More Great Pete Droge Music
Steven Harloff | Yamhill, Oregon | 08/21/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Under the Waves is a calm collection of insightful songs; Droge seems to wander back and forth betwen louder pop rock and semi-acoustic styles from one cd to the next. This collection finds him in his typical bittersweet mood, but in a quieter way. The songs are lovely and carry some powerfully understated emotions, as one might expect from a performer who lives in a bucolic island setting in Washington and wishes to only rarely venture out to perform.
Droge is not doing much to promote this cd; his "whirlwind" tour consisted mostly of two performances, one of which was in Portland at Mississippi Studios, where he performed acoustically with his vocal/songwriting partner Elaine Summers.
These songs are gems, and his lyrics continue to be captivating as they unfold. My kids love Pete Droge; his music is easy for them to absorb. Like Lucinda Williams, his songs are classic examples of simple chord structures that are most alluring, and the emotions are honest and heartfelt. I was so happy to get to see him play these live in Portland. Let's hope he might decide to play out more often in the future; if you are a fan of Pete's more raucous stuff, he says he has more of that coming along next time!"
Pete, you need to push a bit harder...
Roger C. Delaney | Frederick, MD United States | 12/28/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I have enjoyed Pete Droge's music greatly over the years, both on his own and with the Thorns - but he seems to be sliding into an overly comfortable groove recently, especially on his last two LPs ("Skywatching" and this one). I'm not referring to the fact that the overall sound of the discs is much quieter and more acoustic than his previous work; while that's certainly true, it's just the fact that Droge seems content to just lope along in terms of his songwriting and his playing, playing his simple chord changes very simply and never embellishing things much either instrumentally or vocally. He's never been a complex musician, but his best stuff - "Find a Door" and "Necktie Second" - still has a bit of subversion running underneath; this record just lays there and looks at you, not bad but not exceptional by any means. I think the fact that he is basically playing all the instruments himself these days is hurting him; he could use some bandmates to give him a bit of a jumpstart, as his contributions on the Thorns album prove. Pete Droge is a guy whose career I'll always follow, because I do think he has a gift for saying a lot while not saying much, but he seems to be almost mute these days."
Great music
Baba O'Riley | Virginia | 01/29/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Pete Droge sounds so much like Simon & Garfunkel....I am so glad I discovered his stuff. Great album!"
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1