User ratings in Music are temporarily disabled. More info
  • Record Label:
  • Release Date:
9th Ward Pickin' Parlor Image
Metascore
64

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
tbd

No user score yet- Awaiting 1 more rating

  • Summary: Recorded in New Orleans prior to Hurricane Katrina, this diverse set finds the singer-songwriter dabbling in everything from gospel to country, and folk to blues-rock.

Top Track

Beautiful Wreck
I've lost count of the times I given up on you But you make such a beautiful wreck, you do There's a tavern on the corner called the Milky Way And... See the rest of the song lyrics
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 7
  2. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Mullins' most poignant, cohesive, and diverse album.
  2. Mojo
    70
    This is fine singer-songwriter Americana, particularly good on the ballads. [May 2006, p.100]
  3. Much of “Ninth Ward” takes twists and turns you’ll see coming a mile down the boulevard--the choruses swell when they’re supposed to, the guitars are right up front and the bridges arrive at all the right times.
  4. Uncut
    60
    Mullins is a solid, occasionally platitudinous songwriter whose rustic tales don't approach the wry, wise gifts of similar artists like Johns Prine and Hiatt. [Mar 2006, p.88]
  5. Paste Magazine
    60
    [A] solid, satisfying effort. [Feb/Mar 2006, p.95]
  6. Rolling Stone
    40
    The real problem with coffeehouse stuff like "We Could Go and Start Again" isn't that it's corny--it's just tofu-bland. [6 Apr 2006, p.69]
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 3
  2. Negative: 1 out of 3
  1. GenevieveM
    Apr 11, 2006
    8
    I find this album quite enjoyable. Knowing the story of the making of this album and the cover name makes it even more enlightening. Shawn I find this album quite enjoyable. Knowing the story of the making of this album and the cover name makes it even more enlightening. Shawn just keeps going..........gotta love it! Expand
  2. MarkB
    May 12, 2006
    5
    Whether or not Shaun is talented, he can't get it across on his albums. It is boring tired music, great for background ambience at a Whether or not Shaun is talented, he can't get it across on his albums. It is boring tired music, great for background ambience at a Senior's rec center. Expand
  3. GavinS
    May 3, 2006
    2
    Shawn is a talented musician who just can't seem to cut an album that doesn't present as dull, contrived and too meticulously Shawn is a talented musician who just can't seem to cut an album that doesn't present as dull, contrived and too meticulously crafted. I've met Shawn and he came across much like his albums do- it's not so much, "Here's who I am", but more, "Here's who I want you to think I am." He works hard to put out a persona of a working-class, southern Springsteen, telling people, "I know what it's like because I'm just one of you," but in truth, he's not. Also, his songs might resonate with an older crowd, but they fall flat on younger ears. I caught his Portland show, and at 38 I was one of the youngest people there. I will say he is better live than in the studio. My friends and I have played "guess that lyric" with some of Shawn's tunes and it Collapse