Review of "Dar Williams"

Dar Williams

My Better Self

A beautiful album that melds together personal songs along with more political songs. Definitely recommend it, despite a couple of songs that I felt were a bit bland.

oh, so much better than her last one. so good to see dar writing songs full of words again--and such interesting words at that. like chris, i found a few songs bland, but there are so many highlights--even the duet with ani on the cover of "comfortably numb," which i was very wary about at first--that i'm giving it a high rating.

A good one for Dar. Can't stand that "blues" song. Dig "My Beautiful Enemy."

Miss You Till I Meet You - LOVE!

Not HER best album but a damn fine album for 2005

A really good variety of songs. Some are sort of bland, others are awesome.

This is a fine album but inconsistent. "Echoes" is shallow and I'd only listen to Pink Floyed with a peacemaker pointed to my head. Anyways. "Empire" has some of her finest writing, "Miss you till I meet you" is my themesong and I totally dig "Beautiful Enemy". I should lower the score for the worst cd cover ever though ;P

"Empire" and "Teen for God" are the highlights for me. "Close to my heart" and "Hudson" have grown on me to be my second favorites. I like the feel and thematic elements of this album. it's like a journey.

Dar has long served as a sort of gateway drug for contemporary folk music, and it's wonderful to see her back on form. Beauty of the Rain, while not an out and out misstep, was still very much an album of sound over content. This is very much a return to the Dar of End of Summer and The Green World. Though, ultimately, I, like, I suspect, everyone else, presses play on a new Dar album hoping for Mortal City, few artists have one Mortal City in them, little yet two. This will still do.

Try and try, I just can't find a Dar Williams album I like in its entirety. This is no exception.