- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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UncutCrisp, tight and fluid. [Aug 2004, p.92]
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Stone, Steel & Bright Lights manages to capture Jay Farrar at his apex as a solo artist, while at the same time reminding fans of why his solo work continues to be so frustrating.
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The album cherry-picks the best songs from Farrrar's last few releases, and presents them in often superior form.
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There's a rigid sincerity to his work that refuses to allow him to drift too far from the statements of purpose he so carefully lays down in the studio.
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The music's full of warmly engaging jangliness throughout, even if some of the 19 tracks tend to blend together.
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MojoFarrar has rarely sounded so stirring on record. [Aug 2004, p.89]
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The imperfections in Farrar's singing can be distracting at times, but the implacable force of his delivery trumps wobbly pitch every time.
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Albums like this, while often appealing to the hardcore Farrar fan (redundant, I know), don't add much to his overall cache.
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BlenderOverly somber. [Aug 2004, p.131]
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The band really comes alive on the final two tracks, both of which are cover songs.... After the disc finished, I found myself wishing that Farrar's own songs would have been approached with the same heated fervor.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 4 out of 4
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Mixed: 0 out of 4
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Negative: 0 out of 4
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BrutusOAug 12, 2004
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MattJun 25, 2004Overall enjoyable CD. Adds new life to some songs. Excellent exclamation point at the end with "Like a Hurricane."