Send "Railroad Earth " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 On its new, eponymous CD, Railroad Earth continues to accelerate down the long, winding steel rail. The engines pulling this great line have evolved a bit, moving onward with a more polished, electric approach leading the way, yet the band has not abandoned its acoustic, roots rock leanings. New bassist Andrew Altman brings an electrified thump to the rhythm surrounding the layered, Americana-laced folklore. While not a radical alteration, the electric guitar on tracks such as opener “Long Walk Home” and the mournful “Lone Craft Farewell” add a somber ambiance, the latter a loving lament to singer Todd Shaeffer’s family home, from which he was driven to make room for an electrical plant, as he sings passionately amidst haunting lap steel from multi-instrumentalist Andy Goessling: “So goodbye bird and bear / Goodbye tree and land Goodbye to all I know / Like knowin’ the back of my hand I’ll walk the grounds / And make the rounds of this place I’ve loved so well Fire up the diesel / Bid a last Lone Croft Farewell”. The amps are powered up most dramatically on “Black Elk Speaks”, another leaving song, inspired by a book of the same name and written by a Sioux medicine man. It’s a harrowing rock song that relates the tale of a native people being driven from their land, echoed by wailing, tremolo guitar that adds to the resonance: “White heat / Was on our backs and growing to a flood… White heat / On our tracks and speaking like a gun… We fought / Fought ‘til there was nowhere left to go… And we fell / A pool of red ‘neath passing wheels in mud & snow”....full text |
| Jambands |
| Railroad Earth’s new self-titled album (their sixth release/fifth studio effort) finds them chugging down the same track they’ve been on since 2001’s The Black Bear Sessions, evolving their sound while still managing to sound like themselves. Which is a good thing. Three new steps of evolution make themselves known with your initial listen to Railroad Earth. First, though the departure of longtime bassist Johnny Grubb left some seriously big and bottom-heavy shoes to fill, Andrew Altman has definitely risen to the occasion. Altman (whose resume includes stints with Blueground Undergrass and The Codetalkers) proves himself to be not only a good man on the upright, but brings a new texture to RRE’s sound with some fine electric bass playing, as well. Combining the rock-steadiness of his predecessor with the adventurousness of, say, Rob Wasserman, Altman has managed to add new color to the band’s foundation in a short period of time. Another new texture in the instrumental side of things is the presence of a little more electric guitar on Railroad Earth – again, not in a radically different manner, but in a way that adds texture in places you never thought might benefit from it. Don’t be scared, long-time Hoboes: there’s still plenty of the sweet acoustic sound you’ve come to know, love, and expect from RRE (we’ll talk about some of that in a minute), but there are moments on the new album that are all the better for having the extra wallop. For example, the emotion of “Black Elk Speaks” just wouldn’t be the same without the layers of bad-mojo-and-tremolo-soaked guitars (think Creedence’s “Run Through The Jungle” only scarier). Elsewhere, “Long Walk Home” benefits from some tastefully-applied bits of Some Girls-era Stonesiness, while Andy Goessling’s lovely lap steel work on “Lone Croft Farewell” seals the deal on the song’s sad message....full text |
| Awaitingtheflood |
| Railroad Earth’s self-titled release is a comfortable and confident layering of Southern rock, country and bluegrass. It is an undeniably American record with very naturally performed and recorded songs. Mixtures of sparkly acoustic instruments and twangy-to-growling telecaster tones matched with driving drum beats, semi-bluegrass bits, and some surprisingly funk- and rock-driven rhythms and progressions make this records truly unique. The vocals on the album are perfectly unpolished and at times reminiscent of Tom Petty or Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. Layered vocals and multiple harmonies arise throughout, panned hard from ear to ear, adding to the live, organic feel of the record. Instrumentation is great on these recordings; tightness is clearly crucial in the songwriting process for Railroad Earth. Fiddle, mandolin, banjo, electric and slide guitar, drums, upright and electric bass all walk together in precise but jazzy symmetry. The band’s fearless usage of traditional instruments in non-traditional ways shines through on songs like “Spring-Heeled Jack” and “Too Much Information,” in which fiddles accompany bongos and jam-session drums on dance worthy arrangements. This recording is fun and optimistic, reflecting times past in American music, while without qualms assimilating multiple styles from more recent history....full text |
Railroad Earth lyrics
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