Todd Snider's fifth disc opens with a pleasant, chugging roots-rock sing-along--the title track--then kicks into a jokey folk number, "Vinyl Records." In a tongue-twisting tumble of a chorus, Snider shuffles through his re... more »cord collection, name-checking classic rockers and country stars, longhaired hippies and softheaded folkies. The balance of the disc bears out these diverse influences: New Connections is a stylistic smorgasbord, serving up earnest introspection ("Rose City," "Class of 85") and heavy-hearted ballads ("Close Enough to You," "Waco Moon") alongside wisecracking novelty cuts ("Beer Run," "Statistician's Blues"). There's even a taste of clarinet-addled swing in "Broke" and a cover of John Prine's "Crooked Piece of Time," to which Prine himself adds his unmistakable vocal scrape. In all, its occasional flaws--production that's sometimes too rich, arrangements a tad too dense, a couple of middling tunes--don't derail a solid, likable album. --Anders Smith Lindall« less
Todd Snider's fifth disc opens with a pleasant, chugging roots-rock sing-along--the title track--then kicks into a jokey folk number, "Vinyl Records." In a tongue-twisting tumble of a chorus, Snider shuffles through his record collection, name-checking classic rockers and country stars, longhaired hippies and softheaded folkies. The balance of the disc bears out these diverse influences: New Connections is a stylistic smorgasbord, serving up earnest introspection ("Rose City," "Class of 85") and heavy-hearted ballads ("Close Enough to You," "Waco Moon") alongside wisecracking novelty cuts ("Beer Run," "Statistician's Blues"). There's even a taste of clarinet-addled swing in "Broke" and a cover of John Prine's "Crooked Piece of Time," to which Prine himself adds his unmistakable vocal scrape. In all, its occasional flaws--production that's sometimes too rich, arrangements a tad too dense, a couple of middling tunes--don't derail a solid, likable album. --Anders Smith Lindall
holly moors | haren gn, gn Netherlands | 03/09/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"On his first albums Todd Snider sounded like the new Tom Petty. There were some promising songs though, like Joe's Blues and Doublewide Blues, that had their own sound. On this new album New Connection, everything fits like a glove. Great songs, easy, laidback singing, beautiful arrangements, a band that has just the right feel for "near perfect" (that is: not too smooth). A masterpiece that reminds me of Eric Andersen's Blue River.
And it's one of those rare records that grow on you: it gets better with each spin."
Excellent, in a different way than his other excellent CD's
William E. Adams | Midland, Texas USA | 10/12/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I am a big Todd fan, but I did not expect to like "New Connection" as much as I do. Reading about 15 reviews here, and some comments on Snider fan websites, I thought I might be disappointed in this one. Each of Todd's five albums has a distinct approach. His first, "Daily Planet" gave us startlingly brilliant songwriting in four or five selections; then, "Step Right Up" had two or three near-brilliant songs; "Viva Satellite" was in-your-face rock, but lesser lyrics; next, "Happy to Be Here" was one voice, one guitar, personal confessions. "New Connection" probably does not have any single song which stands out as a masterpiece either of passion or of humor, but all 13 are high-quality. It is his most consistently enjoyable work. There are no "lows" here, and if the "highs" are not quite as strong as some of his older songs, it doesn't matter because the backing band here is superb. This one is less country-sounding than "Happy", less rock-sounding than "Viva" and less indie folkie sounding than "Planet", but its mixture of those elements is nearly flawless. Read the other reviewers to get details of particular songs that people love or hate...my advice is to buy this and make sure your first listen is with earphones, no interruptions for 50 minutes or so. Why Todd hasn't made a bigger splash in the industry is a mystery to me, but he has soul and brains and attitude and poetry and sensitivity and occasional crudity and the world should keep an eye on him."
Todd Snider ROCKS!
Lisa | Canada | 01/04/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I tried to pick a favorite song on this CD but I just can't... They are ALL so good. Truly a couple of the best love songs I've ever heard (Anywhere, Close Enough to You). They are just so plain spoken, or sung, and down to earth. Tug at the heartstrings. Speaking of tugging heartstrings, Waco Moon will do that to you - quite the ode to a friend who's gone. A lot of the reason I listen to Todd Snider's music is cause he makes me smile (and sometimes grin), like in Vinyl Records (I've got about a quarter of it memorized and I've listened to it over and over..). I can just see him flipping through all his old albums. Statistician's Blues amd Broke have so much humor and so much truth in them. Both are funny, and not, cause their just too damn close to home. I love singing with Todd at the top of my lungs driving down the road and his songs make that so easy to do. Crooked Piece of Time is brilliant. New Connections just makes me feel good. And of course I'm learning to play Beer Run for around the campfire this summer."
Not one of his best, but some great new songs.
Lisa | 05/16/2002
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This is Todd's 5 release that I own. I place it as my 4th favorite. I prefer Songs For The Daily Planet, Happy To Be Here, and Step Right Up before it. There are some good songs on this CD. New Connection, Vinyl Records, Waco Moon, Rose City among my favorites. I have heard the humorous Beer Run and Statistician's Blues on a live bootleg and they destroyed these songs in the studio. I hope to see these songs on a live CD in the future. The studio version just takes too much of Todd's style away from the songs. The remake of John Prine's Crooked Piece of Time is done very well with Prine in on the duet. Overall, a bit disappointing but I still enjoy listening to it."