Track Listing

1. How Will You Shine?
2. Kicks In the Sun
3. Promenade
4. A Few Extra Kilos
5. Last Letter
6. The Gyroscopic
7. Moon Gone Down
8. Red Letter Day
9. Out On the Vine
10. Cranky Mulatto
11. Steeple Full Of Shadows
12. All In the Pack
13. Flavor On the Tongue
14. Dr. Spivey

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #52756 in Music
• Released on: 2007-07-10
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Three tracks into Noble Creatures, you hit the album's heart. The opening notes of "Promenade" faintly recall the Band's non-pareil classic, "The Weight," but it's Kevin Russell's high lonesome vocal quaver and Max Johnston's long-toned, austere fiddle lines that make "Promenade" possibly the most beautiful song of this century's first decade. The Gourds, perennially unpredictable, include several gorgeous, slower tunes here, from the plaintive "Steeple Full of Swallows" to the sashaying "Moon Gone Down," and the aching "Last Letters." But these Texans are old-school itinerants, invoking wide-prarie country and Cajun and sloppy bar-room cow punk in equal measures--witness the Tom Waits-tinged "Dr. Spivey" for one growly-blues, off-center example. Jimmy Smith's "A Few Extra Kilos" plays on the boozy, aging-body refrain of "spillage in the morning and again in the night," a mid-tempo paean to the torso expanding beyond its younger self. For the high-stepping, up-kicking Cajun touches, Smith steps back up to the mic for "All in the Pack" and Russell throws in the potentially politically incorrect "Cranky Mulatto," all of which is grand. Make no mistake, however: "Promenade" alone is worth the cost of admission. Treat yourself. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews

Weakest Gourds Album Yet
Sorry guys, but this is by far the weakest Gourds album to date. Take a look at my reviews and you'll see I gave most Gourds efforts 5 stars, and a two 4 stars. But I can't bring myself to give them 4 for Noble Creatures.

There are too many ballads from Kev. Don't get me wrong: I'm a big fan of Kev's ballads. However, these just aren't as good as classics such as "Raining In Port Arthur," or "Our Patriarch." "Promenade" is talked up, but I'm not a fan of the song. In fact, "Last Letter," featuring melodic, flowing violin and guitar is the best ballad. "Moon Gone Down" is quite likeable, and "Flavor On the Tongue" is creative and catchy. Finally, a classic Gourds' live song, "Cranky Mulatto" is a lot of fun. We want more of this stuff Kev!

Jimmy does not have one strong contribution on this album. I can barely stomach most of his tunes on Noble Creatures. I don't know what's up with Jimmy, but his strong songwriting has petered out after "Cow, Fish, Fowl or Pig." Also unfortunate is the fact that Max doesn't have any contributions on this album either.

I got the feeling The Gourds had one more album on their contract and had to knock it out. The quality and creativity is nowhere near par. Unlike every other Gourds album, this one just can't find its way into the CD player. I can't wait for the next effort--hopefully I can give that one 5 stars...

More "fleshed out" than previous releases
That could be a good thing, or that could be a less than good thing, depending how you look at it.

If you stumbled upon the Gourds searching for the "Country Gin and Juice", then this may seem a little less than good.

If you have followed the boys through the years, this just becomes another great recording in the procession, steeped through time and experience.

Why aren't the Gourds considered national treasures?
I consider The Gourds to be one of the all-time greatest bands, right up there with The Beatles. Am I getting carried away? Hardly. Nine albums in, this Austin band continues to write impossibly memorable songs, and not just a few here and there, but whole albums worth. Multiple ridiculously talented song writers in one band who can't seem to burn out. The songs are hilarious, unbearably heart breaking, profound, and ludicrous. And the musicianship is astronomical. To see them live is transcendent, but in the funnest possible sense.
Noble Creatures is a beautiful record. The lyrics are potent, the music delicious, and the singing--as always--top notch. Buy it now. Then work backwards in their catalog until you own all nine, as I do. You're welcome.