Cheap The Hard Way (Music) (Owsley) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of The Hard Way

I expected more.
First album was so good. This one is listenable, but I expected more from Owsley. I keep thinking I've heard these songs before. It's like I'm listening to a cover album or he's done edits on his first album or something. But gone are the really catchy hooks or any of the things that made the first album really stand out.

Again, this isn't that bad, but the first album was so brilliant. I don't think it was a fluke; I just think Owsley was having an off time.

---

Disappointing
All in all, I really do enjoy this album. Owsley has a fabulous talent for writing beautiful melodies and catchy hooks. However, he seems to be at his most successful when he's being wry and vaguely sarcastic. On his first album, the shining tracks are quirky, tongue in cheek tunes like "Oh No, the Radio."

On this album, he seems more in earnest in his lyrics and musical intent. Also, he seems more keen on creating a highly produced album. Unlike his last one, in which the production difference between his demo and the final product was very small, this one clearly has had lots and lots of studio work done to it.

The final ressult is a more straightforward pop album. For many artists, the album would mark a high point in their recording career. For Owsley, it seems like a step backwards. It's not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, and is still worth getting for tracks like "Undone." It's just not what it could have been.

---

Not quite brilliant, but not bad
If I had to make a list of my favorite CDs of all time, Owsley's first album would be up near the top. I could hardly wait for another album from this extremely talented musician and finally "The Hard Way" got released to my drooling anticipation.

My first impression was that it was a disappointment- calculated production values, unoriginal song titles and less stellar lyrical wordplay than the quirky first disc. But giving it a few listens, several tracks really stood out for me. "Rainy Day People" sounds like the good old days of the first album while "Undone" and "Dirty Bird" show he still can write songs better than the vast majority of what's on the radio. Even the unlisted cover of "Band On the Run" is cool, letting his voice practically growl in places- and I'm usually never a fan of Beatles (or in this case, McCartney) remakes.

Most of the aforementioned tracks are toward the end, which is to say that it doesn't start out well. "Be With You" is a bit too maudlin for my taste as is "She's the One". The album doesn't really pick up until halfway through, though "Dude" is a pleasantly quirky tune.

I was a little disappointed with "The Hard Way", but taking it on its merits, it's pretty good. After all, his nearly flawless first album is a hard act to follow.