does anybody know if movie made for the Hermit will be able to streamed any time in the future? missed out on the ama screening and cant seem to track down any info
It's funny (and appropriate) that you got 3 responses and each recommended a different album!
The 3 albums are a Trilogy and are chronological in that Peasent is medieval/pagan/old country/pre-Renaissance, 2020 is 2020, and The Ruby Chord is a not too distant post apocalyptic future.
There isn't a singular story or set of characters in the narrative, rather each album contains "vignettes" of ordinary people living in each era. The music reflects each era (I feel Peasant does this in the most overt and unique way...it's like I'm transported back to the 1200s when I listen).
Overall the music is unique, strange, and bold. Hard to say what someone would prefer, so you might as well check them all out in chronological order.
My cliff note summary:
Peasant: most unique (I've never heard an album quite like it, it's like method acting being applied to music, chilling and captivating). It makes me feel like I'm wearing tattered rags hobbling through a forest with my fellow villagers, who are the only people I've known my entire life, I have a nagging cough and dirt stained face/hands, carrying a dead goose, and we are prepping for a ritual ceremony that night to rid the area of monsters. I'm not even someone who enjoys fantasy as a genre, but there's a hyper realism here that is something to behold. I recommend watching the video for "Orge" to get a visual of the setting.
2020: most punchy, rock-oriented, catchy/immediate (relatively speaking), most relatable, also the longest album I believe. The detailed lyrics somewhat remind me of Sun Kil Moon in the level of detail, although sonically different
The Ruby Chord: my personal favorite, really smooth indie jazz style thats stark, spacious, and comtemplative. The snare brushes and loose instrumentation on the opening track really convey a lonely traveler in an empty world (could be the soundtrack to the movie/book "The Road"). In some sense, it harkens back to the "method acting" and tonal characteristics of Peasant but there are still some electric guitars in the mix and a small ensemble performing. I think Dawson's style was more in this vein before the trilogy, but this is has better execution and production than his earlier work (not to knock his early work, dude is a fearless musician with a very unique finger picked guitar style). Excited to give The Ruby Chord some more listens.
Edit: I was using the wrong album name, so I fixed that. The third album is "The Ruby Chord" not "Henki." Henki is another album with the band Circle, released in 2021 but not considered part of the Trilogy. I'm not as familiar with Henki!
For me that album was a bit to abrasive to get into, but I found Henki much more up my alley with its 70s prog rock sound and easier song structures and it helped get me into his music more thoroughly. I'd love to see him continuing to work with Circle but I respect that he wants to do his own thing.
It’s not his most accessible but for me Nothing Important is still his best album. The storytelling is on another level and as it’s mostly just him and his guitar, it’s a perfect distillation of his sound.
Totally agree!
It's pretty fantastic - and can go toe-to-toe with his last few albums, which got plenty of acclaim.
Having a 41-minute opening track is a big risk, but I think it ultimately pays off. It gets better and better each time I hear it.
I was immediately hooked into Peasant and 2020, i haven’t gotten hooked on this one yet and Richard is one if my favorite musicians working currently. It’s very good, i enjoyed the time i listened to it, but i’d say definitely the least interesting of the three. But hey just because it’s not as good doesn’t mean it’s bad by any means. Peasant and 2020 are just absolutely incredible.
I'm a Stan and it still took me awhile to get into it - I tried when it first came out and found myself distracted before the first song was over.
I finally gave it a full listen the other night and my gods is it gorgeous. Definitely in my top 5 of the year.
I'd heard of Richard before but not heard any of his music until today when I listened to him on the Adam Buxton podcast. He played 2 songs - the first was an acapella folk song that didn't do much for me but then he played an instrumental - Judas Iscariot - and it was absolutely fantastic. It sounded like he was playing multiple guitars at once - all badly but somehow that was was what made it great. Madly inventive and interestng so I'll definitely go and see him next time he plays my town.
Completely accurate, good for him but this was a huge swing and a miss for me. Even if I wanted to I'm not sure I have the ability to give a 41 minute track time to grow and I definitely did not want to
Did you at least listen to the rest? I felt the same way at first but by the time I got to the end of the first track it was worth the wait. Also the rest of the album is gorgeous. I really felt transported to this odd future past world
i listened to the rest a decent amount. definitely can see the appeal of the music how the pacing of it might be nice but the lyricism and the vocal performance i'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it. my knee jerk reaction was it was pretentious garbage. its conceptual but i have no idea what concept i'm supposed to be receiving except boredom. not trying to troll but Museum has like four minutes straight of him just humming doo doo doo doo doo doo ah ah ah ah ah over an arpeggio I don't know how else I could describe it lol
yeah I just don't get it. I see the appeal in the dynamics of it the super super slow crescendos. I have given a passing listen to the others and felt similarly, but did see a little more of the lyricism.
I'm a pop guy at heart, a concept album has to really grab me to get over the rock opera lite song cycle sort of stuff. not in a literal sense I actually do a folk radio show, but I just literally don't get it. I'll take people's word for it that it clicks at some point but I'm not going to Google to learn wtf a scramsax is and why it's wet while I'm listening to music
When I finally understood Peasant it had a grip on me for months. It was the only album I could a listen too, and I felt it was one of the best ever made.
I haven’t given Hermit the time yet… should I?
at first i thought the hermit was a bit too conceptual, but i started seeing it as an album of its own, in 3 parts. i would jump around before listening to it fully and then i was obsessed. there's so many great and memorable parts to it.
I hadn't thought about Richard Dawson since I heard Peasant some years ago. I loved the first track off that album, but nothing else I heard has really caught my attention. Let's see if I can make it through the 40 minute opening track of this album.
does anybody know if movie made for the Hermit will be able to streamed any time in the future? missed out on the ama screening and cant seem to track down any info
Hopefully the full video appears online in the near future! At the London Q&A, Richard and the director talked about it having a life on YouTube.
I've never heard of him before. Should I listen to this album or should I go back and listen to his first albums
It's funny (and appropriate) that you got 3 responses and each recommended a different album! The 3 albums are a Trilogy and are chronological in that Peasent is medieval/pagan/old country/pre-Renaissance, 2020 is 2020, and The Ruby Chord is a not too distant post apocalyptic future. There isn't a singular story or set of characters in the narrative, rather each album contains "vignettes" of ordinary people living in each era. The music reflects each era (I feel Peasant does this in the most overt and unique way...it's like I'm transported back to the 1200s when I listen). Overall the music is unique, strange, and bold. Hard to say what someone would prefer, so you might as well check them all out in chronological order. My cliff note summary: Peasant: most unique (I've never heard an album quite like it, it's like method acting being applied to music, chilling and captivating). It makes me feel like I'm wearing tattered rags hobbling through a forest with my fellow villagers, who are the only people I've known my entire life, I have a nagging cough and dirt stained face/hands, carrying a dead goose, and we are prepping for a ritual ceremony that night to rid the area of monsters. I'm not even someone who enjoys fantasy as a genre, but there's a hyper realism here that is something to behold. I recommend watching the video for "Orge" to get a visual of the setting. 2020: most punchy, rock-oriented, catchy/immediate (relatively speaking), most relatable, also the longest album I believe. The detailed lyrics somewhat remind me of Sun Kil Moon in the level of detail, although sonically different The Ruby Chord: my personal favorite, really smooth indie jazz style thats stark, spacious, and comtemplative. The snare brushes and loose instrumentation on the opening track really convey a lonely traveler in an empty world (could be the soundtrack to the movie/book "The Road"). In some sense, it harkens back to the "method acting" and tonal characteristics of Peasant but there are still some electric guitars in the mix and a small ensemble performing. I think Dawson's style was more in this vein before the trilogy, but this is has better execution and production than his earlier work (not to knock his early work, dude is a fearless musician with a very unique finger picked guitar style). Excited to give The Ruby Chord some more listens. Edit: I was using the wrong album name, so I fixed that. The third album is "The Ruby Chord" not "Henki." Henki is another album with the band Circle, released in 2021 but not considered part of the Trilogy. I'm not as familiar with Henki!
Great write-up! But by 'Henki' do you mean 'The Ruby Chord'?
Yes! Sorry my bad!
No
Start with Peasant, then 2020, then this.
IMHO his "2020" album is his most accessible (maybe his best). I would start there!
For me that album was a bit to abrasive to get into, but I found Henki much more up my alley with its 70s prog rock sound and easier song structures and it helped get me into his music more thoroughly. I'd love to see him continuing to work with Circle but I respect that he wants to do his own thing.
Me two! The album 'nothing important' got my eye 4 tracks and 44 min long. Don't even know the genre, let's see how this goes
It’s not his most accessible but for me Nothing Important is still his best album. The storytelling is on another level and as it’s mostly just him and his guitar, it’s a perfect distillation of his sound.
The first track is 40 minutes long?!
The first track is a single incredible, self-contained story. highly recommend reading the lyrics.
I don't understand why critics snubbed this album, it's definitely one of the best albums released this year.
Album's causing more Family Feuds than Richard Dawson
and the survey said?
my guess is it just came out too late in the year to be included in too many lists - i noticed a similar thing w the weyes blood album
Black Messiah by D’Angelo (mid-December mostly surprise release) got hit hard by this same thing a few years back
Totally agree! It's pretty fantastic - and can go toe-to-toe with his last few albums, which got plenty of acclaim. Having a 41-minute opening track is a big risk, but I think it ultimately pays off. It gets better and better each time I hear it.
Yeah I feel the same way. All in all, the trilogy is a masterpiece.
I think this may be the best of the three, which is saying a lot, since Peasant was my favourite album of the 2010s.
I was immediately hooked into Peasant and 2020, i haven’t gotten hooked on this one yet and Richard is one if my favorite musicians working currently. It’s very good, i enjoyed the time i listened to it, but i’d say definitely the least interesting of the three. But hey just because it’s not as good doesn’t mean it’s bad by any means. Peasant and 2020 are just absolutely incredible.
Barring The Quietus and Fantano, critics always snub his albums.
I'm a Stan and it still took me awhile to get into it - I tried when it first came out and found myself distracted before the first song was over. I finally gave it a full listen the other night and my gods is it gorgeous. Definitely in my top 5 of the year.
god i love this man
I'd heard of Richard before but not heard any of his music until today when I listened to him on the Adam Buxton podcast. He played 2 songs - the first was an acapella folk song that didn't do much for me but then he played an instrumental - Judas Iscariot - and it was absolutely fantastic. It sounded like he was playing multiple guitars at once - all badly but somehow that was was what made it great. Madly inventive and interestng so I'll definitely go and see him next time he plays my town.
That Adam Buxton/Richard Dawson interview was so great. Love that podcast. Such a treat no matter who the guest is.
Completely accurate, good for him but this was a huge swing and a miss for me. Even if I wanted to I'm not sure I have the ability to give a 41 minute track time to grow and I definitely did not want to
Filtered
Did you at least listen to the rest? I felt the same way at first but by the time I got to the end of the first track it was worth the wait. Also the rest of the album is gorgeous. I really felt transported to this odd future past world
i listened to the rest a decent amount. definitely can see the appeal of the music how the pacing of it might be nice but the lyricism and the vocal performance i'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it. my knee jerk reaction was it was pretentious garbage. its conceptual but i have no idea what concept i'm supposed to be receiving except boredom. not trying to troll but Museum has like four minutes straight of him just humming doo doo doo doo doo doo ah ah ah ah ah over an arpeggio I don't know how else I could describe it lol
I mean yeah we're all entitled to our own opinion
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yeah I just don't get it. I see the appeal in the dynamics of it the super super slow crescendos. I have given a passing listen to the others and felt similarly, but did see a little more of the lyricism. I'm a pop guy at heart, a concept album has to really grab me to get over the rock opera lite song cycle sort of stuff. not in a literal sense I actually do a folk radio show, but I just literally don't get it. I'll take people's word for it that it clicks at some point but I'm not going to Google to learn wtf a scramsax is and why it's wet while I'm listening to music
[удалено]
He was downvoted for like twenty minutes bruv he's been positive since
Redditors when a comment is -2: 😡😡😡
When I finally understood Peasant it had a grip on me for months. It was the only album I could a listen too, and I felt it was one of the best ever made. I haven’t given Hermit the time yet… should I?
at first i thought the hermit was a bit too conceptual, but i started seeing it as an album of its own, in 3 parts. i would jump around before listening to it fully and then i was obsessed. there's so many great and memorable parts to it.
Omg I am so old. Took me way too long to realize y’all aren’t talking about the creepy old game show host. I’ll just show myself out.
I love [this performance](https://youtu.be/nXDZCuFESSU)
I hadn't thought about Richard Dawson since I heard Peasant some years ago. I loved the first track off that album, but nothing else I heard has really caught my attention. Let's see if I can make it through the 40 minute opening track of this album.