Songwriting icon Gretchen Peters underscores the brilliance of 2007's meditation of love lost and found, Burnt Toast & Offerings, with Hello Cruel World, as if it were a companion. Here, Peters catalogs the travails, wounds, and perils of living and loving in the 21st century; she examines humanity as an extraordinary event, a spiritual opportunity via the tragedies in our personal relationships, our economic disasters, our stupid ideologies, and our brief moments of triumph and celebration with equanimity. Each song ...
Read More
Songwriting icon Gretchen Peters underscores the brilliance of 2007's meditation of love lost and found, Burnt Toast & Offerings, with Hello Cruel World, as if it were a companion. Here, Peters catalogs the travails, wounds, and perils of living and loving in the 21st century; she examines humanity as an extraordinary event, a spiritual opportunity via the tragedies in our personal relationships, our economic disasters, our stupid ideologies, and our brief moments of triumph and celebration with equanimity. Each song refuses escape; Peters' poetic backbone celebrates the dignity in her protagonists as they struggle and thrive. In the title track, she mirrors Bob Dylan's "It's Not Dark Yet" with the lines "I'm not dead yet, but I'm damaged goods/And it's gettin late," in one verse, then refutes his conclusions: "Me, I'm gonna stick around/In for a penny in for a pound/'Cause I hate to miss the show." With Will Kimbrough's and Doug Lancio's guitars, Barry Walsh's crystalline inventive piano, and Viktor Krauss' upright bass, Peters finally sets her fine alto free; she speaks with more authority than she ever has. "Saint Francis" offers a haunting metaphoric allegory that examines the high-wire act between our intentions and our actions, and the strange plane where we really care what the neighbors think. "Dark Angel," in duet with Rodney Crowell, is a hooky country love song that finds beauty in the brokenness of her protagonist's beloved. There is humor, irony, and sensuality on Hello Cruel World, too. In "Paradise Found," a jazzy noirish blues, Peters points to "East of Eden" as the place paradise lies, albeit in a very earthly dimension: "When your need is strong and the hour is late/Baby you got the key to my garden gate..." In "Woman on the Wheel," she uses circus metaphors in a rockist jaunt and reveals:"Sometimes I ask God, please God, just show me what's behind the door/As if God was Monty Hall and this was Let's Make a Deal...." Walsh's piano strolls it out to the ledge and Lancio's electric guitar knocks it over. "Five Minutes" is a spare, devastating portrait of a woman carrying a torch against her will for an ex. "Idlewild" is delivered from the point of view of a child in a traveling car. Her parents are lost in their own trapped reveries as they go to visit her grandmother on November 22, 1963. This child's gaze is clear; she already knows the difference between truth and perception via Walsh's jazz piano and organ wash, David Henry's cello, and Lancio's guitar. Hello Cruel World, with its many versions of Americana, is expertly and sincerely free of cliches, or false romantic notions about any subject it addresses. Its large spiritual truths are revealed in the only way they matter: small, intimate experiences. This album comes to the listener as a gift wrapped in tattered paper, making it all the more precious to receive. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi
Read Less
Add this copy of Hello Cruel World to cart. $3.01, good condition, Sold by Zoom Books Company rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lynden, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Scarlet Letter Records.
Add this copy of Hello Cruel World to cart. $3.98, poor condition, Sold by Movie Surplus rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Mobile, AL, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Scarlet Letter Records.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Berg/Bogguss/Peters; Peters; Peters/Russell. Poor. Used-Acceptable, withdrawn library disc(s) with liner notes. Disc(s) should play great without any playback issues. Disc(s) & liner notes may contain typical library markings like stickers, protective label covers, & writing. Discs may be repackaged in library style casing. Back artwork & any other promo material not included.
Add this copy of Hello Cruel World to cart. $4.10, fair condition, Sold by Service First Media rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Taylorsville, KY, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Scarlet Letter Records.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fair. Ex-Library rental. Disc(s) are professionally cleaned and may contain only light scratches that do not effect functionality. Includes disc(s), case, booklet, and back artwork. Disc(s), case, booklet, and back artwork may contain library/security stickers and ink writing. Case and artwork may show some wear. Case may not be an original jewel case. All disc(s) are authentic.
Add this copy of Hello Cruel World to cart. $4.79, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Emerald rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Scarlet Letter.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Cases may show some wear. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of Hello Cruel World to cart. $15.60, very good condition, Sold by Theophilus Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Knoxville, TN, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Scarlet Letter.
