The Way I Should

Artist: Iris DeMent
Label: Warner Bros / Wea
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio Cassette
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 093624618843
EAN: 0093624618843
ASIN: B000002N5L

Release Date: 1996-10-08

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Tracks:

When NY Mornin' Comes Around
There's a Wall in Washington
Wasteland of the Free
I'll Take My Sorrow Straight
This Kind of Happy
Way I Should
Letter to Mom
Keep Me God
Quality Time
Walkin' Home
Trouble - Iris DeMent, Delbert McClinton

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Customer Reviews:

A SINGING SOCIAL COMMENTATOR FOR OUR TIMES.......2007-02-19

I first heard Iris DeMent doing a cover of a Greg Brown tribute to Jimmy Rodgers the Texas yodeller on Brown's tribute album, "Driftless". I then looked for this album and for the most part was blown away by the power of DeMent's voice, her piano accompanyment and her lyrics (which are contained in the liner notes, read them, please). It is hard to type her style. Is it folk? Is it Country Pop? Is it semi-torch songstress? Well, whatever it may be you are in for a listening treat, especially if you are in a sentimental mood. Stand outs here include- "There is a Wall in Washington" about the Vietnam Memorial probably one of the best ant-war songs you will ever hear. It is fairly easy to write a "Give Peace a Chance" or "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" type of ant-war song. It is another to capture the pathos of what happened to too many families when we were unable to stop that war. "When My Morning Comes" hits home with all the baggage working class kids have about their inferiority when they screw up in this world. Lastly- "Walking Home Alone" evokes all the humor, bathos, pathos and sheer exhilaration of saying one was able to survive, and not badly, after growing up poor amid the riches of America. Listen on.

one of the best releases of the 90's........2007-02-17

the title track to this cd is one of my favorite songs of all-time, by anyone; and taken as a whole this is one of best releases of the 1990's. the voice of iris dement is stunning, and her songwriting on this recording is more gutsy and less melancholy than on her other albums. folk, country, and even a shade or two of country-rock co-exist on this masterpiece. just a great piece of work. iris has not been exactly prolific and a live album is long overdue, especially since, in concert, she now sings some of her earliest material in a more relaxed way, giving the songs space, like she's settled into the songs over time and found how her voice best expresses their emotions. buy everything you can by this incredible artist.

Iris Dement - The way I should.......2007-01-17

I have only recently discovered the music of Iris Dement - heard a duet she did with John Prine and also a track on the Horse Whisperer soundtrack. I just had hear more so I purchased all of her albums. I have been completely blown away by her voice and her versatility. This woman can sing anything. The duet on this album with Delbert McClinton is pure magic.Ms Dement has the voice of mountain honey - sweet, strong, earthy and pure. She can play down home on the porch with just a guitar or rock it with a full band. Her lyrics are prolific and reflective - she truly is a woman who has got something important to say

Iris Dement Draws Her Line BRAVELY and POWERFULLY.......2006-07-04

An uncompromising and brilliant Iris Dement CD, rolling and rollicking, which, if FM radio programmers were not the weasely, fearful prostitutes they are, could have yielded at least a couple nation-spanning hits.

Filled out with a top-notich, razor-sharp band, the range of songs on this landmark recording spans folk, country and rock, with themes of romance, child abuse, politics and personal vision. Each song is wrapped in the complex, heart-felt, stunning lyrics and voice that underlines Dement's uniquely compelling music career.

The title track is a bouncy, propulsive, lyrically complex and beautiful personal anthem about individuality, integrity and finding the nerve to shake off debilitating shackles of society's --or a loved one's--expectations and be on the way to grounding oneself in personal integrity and power. The lyric about a ghostly vision and autumn leaves like angels in the gutter finding their way to the sea--or not-- "without the help of you or me" is brilliant as is every other twist and turn of this wonderful and fiercely poetic song. Quite simply, it is Dement's graceful way of asserting herself and telling holier-than-thou critics to bug-off.

"Wasteland of the Free" is absolutley one of the most powerful, rockin' protest anthems ever recorded, ringing as straight-forward and true with every line as anything ever written. It is Iris urging people--literally shaking them to their core--to wake up and admit the obvious horrid morality and mindless, base materialism, and violence that spreads farther and deeper throughout the United States--and beyond--as our Founding Fathers roll in their graves. This song is as All-American as The Fourth Of July and as spectacular as a rocket's red glare. It deserves--and needs--to be covered by American musicians from sea to shining sea.

The Dement-ed gems on this CD just keep coming as Dement refuses to be pushed into the corner and confined as an old-timey, easy-listening country wallflower. But the yin-yang of Dement's fiercely romantic melancholy and flat-out, stunning personal artistry is fully accounted for. The significance of this recording will not fade away and will only grow in reputation as more kindred spirits discover it. The truth will prevail and Dement carries it by the bucketful. Praise the Lord.

Miss Iris protests........2005-11-19

Iris has been polarizing opinions and confounding expectations throughout her career and this, the third of her four albums to date, is no exception. Everything she does is heartfelt and musically satisfying but, being so varied, will not always be to your taste. She loses some fans and gains others with each release.

Some of the songs here hark back to the style of 60s protest songs, especially There's a Wall in Washington and Wasteland of the Free. I personally found the former (about the Vietnam commemorative wall) heartbreakingly powerful, whereas the latter came over as too strident and simplistic.

I still love Iris best when she is light and lyrical, as she is on my favorite track, When My Morning Comes Around. But long may she extend her thematic range and continue to explore new avenues of creativity. Listen to her with an open mind and an open heart and you may well fall in love with her too.

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