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Poor David's Almanack Image
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: The third release (and the first under just his name) for the guitarist/producer features Gillian Welch as well as Brittany Haas, Paul Kowert, Ketch Secor, and Willie Watson.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. 80
    It is, ultimately, unfair to parse a Rawlings album looking for traces of Welch. It’s wisest to thrill to an Americana record you can howl along to in the car until your heart feels replenished, to guitar work that stands among the finest.
  2. Sep 6, 2017
    80
    He manages to convey the same exuberance and spirit in his own music that he hears in his favorite old tunes.
  3. Mojo
    Aug 7, 2017
    80
    No 11-minute epics this time, but there are two stand-outs: Neil Young-esque Cumberland Gap, and Airplane, as hypnotic and moving as anything on The Harrow & The Harvest. [Sep 2017, p.92]
  4. 80
    As ever on Welch & Rawlings records, their harmonies are sublime, warmed by guitarist Willie Watson’s third part; but there are fewer dark shadows here than usual, with songs like “Good God A Woman” and “Yup” offering light-hearted fables of God’s and Satan’s dealings with women.
  5. Aug 10, 2017
    80
    Rawlings' and Welch's music always feels like a return visit, and Poor David's Almanack in particular seems perfectly suited to tack up on your wall and consult at home.
  6. Aug 10, 2017
    70
    It's very difficult to argue with what Rawlings and company have assembled here. Aside from one misstep (that, to be fair, others might find less wearying) ["Lindsay Button"is the set's longest track and it feels like it], it's every bit as good as Nashville Obsolete.
  7. Aug 17, 2017
    60
    Almanack was captured in a week on analogue tape by studio vets Ken Scott and Matt Andrews. It shows on the result, a sprightly blast of rootsy playfulness carried with Rawlings’ effortless control of mood and musicianship.

See all 9 Critic Reviews