No More Mr. Lucky

Artist: Randall Bramblett
Label: New West Records
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 607396602728
EAN: 0607396602728
ASIN: B00005LVY4

Release Date: 2001-07-24

No More Mr. Lucky

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General

| Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

God Was In The Water
Get In Get Out
Lost Enough
Peace In Here
Sunflower
Aching For A Dream
Hard To Be A Human
Strange Conversations
End Of The String
Vague Child
Disappearing Ink

Similar Items:

Thin Places
Rich Someday
See Through Me
The Best of Sea Level
Forever Blue

Amazon.com

Nothing in Randall Bramblett's resumé (Southern rockers Sea Level, sideman to Steve Winwood) will prepare you for the brilliance of <I>No More Mr. Lucky</I>. In the tradition of great Southern writers like Faulkner and Harry Crews, Bramblett melds God, Man, and Nature in a manner that is simultaneously laid-back and intense--only a Southern writer could write a song called "Sunflower" without making it effete. Too, it is unlikely that a Yankee would come up with such an obvious explanation of the Human Condition as: "First He made the mountains / Then He filled up the sea / He lost His concentration / Workin' on you and me." Bramblett tosses off such lines with wry sincerity but none of the precious self-consciousness often found in the singer-songwriter world. Add the 3-D production by John Keane that places the sound in front of your speakers rather than in them and you have a record that magnificently updates the soulful sound of the South. <I>--Michael Ross</I>

Customer Reviews:

Most Underrated Songwriter in US delivers pure magic.......2007-04-06

Randall is without a doubt America's most underrated singer-songwriter. According to my humble opinion he's right up there with people like John Hiatt and James Tayor. And he's a respected multi-instrumentalist as well...playing with Sea Level from '77 till '80, Widespread Panic and Steve Winwood among others. But most important the man writes pure magic!!! Great lyrics (thoughtfull, at times spiritual words....food for the soul), great melodic songs that you keep singin' over and over again when you've heard them, great musicianship and his voice is a real treat too. All of his releases on New West Records: No More Mr. Lucky, Thin Places and Rich Someday are highly, highly recommended. People, give Randall Bramblett a chance, you won't regret it for a sec...

A killer recording.......2006-12-03

I have to say that I usually don't care for reviews that emphasize a CD's lyrics. Often that means that the singer is awful or there's no melody or imagination in the playing. And far too often the lyrics that are praised are in fact pedestrian, contrived, or else poetry that has nothing to do with the music. Well, in this case, I have to say that Randall Bramblett has hit it perfectly. His lyrics are as rich and true as his voice, and the music and lyrics are utterly inseparable. I think "God Was in the Water" may be the best rock lyric ever penned. It suggests more than it says and continues to sound fresh no matter how many times you listen to it. There's mystery and revelation in that song, and you're never sure where the line between them is. Not every song on the album is as strong--how could they be?--but "Get In, Get Out" is a close second. A little more deliberate and clever in the lyrics, which is not necessarily a good thing, but still a great song. Bramblett's voice is the perfect tool to deliver these songs, too, blending world-weariness and soul and suggesting simple truths arrived at by a long, tortuous (and torturous) path. I think the reviewer who suggested that this isn't for teens has the right idea. To really appreciate this music, you have to have made some bad mistakes in ugly places. But there is redemption here, not just pain, and there's peace and beauty, too. The whole affair is greatly helped by terrific production that underscores the songs' intent and adds its own interest without ever intruding. There's just enough strangeness in the sound to bring out the mystery in the lyrics. In some ways it reminds me of Dr. John's "Walk on Gilded Splinters," although the music and sound is quite different. There are a few songs that seem more like filler to me, at least in comparison to the better ones, but the good ones more than justify buying the record. All in all a singular recording.

This album is the best!.......2006-04-07

This album is in my top 3. It is so well-written and beautiful -- no mindless pop tunes here. Buy it. Now!

This Man Will Be Heard.......2005-12-14

A few months ago I heard a snippet of "Get In, Get Out" while surfing through XM. I was intrigued by the sound and the content of the lyric. I heard the artist's name, Randall Bramblett, and googled it to see if I could find out more about him. What a discovery. His 2001 CD for New West Records, No More Mr. Lucky is an absolute treasure trove of intelligent, artisan song writing, superb musicianship, and great recording--an all around tour de force of soulful, swamp laced, southern pop music that I thought had disappeared. Randall Bramblett has a unique "voice" (in the literary sense) that deserves a much wider audience. It's a given that his music is too sophisticated and textured for some of the tin ears in pop radio, but fortunately for him (and us) there are sources like satellite radio, the internet, touring, and old fashioned word of mouth proselytizing to spread the Randall Bramblett message. And with a sufficient groundswell of grassroots support, even the tin ears will eventually take notice.
But the topic here is No More Mr. Lucky and although the whole album is superb and tastefully paced, it's hard not to pick favorites. "Peace In Here" is an appeal for refuge from a media drenched world. "....kill the TV, shut off all the lights, I want some peace in here," he sings. Then, answered by what sounds like a divine reincarnation of Roger Hawkins and the Muscle Shoals rhythm section backed by the Memphis Horns and a B-3 sound right out of Malaco studios in Jackson, "Peace In Here" continues Bramblett's search for solace and a moment of Zen over the sounds of idle party chatter bubbling under the track. Great lyrics, memorable hook, outstanding playing...why is this not a hit you ask? So do I.
"God Was In The Water" is probably the best-known cut from this album. Bonnie Raitt covers it on her new CD and Bramblett will open for her on some tour dates in February and March of 2006. It starts out with an melodic, slightly funky bass signature, adding percussion, other instruments sparingly and eventually a wah-wah guitar before introducing an image filled, whimsical meditation on God's modus operandi. Interesting, innovative changes, catchy hook, Bramblett's sparse, pitch perfect delivery, thought provoking lyric...why is this not a hit you ask? So do I.
"Get In, Get Out," from which the album's title No More Mr. Lucky is taken, is a meditation on the Southern version of "looking out for number one," with the requisite Southern conscience pangs about abandoning family and home. And anyone who's grown up in the South relates to the image of a warm beer between the legs while driving with the AC blowing full blast. It seems as if all the players on this cut discovered the "and" of the beat simultaneously, making for some playful counterpoint to a solid rhythm track. And while Bramblett reveals his ecumenical set of influences throughout the album with references to Coltrane and a song about Chet Baker, here the band does an homage to the early be-bop groups with a close approximation of "trading fours" in the instrumental section. Confident, hard charging playing, rich musical references, thoughtful reflective lyrics, ...why is this not a hit you ask? So do I.
Every cut is of comparable high quality and flawless execution. This is the best, most fully realized album I've heard in a long time. It is timeless and evergreen and even though it was released in 2001 it is even more relevant and resonant now than it was then. Writing, production values, performance, musicianship, pace, soul...all delivered at the highest level. Download it, buy it, buy it for your friends, and talk about it. This man deserves to be heard. This man will be heard!

A Showcase for a Melodic Poet.......2005-10-02

Randall Bramblett is a beat poet with jazz arrangements flowing from his fingertips. The lyrics are deep and Bramblett has put thought into them, "You run, but where are your answers?; You cry but where are your tears?; When you're lost enough, you'll find them."

The music is typical Bramblett: tasty southern-fried jazz-blues fusion on a plate of rock & roll garnished with solid, funky bass. In other words, Bramblett is a talented songwriter with a knack for perfectly matching his lyrics with just the right music. And what music is is!

Contrast the smooth, mellow sounds of "Sunflower" - a song that isn't really about buying a sunflower -- with the stronger, driven angst of "Aching for a Dream: and you will hear a sonwriter/musician who is bending all of his considerable talents to convey clear, meaningful messages.

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