An essential album for any collection
This album takes the cake for the best album in my collection. Each track has a unique sound and mindset that could make each and every one be a hit single, but they still come together extremely well for the overall dark, rich mood of the album. Songs such as "One Headlight," "Sixth Avenue Heartache," "Three Marlenas," and "The Difference" are, as they have well proven themselves to be, very radio friendly. These, along with lesser known "God Don't Make Lonely Girls," "Bleeders," and "Laughing Out Loud" have a relatively uplifting beat though they are definately not dance grooves. My favorite song is "Invisible City." All of Jakob's lyrics are deep, philosophical, and wonderful, but this song is the epitome of great lyrics. "In this invisible city/ where no one sees nothing/ we're touching faces in the dark/ feeling pretty is so hard." It's soft, dark, and slow with beautiful vocals and, as I've mentioned before, only the best of lyrics. "Josephine" is the main love song on the album with striking vocals by Jakob that are very exposed. It is a truly gorgeous song, well written and well sung. The album closes with "I Wish I Felt Nothing," which is another one with great lyrics (aren't they all though?). The placement of this song as last is perfect for the album, closing with a song that sums up the total dark feel of the album. Some may say the album is depressing but I say it is real and insightful, an album you can listen to straight from beginning to end over and over and over again. A must have!
WONDERFUL ALBUM! I LOVE IT! If you don't own it, buy it NOW!
Jakob Dylan is no longer known only as Bob Dylan's son; he hasbroken away from that title and has been recognized as an extremelytalented song-writer / singer. His songs are honest and meaningful; they are beautifully written and very enjoyable to listen to. The band's sound is pleasing to the ear and beautifully blended. The members include Michael Ward on lead guitar, Rami Jaffee on piano, Mario Calire on drums, Greg Richling on bass, and Jakob Dylan on guitars (also vocals). Bringing Down The Horse is a wonderful album with excellent musicians; if you don't own it, you're CD collection is lacking what could easlily be termed as a new classic.
out of the ordinary and awesome!
The musical combinations and talent in this album are so good, I never get tired of listening to it. The lap steel solos rock! Jakob has the greatest talk-sing vocals, if you know what I mean. And the lyrics are so interesting because they are different! They may seem strange at first, but that's just cool. ("emo" rockers: how many times can you rhyme with the word 'cry'?) My gosh it gets so tiring those whiny albums. Anyways, on top of all the bands coming out nowadays with no musical talent (practically) the Wallflowers remain on top in my book.
Bob not the only Dylan with talent
"Bringing Down the Horse" is the best Wallflowers CD, and one of the better collections of songs to come out in the last 15 to 20 years. Jakob Dylan shows he too has plenty of musical talent on mellow numbers such as "6th Avenue Heartache" and "Three Marlenas". He shows off the guitarwork on "One Headlight" and "The Difference". "Laughing Out Loud" and "God Don't Make Lonely Girls" are similiar and also very infectious, and "Josephine" really does taste like sugar and tangerine, as it is a very sweet song. Overall, one of the best albums anyone can own, and one of the best albums of the 90's. Highly recommended.
Simply great...
This was the first Wallflowers album I ever listened to and I fell in love with it. Every single song on this album is terrific. Each song is different in its own way, going from slow, sweet songs like Josephine and Invisible City to faster, catchy songs like One Headlight and The Difference. I would definitely recommend buying this cd!
When people talk about Jakob Dylan these days, they're less likely to refer to his famous father than to his band, the Wallflowers, and their breakthrough album, Bringing Down the Horse. Not only a staggering commercial success, the disc is also a superb example of the folk-rock Jakob's daddy helped pioneer more than 30 years ago. The Wallflowers don't need family relations to command respect. When the Wallflowers recorded their self-titled album in 1992, most of the band's members were 22 and weren't ready for prime time yet. The songs had flashes of inspiration and promise but didn't really hang together. It took four years for the Wallflowers to release a second album, but this time they were ready. The folk-rock melodies were strong; the playing was clear and muscular, and the production by T-Bone Burnett (friend of the family) framed the lyrics' storytelling imaginatively. Jakob will never escape comparisons to his dad, but his new music can stand on its own as some of the decade's best.
In fact, Jakob's voice doesn't resemble his father's so much as Tom Petty's nasal drawl, and the way Wallflower Rami Jaffee soaks nearly every song in Benmont Tench-like B-3 organ makes the Heartbreaker connection unmistakable. Fortunately, Jakob's evocative songwriting and the Wallflowers' high-energy playing reminds one of the early Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers records rather than the desultory, later work. Heartbreaker Mike Campbell even plays on "6th Avenue Heartache," the first single and a gloriously harmonized lament for the victims of America's meanest streets. "The same white line that was drawn on you," Jakob sings, "was drawn on me." He takes a more defiant, more rocking approach later in the album when he proclaims he's "Laughing Out Loud" in the face of everyone who ever tried to push him around. --Geoffrey Himes
