that it firmly addresses a frequent concern of PW lyrics:

Well if tonight belongs to you, tomorrow's MINE
And I suppose your guess is more or less as bad as MINE
Well I know it ain’t MINE
You’re MINE. Bar nothing
Take yours don’t take MINE
Quit knockin' on MINE
Are those MINE?

[landshark]

I was a huge Folker supporter when it came out, loved the themes, the flow, some very strong songs ... but I listened a few months ago and was distressed at how crappy it sounds. With the honeymoon over, so to speak, I was appalled at how such good-to-amazing songwriting had received such shoddy production. Even AFAIK, which I remembered as sounding decent, sounded like it was being played through a file cabinet. I don't know, maybe my ears or my speakers lost something between then and now, but as a pure listening experience Folker has slipped for me, not risen.

[Placemat]

Never much cared for Folker, & after a recent spin, I still feel the same. Hands down, my least favorite solo record. Funny, since Paul thinks it's his best.

Part of it is the sound, most of it is the songs. AFAIK is just too sugary for my taste, makes my teeth hurt. & While I dig "My Dad" & "Gunshy", the rest all just run together.

The last PW record I'd play for a virgin listener.

[DaveinDK]

It's funny 'cos I was thinking earlier about how good Folker is. I agree with Clams and would place Folker in the top two solo albums, Stereo/Mono being the other. I love What about Mine. Another fave for me, not previously mentioned is How Can You Like Him? Really cool song, different melodical approach for Paul. It really reminds me of some 60's am radio pop. I really, really dig it.

AFIK, Gunshy, Looking up in Heaven, Anway's Alright, 23 Years Ago...are all great songs.

Now I wonder, 100 dollar groom are weaker.

FolkStar rocks, but I could've done without the bit at the end. Jingle is a toss off. Breathe Some New Life can be tough to take.

But I really can't stand My Dad. One of Paul's most embarrasing moments in my opinion. The lyrics are trite and the rhymes just completely forced.."at his flat screen TV, at Christmas he got me from me" ugh..He takes Positively 4th Street, a tune he had just recently recorded for some Uncut magazine CD, and spends about ten minutes rewriting the lyrics in tribute to his Dad. i think it's lame.

overall, though, Folker is a really cool album with maybe the coolest Paul album cover. The pic under the disc is great too.

[52media]

I found a Beatlesque quality to Folker that I hadn't heard before, especially on "How can you like him" and "Buy it Now", for some reason the latter reminds me of George Harrison's "Piggies", it has a trippy quality to it I guess??? I would place it on my top 3 solo efforts of his.

[badtimesroll]

Funny you should mention the Beatlesque quality. I always felt that way about the first few seconds of $100 Groom, though I can't place where. Maybe "Shoulda Known Better" without the harmonica?

Glad to see that I'm not the only one who disliked the sound quality to Folker. A polished production isn't necessary, but something not as muddled(?) would have been nice. But I guess that's how he wanted it...

I never really cared for "My Dad" on Folker, and I didn't know about the similar Uncut magazine CD track. But two things changed my opinion of the song: the AOL acoustic version and a live recording from I don't know where, but he sings the latter part of the verses a little higher (he talks about how his dad never had a drop before he starts). Like someone said earlier, the voice isn't in the greatest form, but the heart is there.

[scoOter]

badtimesroll said:

Like someone said earlier, the voice isn't in the greatest form, but the heart is there.

i know i am not the first person to have this thought, but i think paul's voice is much better (read: more power & mats like) when he is standing in front of a band. or at least recording with other people.

this is totally natural, too. i have a 4 track that i record with in the basement, and i am more timid when i am singing to myself than i am with a drummer & a bassist wailing away. there is something about yelling over din that makes for great vocal moments.

[A Regular]

scooterboy said:

badtimesroll said:

Like someone said earlier, the voice isn't in the greatest form, but the heart is there.

i know i am not the first person to have this thought, but i think paul's voice is much better (read: more power & mats like) when he is standing in front of a band. or at least recording with other people.

this is totally natural, too. i have a 4 track that i record with in the basement, and i am more timid when i am singing to myself than i am with a drummer & a bassist wailing away. there is something about yelling over din that makes for great vocal moments.

So when can we expect you to be posting these wailings? Is there video of this you can share?