Search - Tom House :: Til You've Seen Mine

Better than 90% of what passes for roots music these days!

B. BEATTY | Minneapolis, MN United States | 03/09/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mr. House is a welcomed alternative to alt-country poseurs and roots music revivalists. His voice and keen eye for detail put him in the company of Dylan, Kristofferson and Nelson (Willie, that is), but his three discs are better than any of their recent work. This is probably his best. My only fret is that he doesn't have a sense of humor."

"Like Barbed Wire Wrapped Round A Gift From Hell"

11/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For fans of the "O Brother"/"Down From the Mountain" bluegrass revival, hop off the frieght and spend a little moonshine time with Tom House. He sounds like Doc Boggs suddenly sprung up from his grave and started singing again. But in spite of the inevitable comparisons, there's no hillbilly, early Dylan mimicry here. House has his own brand of originality with staggered rythmns and a mesmerizing intensity, not to mention a way with words. A true rarity, a first rate songwriter putting a contemprary edge into time worn tradition. With a voice creakier than the joints of a homemade casket, he sets about spinning tales of life just off the freeway. "Bull City Blues" starts things off with a cheerful romp of fiddle & jug. A footstomping ode to hard drinking in a small town. The next cut, "Sister's Song" is a moving account of a little sister turning her back on that Bad Seed of an elder brother. "The Cold Hard Curve of a Question Mark" and "Canada" are a heart breaking pair of love songs, on par with the likes Hank Williams. Full of yearning in the face of certain loss. In between ballads, House populates the album with hard drinking losers like "Elmer Smith" & seedy transient memories like "The Melbourne Hotel". "Down in the Hole" is easily one of the most intense cuts. An epic lament on "the failure of the will". Armed with an opening lines like, "You ain't seen no tears til you've seen mine", this one's guaranteed to haunt you long after the lights are out.The last tune is a "Letter from my Father" and it perfectly captures the unspoken, rocking chair wisdom of one's old man, wrestling the mortality of declining years. The kind of song that should earn House the title, "Poet Laureat South of Mason Dixon". So if you've worn out all your old Dylan records or are seeking a living breathing heir to the HARRY SMITH FOLK ANTHOLOGY, you can't go wrong here. Sure to please fans of Vic Chestnutt and the Stanley Brothers, Tom House is one of those rare songwriters who finger picks with dirt under his nails."