From Amazon.com
The Ward Highway Winding Through the Universe, Stop #7
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: This is stop Number Seven on the Ward Highway (if you count "To Go Home") and delivery Number Ten if you count the Monsters of Folk and his two great albums with Zooey. I had the opportunity to hear Matt roll Hold Time out in a concert in Eugene, Oregon and my goodness, what a treat. Gathered around the stage, everyone just got sucked into his soulful vortex as one amazing song after another issued forth. I have long suspected that he was a philosophy major in college (San Luis Cal Poly?) and when he started in on "Epistemology" my wonder turned into near certainty (philosophy majors are never ever completely certain of anything except musical genius when they hear and see it). Who would even know to title a song EPISTEMOLOGY except a philosophy major and who could play an intro guitar riff like the one that begins and ends his lecture on epistemology except a musical genius who continues to evolve and develop as the years and albums go by. So what is this amazing man's theory of knowledge? Ha, I thought you'd never ask: putting one foot in front of the other, doing his very best, and the rest is anyone's guess. Clearly he studied the Zen masters at school and as his musical muse continues to pour forth he just gets deeper and deeper and deeper into a musical journey that promises to find him at the top of the mountain in the end. We also caught him in Portland with the Monsters of Folk where he opened the show with Lotta Losing, jamming in the spotlight on the piano, and he and Jim and Connor and Mike slowed to a stop some three hours later. Connor thanked Portland for giving us this musical genius and then Matt settled in with 2,000 of his best friends for an unforgetable evening. We also caught him on Austin City Limits where he was his usual amazing self. Hold Time is Matt's best album yet and I have said that after each of his seven offerings. But truth for telling, his best album is the next one. A genius is a genius and there is "nobody" like Matt, we (the planet) have never had nobody like Matt (yeah, yeah). Nobody. What you need to do is go back to the first offering and work your way through to Hold Time. THE WARD HIGHWAY: It's the greatest novel ever written with many, many more fantastic chapters yet to come. Purity is rarely found in this world and as Matt stumbles along, putting one chord in front of the other, and one meaningful phrase next to the last one, we can only stand in amazement because what is coming next would be anyone's guess. I'll hazzard a guess, what the heck: it will be another dazzling display of soulful genius that just keeps getting deeper and deeper, traveling further and further into the musical muse which is Matt Ward. Watching him in person you can tell he is not impressed at all by himself and he comes across as shy, sincere, and a very quiet and thoughtful man with an incredible sense of humor and ironic insight into the condition of man. A philosopher, yes, with piano and guitar riffs that shake the very foundations of beauty. Matt puts the mystery and magic back into "guessing" what's coming next. I can hardly wait to find out.
Great album when feeling mellow
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: I've been listening to the album for about a year now and keep coming back to it. Solid songwriting, nice vocals, simple arrangements, enough interest to keep me engaged. Ward's cover of Buddy Holly's Rave On is a favorite, as is Fishers of Men. Never Had Nobody Like You is probably the most recognized track on the album, and it's a solid tune. Overall a nice album to have in your collection.
Hold Time Salvation
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: With his distinctively sensual, echoey sound, M. Ward has crafted a Christian album that works. From an introduction to faith in "For Beginners" to the Johnny Cash/Jesus homage "Fisher of Men" to the instrumental outro, every track is catchy and memorable. "Jail Bird" not only addresses original sin but also lifts a line from Dylan with "you're going to have to find yourself another best friend somehow." Ward tips his hat to a 19th century poet as well in "Blake's View."
Perhaps the most underrated album of 2009
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: I'll admit: I wasn't planning on liking this album when I checked it out from the library. I've heard some not-too-good things about this album. And I can definitely see why some people wouldn't like this album, but it's for those same reasons that I like it so much.
He's very folk-y sounding lyrically, and his voice is really scratchy. I don't mind the scratchy-ness so long as he can sing well (which he can), and the folk lyrics are actually quite cool. Not likely to survive being played on the radio, but still: quite original.
He's a very talented musician and plays a wide variety of instruments as well.
If you haven't heard this one, I recommend it. It's worth a listen (or 8 - I couldn't put it down).
Ok followup
Album Rating: (3 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: M. Ward is a man trapped in time, stuck in the Oughts but enamored of the music from long ago. Strikingly spare, most M. Ward recordings have a lo-fi grime about them that does not embrace the current hi-def fidelity that some crave. His guitar playing is based on traditional finger picking, using space and tone rather than filling a song with a million notes and chord progressions. In some ways you could say he was a throwback to simpler times where your worth was based on your ability to craft and nurture a song rather than create something instantly disposable. I would think that should be a value worth preserving in a performer.
On M. Ward's new album `Hold Time,' M. Ward embraces the timeless traditions of former troubadours and creates an album that is steeped in the past but also manages to look forwards. `Hold Time' is a concise listen that features M. Ward's mixed bag of melodies and compositions. Opening track, "Never Had Nobody Like You" is a breezy bit of pop with a guitar riff that initially recalled Steely Dan's "Reelin' In The Years" before mutating into a greasy blues. "Jailbird" is a melancholic strum of a song sung with a sigh before leading into the funereal title track that deadpans about a lost relationship.
Then the album takes a twist and becomes invigorated with a cover of Buddy Holly's "Rave On" followed by a sister song in "To Save Me." The country blues of "Fisher of Men" receives a droll take before leading into a cover of Don Gibson's "Oh Lonesome Me." "Oh Lonesome Me" was also covered by Neil Young and thankfully did not feature a craggy Lucinda Williams singing along. After this track, it seems that Ward stumbles through "Epistemology" before regaining his footing with "Blake's View" and "Shangri-La." M. Ward closes the album with "Outro" a warm fuzz drenched instrumental that lingers long after the last note is played.
Purchases
1 For Beginners
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