Search - Graham Parker :: Struck By Lightning

Get Struck by... Graham who?!??!

ewomack | MN USA | 10/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Graham Parker sits prominently amongst our generation's best songwriters. Always critically acclaimed, he consistently cranks out quality material handled with intelligence, dignity, and integrity. So of course mass sales have eluded him. Nonetheless he still carries on, like Bob Dylan's never-ending tour, after some thirty years in the business. Along the way some absolutely amazing gems have resulted from his seemingly endless output. 1991's "Struck By Lightning" is one of these.



At least one of the best songs ever written graces this album: "They Murdered the Clown" mixes heavy rhythms with Parker's mambo-snake venom lyrics. Some of his nastiest lines lie in wait in the second verse. The circus organ and pounding guitar and drums make an amazing combination that combines the extremely danceable with the extremely disturbing. No one could accuse Parker of sugar-coating reality. He tells it like it is, and on this song he hits home with even more than the usual umph. "They Murdered The Clown" justifies this album alone, but of course much more awaits. Parker's ode to lost youth, "The Kid With the Butterfly Net" contains some nice violin riffs and a longing akin to Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". The pleading "Wrapping Paper" could entice any partner to forgiveness: "Speak to me girl, speak to me darling; You're not a princess, I'm not Prince Charming". Many other of the album's songs will provide food for thought for years: "Children and Dogs", "Over The Border (To America)", "Weeping Statues", "When I Was King". Parker's trademark innovative songwriting and orchestration run throughout the entire album. The album's sound is unique; it's crisp and lively; it may be one of his best sounding albums.



For years "Struck By Lightning" languished in the category of "out-of-print". It looks like "Lemon Records" has brought it back. Parker's material, like his career, somehow survives major label indifference. Happily, most of it can still be obtained thanks to various independent labels. Parker shows no signs of slowing (he's probably now in his 50s); many consider his most recent material to be his best. If that is true, it can sit happily next to "Struck By Lightning"."

Hudson River Valley acoustic domestic folk-rock bliss

J. Rosenberg | Portland, Oregon | 09/08/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of Graham Parker's handful of masterpieces, along with his first two albums, Squeezing Out Sparks, and this album's true precursor, The Mona Lisa's Sister (Yes, the Human Soul album came in between these two, but it's kind of an aberration, with a glossy hit-desperate sound that's in contrast to the acoustic textures of the two great albums on either side of it).



As many times as I hear it, the romantic one-two punch of "Wrapping Paper" and "And It Shook Me" never fails to choke me up. And "The Kid with the Butterfly Net" is one of the most evocative songs about childhood I know. The album features contributions from other Upstate N.Y., Woodstock-area greats like Garth Hudson, John Sebastian and "Civil War" violinist Jay Ungar, whose infectious contribution to that last song is among the record's treasures.



Even if you're not sure whether you like GP or not, if you love singer-songwriter music, you will not be disappointed with this warm, heartfelt collection of songs."