• Record Label: Yep Roc
  • Release Date: Oct 5, 2004
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 15
  2. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Spooked sounds closer to folk-inspired songs Hitchcock performed very early in his career, his recent forays into Dylaniana, and Welch's prefab Americana. For Hitchcock, it's both a departure and a return to his roots.
  2. Hitchcock deals with present-day anxiety whimsically rather than specifically, while Rawlings and Welch provide an uncharacteristic but fitting mise en scene with their solemn plucking and barely suggested grooves, which function much like the shadowy cross-hatching you see in Edward Gorey’s drawings.
  3. For every misstep on the mostly acoustic Spooked, there's an undeniable classic.
  4. If Spooked isn't Hitchcock's most visceral effort, its spare acoustics make it nonetheless a diverting and likeable listen.
  5. One of the best albums of his long career.
  6. Overall, it is clear that Hitchcock is having fun creating music with Welch and Rawlings, and that joy comes through in the listening.
  7. Welch and Rawlings' contributions are subtle but vital, making Spooked sound richer than last year's disappointing Luxor.
  8. References to fungus and food abound, but wrapped in the wooly blankets of Rawlings' signature picking and Welch's winsome harmonies, they take on a fireplace warmth that renders them amiably nostalgic rather than blatantly surreal.
  9. Mojo
    70
    A collision of Dylanesque surrealism and Bert Janschian finger-picking. [Nov 2004, p.114]
  10. Uncut
    70
    [An] intimate, woody collection of fractured folk. [Nov 2004, p.120]
  11. Blender
    70
    The acoustic Spooked surveys post-millennial life. [Nov 2004, p.135]
  12. Rolling Stone
    60
    It's about as country-soulful as an old British indie guy can get. [28 Oct 2004, p.103]
  13. Has the hushed intensity of a special occasion.
  14. Spooked is a perfect example of an artist maturing in the right manner at the right time.
  15. Spooked sidesteps the icy classicism that could’ve prevailed, considering who’s on hand.
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 8 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 2 out of 8
  1. Oct 24, 2011
    10
    Spooked may not be his best but it is still very renjoyable much like 99% of his work, let's face it he is one of the most underratedSpooked may not be his best but it is still very renjoyable much like 99% of his work, let's face it he is one of the most underrated performer of the last thousand years(ok twenty five or so) The person who said he sucked needs a eardrum transplant! Full Review »
  2. YEPROCSUCKS
    Mar 29, 2007
    0
    Yep Roc continues to be the worst label on planet earth.
  3. robynsucks
    Nov 15, 2006
    0
    this is SO bad!