Name: Photographs [Digipak]
Brand: Relativity Entertainment
SKU: 18707660
Price: 8.84 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 5 (1 reviews)

Performer Notes

Personnel: Robert Ellis (vocals, guitar); Kelly Doyle (electric guitar); Will Van Horn (banjo); Ryan Chavez (drums).
Audio Mixer: Steven Christensen.
Recording information: Sugar Hill Studios; The Tree House, Houston, TX.
Photographer: Brandon Holley.
Arranger: Robert Ellis.
Texas singer/songwriter Robert Ellis is not shy about citing his influences, name-checking "Lefty [Frizzell], Willie [Nelson], Hank [Williams], and Townes [Van Zandt]" in "Comin' Home," a song on his second album, Photographs. In keeping with the disc's nostalgic tone, Ellis has nearly divided it into two sides like an old LP, in musical and thematic terms. On the first five songs, he creates restrained arrangements based on his gently picked acoustic guitar, singing specific, confessional lyrics in a wispy country tenor. After two tunes devoted to the subject of friendship ("Friends Like Those," "Bamboo"), he traces the beginnings of a relationship on "Cemetery" (where, ominously, it is consummated) and "Two Cans of Paint" (in which housekeeping is set up). A transition is effected in "Westbound Train," as, halfway through, Ellis builds up a traditional country arrangement with drums kicking in. The second part of the CD is full of such band tunes, the sound harking back to the 1950s of Frizzell, as Ellis describes the deterioration of the love story he began earlier. He, it seems, drinks; she, he thinks, cheats. The traditional sound gives the words a more generalized tone and even undercuts them somewhat, however. "No Fun," for instance, is set to a honky tonk hoedown that belies its vindictive lyrics. Meanwhile, as a singer Ellis has built up to a George Jones-like belt, the better to give his words a more universal context. Photographs thus has it both ways as an intimate singer/songwriter effort and a tribute to the country music Ellis reveres. ~ William Ruhlmann

Professional Reviews

Spin (p.80) - "His second album splits the difference between steady-rolling honky-tonk twang and sensitive balladry..."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.94) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "'Bamboo' conjures images of hazy back porches and summer creeks."

Uncut (magazine) (p.82) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[W]ith a perfect blend of authenticity and youthful reverence, particularly on the whiskey- and tear-stained title track."

Album: Photographs [Digipak]
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Friends Like Those	More Info...	0:04
2)	Bamboo	More Info...	0:03
3)	Cemetery	More Info...	0:07
4)	Two Cans of Paint	More Info...	0:04
5)	Westbound Train	More Info...	0:04
6)	Comin' Home	More Info...	0:03
7)	What's in It for Me	More Info...	0:04
8)	I'll Never Give Up On You	More Info...	0:03
9)	No Fun	More Info...	0:03
10)	Photographs	More Info...	0:04

Album: Photographs [Digipak]
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Friends Like Those	More Info...	0:04
2)	Bamboo	More Info...	0:03
3)	Cemetery	More Info...	0:07
4)	Two Cans of Paint	More Info...	0:04
5)	Westbound Train	More Info...	0:04
6)	Comin' Home	More Info...	0:03
7)	What's in It for Me	More Info...	0:04
8)	I'll Never Give Up On You	More Info...	0:03
9)	No Fun	More Info...	0:03
10)	Photographs	More Info...	0:04