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| | End of the Summer | | | Music Artist : | | Dar Williams | | Music Style : | | General | | Record Label : | | Razor & Tie | | Release Date : | | 1997-07-15 | | Store Price : | | $18.97 | | Artistopia's Price: $18.97 | | Usually ships in 24 hours | | |
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CD Tracks/Songs
Disc 11. Are You Out There
2. Party Generation
3. If I Wrote You
4. What Do You Hear in These Sounds
5. End of the Summer
6. Teenagers, Kick Our Butts
7. My Friends
8. Bought and Sold
9. Road Buddy
10. It's a War in There
11. Better Things
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Other Artist Albums
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Customer Reviews of This Album/CD |
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 A Continuation of Dar's Evolution
Submitted on: 2009-03-11 |
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While some reviewers seem to feel that her third album marked a departure for Dar, the reality is that her music had been continually involving in the direction of richer production from the beginning. For instance, 4 songs on her first album, "The Honesty Room", included electric guitar while 5 songs had some kind of percussion. Her second album, "Mortal City", had 4 songs with electric guitar and 4 with percussion. "End of the Summer" clearly extended the use of electric guitar and percussion, but some of the guitarists and percussionist Sammy Merendino had already contributed to "Mortal City" as had many of the guest vocalists. So, I think it's fairer to describe EOTS as a continuation of Dar's musical evolution. While the album does emphasize "rock" more than "folk", the essential nature of Dar's songwriting, singing, and music has not really changed.
My favorite songs on this album are "Are You Out There" (an anthem to radio station WRSI ("The River") in Northampton, western MA), "If I Wrote You" (a lovely duet with Richard Shindell which is similar in spirit to "The Ocean" from her second album), "What Do You Hear in These Sounds" (about the therapeutic benefits of songwriting and music), "My Friends" (another lovely tune featuring Dar solo), "Bought and Sold" (Dar's brilliant State of the World Address), and "It's a War in There" (a heartfelt ode to psychotherapy with a lovely vocal by Dar and eerie sounds on electric guitar and cello).
Some other notes:
Jimmy Olson and Johnny Memphis were DJs at WRSI.
The song "Road Buddy" seems to belong to Dar's "Traveling" series.
"Better Things" is a cover of a classic song by The Kinks.
I find it interesting that Dar named her second and third albums after songs that are quite somber and tell extended stories; this suggests that these songs might be particularly important to her and possibly autobiographical. |
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strikes the deepest chord
Submitted on: 2008-04-19 |
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| Himes writes that the song "End Of The Summer" is Dar at her "dreary, maudlin, worst". Well, he certainly missed the beauty of that piece, didn't he? Too bad for him, it is one of the most moving songs I know. The title track captures perfectly a wistful, pensive state of mind when you know that a whole season of being care-free in bare feet is rapidly coming to a close. A song that can capture that feeling that this transitional season brings out in may of us seems to me a rare achievement. The lines "And I feel like the neighbor's girl who will never be the same" and "I passed the farms that made it through the last days of the century", strike such a particularly deep chord with me, I can't really express it in words. |
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End of the Summer is the Beginning of Dar
Submitted on: 2007-06-13 |
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| First, Dar Williams is amazing! If you're looking for a place to start your Dar collection, I'd say End of the Summer is the best place to begin (only slightly edging out Mortal City). For me, this is just a more cohesive album, which is odd considering the variety of the music. The upbeat "Party Generation" blends perfectly into the soft and beautiful pain of "If I Wrote You." The rocking "Teenagers, Kick Our Butts" falls gracefully into the quiet and alarmingly beautiful "My Friends." Dar never misses a step! She somehow holds everything wonderfully together. The album opens with "Are You Out There?" questioning whether we can find ourselves, even when we feel most awkward and alone, in music that speaks so clearly to us - just like an old friend. With End of the Summer, Dar Williams answers that question with an affirmative yes! This will become a dear friend that will leave you longing to visit the Mortal City to discover more. |
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Dar Rocks!
Submitted on: 2007-01-14 |
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| "End of the Summer" is Dar's most upbeat CD. The songs have a much faster tempo than previous CDs. The best song on the album is "Are You Out There" about listening to the radio and feeling connected to the DJ. "Party Generation" is a funny song about being in your 30s and partying with college students. "What Do You Hear in these Sounds" is a great song about being in therapy. "Teenagers Kick Our Butts" is about the generation behind you taking over. "If I Wrote You" is a slow, sad song. |
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One of Dar's finest...
Submitted on: 2006-06-28 |
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Actually, END OF THE SUMMER was my introduction to Dar Williams, and I remember thinking "Wow" the first time after I heard the entire album. The soft drums and synthetic beats actually accentuate and increase the appreciation of the beautiful guitars, not to mention Williams' raw, emotional, yet poignant lyrics saturate neary (if not every) all the songs on this immensely gratifying CD.
I believe one of the things that makes it accessible is its very diverse content. On here you will not find trite love ballads or meaningless pop tunes. Every song, or every songs' content, is completely different from the next. From riffs about slackers to an ode to friendship to songs dedicated to late-night TV watching to an unusual but intriguing soft acoustic about what its title (and the CD's title) implicates. The album even deals with (in a very mature song pumped by whispy drums and twangy guitars) anti-consumerism. The whole thing ends with an optimistic note, "Better Things", which almost serves as a reprise to "What Do You Hear In These Sounds?"
Bottom line: I recommend this song both to newcomers of Dar and Dar devotees. It might be different from her usual stuff, but the whole album works and is totally listenable. I actually find myself listening to this album more than any other I own. Listening to it is like witnessing a whole world busily at work with its inhabitants. If you're an acoustic/folk fan (or just love great music) I highly recommend this complex, richly gratifying album. |
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