Chris Allen-ACETATE
“If you miss the straight talking side of Jeff Tweedy…you’ll want to get to know Chris Allen.” Bud Scopa, Paste Magazine
ACETATE is the new album by acclaimed songwriter Chris Allen. Since he and the guys in acclaimed alt-country heroes Rosavelt went their separate ways five years ago, Allen has delivered two stellar solo albums (2006’s The Big Apple Circus and 2008’s Things Unbroken) that feature songs that the Plain Dealer has said “read like Raymond Carver short stories.”
Allen’s latest work, ACETATE, is yet another accomplished effort. Produced by Don Dixon (Smithereens, R.E.M., Counting Crows), it commences with the Replacements-like anti-anthem “Love Not Born” and then proceeds to show just how much Allen has grown as a songwriter.
He gets a little help from his friends: Dixon plays a variety of instruments on the disc, adding bass, organ, lap harp, percussion, guitar and toy pianos; Marti Jones sings on backing vocals on the pretty ”With the Morning Comes the Sun”; and renowned bluesman Austin “Walkin’” Cane helps out with the songwriting on several tunes and plays guitar and vocals.
Said Dixon to the Plain Dealer about ACETATE, "Chris Allen is the most underrated songwriter in the country. People like Jeff Tweedy and Ryan Adams ought to be hiding outside his house going through the trash for his cast off material. Allen has a laser eye."
Acetate is undoubtedly Allen’s most eclectic effort to date. From bittersweet ballads such as “Boy Meets Girl” and “Together We Are” to raspy rockers like “The Man Who Shook the World” and “The Truth About Being in Love,” it’s an album that transcends genre and should establish Allen as a songwriter to be reckoned with.
Discography-Solo works
ACETATE-Coming Oct. 26, 2010 (Bug Music Digital). CD and Vinyl.
Things Unbroken-2008 (Bug Music Digital)
Goodbye Girl and the Big Apple Circus-2006 (Rosa Records)
For more information
Carp and Bones Music
chrisallenmusic@mac.com
www.chrisallenmusic.com
Words about Chris Allen and ACETATE:
“Chris Allen is the most under-rated songwriter in the country. People like Jeff Tweedy and Ryan Adams ought to be hiding outside his house going through his trash looking for castoff material. Chris has a laser eye. ACETATE is my favorite.” Don Dixon, quoted in Cleveland’s Plain Dealer
“If you miss the straight talking side of Jeff Tweedy…you’ll want to get to know Chris Allen.” Bud Scopa, Paste Magazine
"This record is his best ever. Every song is notable. I absolutely can't stop listening to it... I'm not kidding..." Marti Jones
“While rosavelt’s sound was compared to the Rolling Stone’s raggedy “Exile on Main Street” period, it’s not suprising that Allen’s solo work recalls Paul Westerberg’s debauched brand of heartbreak in both sound and lyrics.” Michael Heaton, The Plain Dealer
Chris Allen has been a lynchpin of the Cleveland music scene for quite some time but he's upped the ante for the rest of us with his new album "Acetate", a collection of eleven very cool new tunes that hit hard and leave a mark! Along with producer Don Dixon (everyone's favorite musical wizard) he's crafted a piece of work that I find myself returning to again and again which these days is not something that happens all that often!
Michael Stanley
“Spend some time with Acetate (his third solo album), and you'll realize that it's one of Allen's most intricately woven records, a deep, personal, and yes, complex work that demands your attention. In a way, Acetate is his first album as a serious "artist" entering his studio-as-playground period.” Michael Galluci, Scene Magazine
“Things Unbroken sounds like a classic rock record. Its power-chord riffs and gruff singing could've come from 1975, 1985, or 2008.
From the gutsy guitar riffs to the crash-bucket drums — supplied by Will Rigby, who was a member of pioneering alt-rockers dB's and played with Steve Earle — Things Unbroken's 11 songs sound a lot like Exile on Main St.-period Rolling Stones and, more to the point, the Replacements.”
Michael Galluci, Scene Magazine
“In and ideal world, Allen’s Late Great Singer (from Carp and Bones) would rule radio stations nationwide.” No Depression
Voted “Best Songwriter”, Cleveland’s Scene Magazine, 1997
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