Fred Eaglesmith - Milly's Cafe [2006][EAC,log,cue FLAC] torrent

Artist: Release: Milly's Cafe
MusicBrainz: cd418d96-1d81-4d81-b22f-1ed7377e6c93
Released: 2006-05-16
Country: US
Style: Folk

Tracklisting:

01. 18 Wheels (05:01)
02. Kansas (03:44)
03. Summer Is Over (02:36)
04. Thinkin Bout Her (04:15)
05. Rocky (06:01)
06. Milly's Cafe (05:28)
07. Tired (05:24)
08. Mrs Hank Williams (04:04)
09. Sign on the Wall (04:17)
10. The Rains (05:49)
11. [untitled] (00:55)

Fred Eaglesmith loves the road. The fiercely independent Canadian singer/songwriter's 16th album listens like a stagecoach trip down Route 66, taking its own sweet time in order to sniff out every corner like an Old West Canterbury Tales. The Springsteen-esque opener, "18 Wheels," follows the plight of a lovelorn truckdriver trying to fight the urge to plead his way back into the arms of his estranged lover. It's a fitting start for Milly's Cafe, a sparse and determined collection of stories that refuses to ever break into a gallop -- even the rolling title cut, a Bonnie & Clyde-inspired tale of guns and redemption, barely achieves midtempo. Still, it's an affecting album that uses the space allotted to it as a strength. The languid "Summer Is Over" is all Ferris wheels and small-town lemonade, while the heartbreaking "Rocky," which follows the correspondence between two weathered and ailing cowboys withering away in separate retirement homes, keeps reality clearly in check. It's a road-trip record in the classic sense, and one that's got a confection for whatever mood you may find yourself in.