Track Listing

1. Ordinary Town
2. Tillman Co.
3. Disappearing Man
4. The Power And Glory
5. 236-6132
6. 41 Thunderer
7. Gentle Arms Of Eden
8. I Go Like The Raven
9. Highway 80 (she's a mighty good road)
10. Love, The Magician
11. Merlin's Lament
12. Gentle Soldier Of My Soul

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51345 in Music
• Released on: 2001-06-12
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer take a convincing step forward on their third release, which at various times echoes the music of Robin and Linda Williams and a twangy version of Richard and Linda Thompson. Although gifted on banjo, guitar, fiddle, organ, and mandolin, the duo has placed a premium on the songwriting, with considerable payoff. "Tillman Co." details the ordinary terrors of rural working-class life, "Gentle Arms of Eden" evokes a mystical gospel vision, and "Ordinary Town" offers one of the best opening lines heard this year--"Common cool, he was a proud young fool in a kick-ass Wal-Mart tie"--and then somehow sums up the mysteries of small-town life. Now and again, the philosophical trappings can feel rather starched and pretentious, abetted in part by Carter's penchant for faux-Shakespearean syntax and imagery--"Hail the wayward werewolf howlin' / Haints and shades and goblins growlin'" is one such clumsy exertion--but the overriding musical and lyrical eloquence makes Drum Hat Buddha one of the more original Americana releases of the year. --Roy Kasten

Customer Reviews

THIS is what folk music is all about!
Over the last several months, five folk music fans, as well as Amazon and CDNow's Best of 2001 lists, have told me that this is one of best albums of this year. Finally, I decided to listen. And upon finishing my first listen of this album, I only had one question for myself: "What the heck took you so long?"

I'm going to put this plain and simple: BUY THIS CD. There is not a track to be skipped on this album, and even if one doesn't find all the songs pleasing the first time, eventually he will. DRUM HAT BUDDHA represents everything that all music should be--Dave's music and lyrics and the harmonious combination of the two's voices make this an album not to be missed. From the phenomenal opening track "Ordinary Town" to the uplifting "236-6132," to the hypnotizing "Love, the Magician," each song possesses a unique charm and pleasing quality all its own. This CD is a true musical journey--you will be enthralled by the haunting "Tillman County," moved by the gorgeous "Gentle Arms of Eden," and if you don't at least tap your toes during "Highway 80 (she's a mighty good road)," you might want to check your pulse because you might be dead. Every song on this album is an absolute gem.

However, the most important thing to keep in mind about this album is that one must not be mislead by the folk genre--this album is so unbelievable that anyone who doesn't find at least one thing they like about it, regardless of what kind of music they like, needs to have his head examined. DRUM HAT BUDDHA is surely one of the best of 2001 and is not to be missed!

Original, Brand New Yet Totally Timeless....
In some ways today's Folk Scene has never been healthier; however, few modern folkies come close to approaching the kind of literary heights that Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer offer in their music. Although seemingly complex, Carter and Grammer's recipe is simple: Combine one part stellar mandolin picking, one part intuitive fiddle playing with the almost prescient harmony of two voices, throw in the Yin and Yang of Carter's lyrics, and you have one of the most original folk duos to come along in years.

In contrast with their first release, the mystically sparse "When I Go", and the Alt/Pop/Country of last year's "Tanglewood Tree", "Drum Hat Buddha" has an almost Beatlesque feel to it in that in places it is reminiscent of the Beatles "Norwegian Wood" with its delicately frenzied finger picking and Lennon-McCartney harmonies. In contrast with previous offerings, that only dance around the edges of the spiritual, this disk carries with it an almost evangelical shammanistic flavor that is as Christian, as it is Pagan, as it is Buddhist. In this CD, Carter sees the mystical in all things and sets out on an exploration of life with the Yin and its dark side, and the Yang of its light side.

On the CD's opening track, "Ordinary Town", Grammer sings of the troubles of a small town visionary and the limits such a life imposes on the desire to be artful. "Tillman County" with its images of fire and brimstone, spins a tale of Biblical proportions of living at the mercy of Mother Nature. "Gentle Arms of Eden" becomes a joyful lesson in evolutionary biology in which we are reminded to make the best of this "only sacred ground we have ever known" and of the importance of putting our fate in the gentle arms of a higher power.

Carter's singing with its charming Texas twang has always conveyed a sense of wonderment - he sings as though he is seeing the world for the first time - and Grammer's playing and singing has never been better or more confident. With music that has the feel of timeless old time folk with a modern sensiblity, this is truly a disk that will stand out as one of the more original releases of the year from a group that is one of the most original of the new millennium. This disk is a must have for folkies and lovers of the mystical alike.

Wonderful - Take a chance on this CD
What can I say, from hearing Crocodile Man a few times on a 'sampler disk', I was so impressed that I bought this CD and also Tanglewood Tree (which has the Crocodile recording).

These songs are full of soul and you cannot miss the virtousity of the musicians - the strings ache and bring tears to your eyes in places. If there was a single theme here it would be that all of the songs tell stories - some of them contain familiar legends, others are a new viewpoint on the familiar or rather humourous/sad observations of modern rural life.

I highly recommend this and Tanglewood Tree. If you are looking for traditional folk or country, look elsewhere - this has an entirely different feeling though it shares from those forms. The songs are original and fresh even though many speak of times long past.