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- By date
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Dignity and Shame is just another day in the world-weary lovelorn characters that Bachmann has so vividly brought to life for the past five years with his Crooked Fingers entourage.
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As with other Crooked Fingers albums, Bachmann’s stories really command most of our attention here, and they serve to elevate his songs beyond just being clever pastiches of pop music.
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SpinThese songs are both sturdier and more complex. [Mar 2005, p.92]
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Rather than leaning on his appealingly gruff Neil Diamond pipes to articulate personal stories of drunkenness and hardscrabble redemption, Bachmann takes a more imaginative approach here.
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Alternative PressAn engaging disc. [Mar 2005, p.122]
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It's easily the artist's most cohesive, polished work.
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An album to stand with his Archers best.
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If Bachmann officially solidified his place in modern song with Red Devil Dawn, then Dignity and Shame lodges that place in cement for posterity.
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His voice has thankfully improved from record to record; like grain alcohol, it's gruff and eye-opening, well-suited for Crooked Fingers' pop-folk tangents.
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A dramatic, often fascinating work, it inspires repeated and careful listening, and stands alongside the best of Bachmann’s work.
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His pieces match open, lovely music with lyrics depicting people in struggle.... Individual songs take on various moods, but the album never dips fully to the bleak.
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Dignity and Shame is sparse and vulnerable, showcasing nothing but Bachmann's bittersweet musings and his deep growl of a voice. It is by no means a unique album, but it's an effective one.
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UrbFinds [Bachmann] in a maudlin mood. [Apr 2005, p.108]
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Under The RadarAnother solid release to add to Bachmann's catalogue. [#9]
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While the concept fails to stand up over the album's narrative arc, the songwriting is solid as ever, and Bachmann and [Lara] Meyerratken's combined voices will soothe even the angriest beast.
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Regrettably, no other song here has a lyric nearly as compelling as "Andalucia"-- a major flaw for what is essentially a pedal steel-enhanced singer/songwriter album.
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Bachmann employs his band sparingly as he rambles on in his trademark croak and empties the ashtray of his brain.
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It wants terribly to be an important record, but its songs are merely good.
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UncutThe strident approach... doesn't quite work. [Jul 2005, p.100]
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Absolutely the least offensive record you will probably not hear this year.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 10 out of 11
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Mixed: 0 out of 11
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Negative: 1 out of 11
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zackApr 26, 2005
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BPMar 7, 2005Took a chance from the used bin, and now I feel like I've discovered gold! I can't stop listening to this great disc!
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[Anonymous]Feb 23, 2005A beautifully crafted album of bitersweet love stories.