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| | Only Way to Be Alone | | | Music Artist : | | Good Old War | | Music Style : | | General | | Record Label : | | Sargent House | | Release Date : | | 2008-11-04 | | Store Price : | | $11.98 | | Artistopia's Price: $10.99 | | Usually ships in 24 hours | | |
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CD Tracks/Songs
Disc 11. Coney Island
2. Just Another Day
3. Looking for Shelter
4. Weak Man
5. I'm Not for You
6. We've Come a Long Way
7. No Time
8. That's What's Wrong
9. Maybe Mine
10. Tell Me
11. Window
12. Stay by My Side
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Other Artist Albums
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Customer Reviews of This Album/CD |
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 A Must Have Album!
Submitted on: 2009-10-22 |
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| This budding group is a fantastic listen and live concert. Their music is fantastic and their harmony astounding. In every song is a unique element and hook that will stay in your head all day. Do yourself a favor and check them out. |
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Album of the Year
Submitted on: 2009-09-09 |
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When Days Away disbanded, many people worried that Keith Goodwin's new adventure wouldn't live up to the great work done while with his rock outfit.
It is now safe to say: Good Old War is the real deal.
One review that sticks in my mind stated that this album could have been released in any of the last five decades and would still make an impact. Quite honestly, that review could not have rung any more true. Good Old War's approach of mixing catchy vocal harmonies and hooking guitar parts makes this album perfect for anytime you want to sit back and enjoy something refreshingly original.
For those wondering, the band is also just as good live.
If I could rate this album any higher then five stars, I would. |
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 Indie-tinged Americana peaks this boring progster's interests
Submitted on: 2009-07-16 |
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Hardly a definitive album, `Only Way to be Alone' is a good starting point, unique, and an album that Good Old War should follow up with.
While there are plenty of familiar Indie and- dare I say- `emo' elements abound, GOW diversify the tired formula by making Americana-tinged three part vocal harmonies the driving force of the album. They do a good job with it, for the most part, and ignore the clichés. Nowhere to be found are the overly sentimental lyrics or ironically sterile delivery of, say, Death Cab for Cutie. Nor is the listener presented with that typical `bittersweet' four chord progression that's praised so much by the black rimmed frequenters of the coffee shop-turned-record store crowd. Instead, GOW present us with a barebones show of folky tunes, borderline country, and all-out nostalgia from times we don't remember.
Four or five real gems are scattered through this twelve track disc of mid-tempo acoustic strumming. Generally, everything follows a pop format. Unfortunately, the filler is, well, `filler.' If you've already got four great songs, why fill up the rest of the album with slow, unmemorable ones that follow the same format? Why not use that space to do something different? What's good on the album is really good, but it's the space in between those four or five `really good' songs that could have used some more experimentation. Perhaps GOW would have benefited from showing us they know how to play more than basic chords at some point. It would have been nice if, at some point, the trio allowed their instruments time to speak for themselves.
Also working against the album is the nostalgia, which gets in the way. Certainly Schwartz is not going to `go down to Coney island and/have myself a dog'- he may, but I'm sure he's not going to say it like that. Borrowing a southern twang might improve the Americana-style element of the record, but it's certainly not sincere coming from a the mouths of a trio of musicians based in LA.
Still, Good Old War have managed to fall right into the singer/songwriter arena whilst dodging all the pretentiousness and false sense of self-importance that seems to come with it. That is an accomplishment in itself. I do hope, however, that they follow up this disc with something unlike it. Though I enjoy `Only Way to be Alone,' it's a representation not of how good GOW are but how good they could be.
Good Old War's debut disc `Only Way To Be Alone' isn't ambitious enough to leave a lasting mark, but that's forgivable- Seldom do first releases, especially low-key ones. Overall, it's a good attempt- just not a great one. Now, Good Old War can follow up with something similar, something innovative, or nothing at all. Here's to hoping they can improve on the overall design while sticking to the roots. Here's to hoping their record company gives them that time to mature.
I give the album 3.5/5, rounding up generously to a 4 stars. |
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One of, if not the best of 2008.
Submitted on: 2008-12-22 |
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| From the ashes of Days Away and Unlikely Cowboy comes the band Good Old War. At first this sounds like terrible news seeing how Days Away and Unlikely Cowboy were both great acts. But actually it is the exact opposite. Formed of Keith Goodwin and Tim Arnold (Days Away) and Dan Schwartz(Unlikely Cowboy) Good Old War makes some of the catchiest folk love tunes you will hear. From start to finish this album is 100% solid. If harmonies and melodies are your kind of thing then I suggest you pick this up. It's not everyday that you can find three beings that are able to harmonize in perfect unison like Good Old War. From tracks like "Weak Man" which features Anthony Green(Circa Survive)and Dave Davison(Maps and Atlases) to "Stay By My Side" which features the Wadsworth Sisters, there is something for everyone. Tracking in at thirty six minutes long "The Only Way To Be Alone" has moments that will stick with everyone for a long time. I'm not sure I have bonded with a record like this for some time. For fans of bands like Fleet Foxes I recommend you pick this up now. |
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One of the best of 2008
Submitted on: 2008-11-13 |
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| What I love about the album 'Only Way to Be Alone' is that it really doesn't follow any particular trend. If I didn't know better I'd think their music came from my Dad's old 8-track collection. With their indie-folk throwback sound, Good Old War prove that it doesn't matter what genre you play - good music is simply just good music. |
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