Details
Track Listing
1. Humble Bee
2. She's a Piece of Work
3. People Love to Watch You Die
4. I'm Wrong About Everything
5. Same Piece of Air
6. Old Girlfriends
7. Bad Dream Baby
8. Goth Girl
9. You in Spite of Yourself
10. Our Lady of the Highways
11. After the Fact
12. Too Much Into Nothing
Album Notes
Personnel includes: John Wesley Harding (vocals, guitar, pump organ); Steve Earle (vocals, mandolin); Jimmie Dale Gilmore (vocals); Gary Burnette (guitar); Al Perkins (pedal steel guitar); Jennifer Kummer (French horn); Scott McCaughey (Melotron, bells, tambourine); Tim Lauer, Jeff Roach (keyboards); Mark Hill (bass); Greg Morrow, Steve Brewstew (drums); Eric Darken (percussion); Georgia Middleman, Mark Ivey, Michael Mellett, Ken Alphin, John Rich, Duane Jarvis, Chris Von Sneidern (background vocals).
Lovesponge: David Angell, David Davidson (violin); Kristin Wilkinson (viola); John Catchings (cello).
Recorded at: The Bennett House & Dark Horse, Franklin, Tennessee; Treasure Isle, Berry Hill, Tennessee.
THE CONFESSIONS OF ST. ACE finds singer/songwriter John Wesley Harding returning to form with renewed vitality and all the hallmarks of his craft, including irrepressible melodic hooks and clever, literate lyrics, intact. Like his musical forebears the Beatles and Elvis Costello, Harding is a consummate popmeister, sculpting verses, bridges, and choruses into memorable, singalong jingles, while striking a balance between soulful R&B rhythms and such heady production flourishes as lush background harmonies, rich instrumentation and mild psychedelic sound effects.
CONFESSIONS delivers one strong tune after another. In the opener, "Humble Bee," a meandering melody gives way to an almost anthemic chorus that circulates and stings like the song's subject. Confessional moods characterize many of the tracks here; the edgy, minor-key bitterness of "Old Girlfriends" alternates with the breezy, melancholic meditations on loss of "Same Piece of Air," whereas songs like "People Love to Watch You Die" and "After the Fact" are expansive, arpeggiated dream-songs in the mold of "Dear Prudence." As always, Harding's lyrics are intriguing and intricate, employing puns, wordplay and familiar cultural references (note the contemporary character portrait of "Goth Girl") in lines that embroider his melodies with meaning.
Industry Reviews
...Tight roots-rock...almost too smooth for their own good; a brace of songs that...grab hold and don't let go. - Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly (09/08/2000)
...Lovely pop gems...
No Depression (09/01/2000)
...Tricky rhymes and fully orchestrated pop....with Beatles-era embellishments....Harding could be a more chipper Elliot Murphy...
CMJ (10/01/2000)
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