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Amen Corner | 
 enlarge | Artist: Railroad Earth
Label: Sci Fidelity Records
Category: Music
List Price: $16.98
Buy New: $13.99
You Save: $2.99 (18%)
New (35) Used (11) from $9.49
Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 3506
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 1098
UPC: 662102109823
EAN: 0662102109823
ASIN: B0018OAOOO
Release Date: June 10, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | Been Down This Road | | • | Hard Livin' | | • | Bringin' My Baby Back Home | | • | The Forecast | | • | Right In Tune | | • | Waggin' the Dog | | • | Little Bit O' Me | | • | Lonecroft Ramble | | • | Crossing the Gap | | • | All Alone | | • | You Never Know | | • | Lovin' You |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
Railroad Earth is a roots and Americana-based jamband from Stillwater, NJ. Their name stems from a Jack Kerouac poem "October in the Railroad Earth," and the band has a song by the same name. Railroad Earth's music combines elements of bluegrass, rock and roll, jazz, celtic and more, and the group is known for its extensive live improvisation and lyrical songwriting within an acoustic base. The Amen Corner album features songs such as "Been Down This Road," "Waggin' The Dog," and "Lovin' You."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Decades Down The Road You'll Still Love This August 7, 2008
This is a wonderful recording. There's less glitz and more craft on the familiar Railroad Earth styles, with a beautiful layering of instruments, like multi-layered fabric across Todd Sheaffer's simple-yet-elegant lyrics. And there are some brash new sounds added to ever widening definition of the Railroad Earth "sound". The themes that run through Amen Corner are love (of course), birth and hope/fears for the future (The future becomes very much in your forethought for new parents!).
There are many changes of pace both in musical styles, and a diversity of moods on this CD. After starting with a folksy Been Down This Road, an almost hip-hoppy Hard Livin' comes crashin' in with it's multiple sax chorus, and electric guitar added to the normal RRE complement. As the album continues to zig and zag through different styles, I find that the remarkable thing is that the quality remains equally high from cut to cut. It might leave one with the feeling that there is no "star" cut. In truth, they are ALL shining stars that will grow inside you and pop into your mind at almost any given time.
This CD harkens me back to GD's American Beauty in its' consistency from piece to piece. And like American Beauty, decades down the road you will be listening to and enjoying Amen Corner on some marvelous, unimagined new playback device. Through those decades, you (and your children) will still be able to relate to the musical messages that this band left for us here in 2008.
Do yourself a Favor August 5, 2008
Railroad Earth goes down smoothly. They wrap their words and instrumentation around every inch of my soul and squeeze it until it tingles all over. This album, aside from being long waited, has become a favorite of mine. I was hesitant, at first, to buy Amen Corner. The reason behind this was that it is a studio recorded CD....and no offense to studio works, but a lot of the time(largely a band with the live rep that RRE has)studio CD's are not up to the standards fans hold them to. This is not the case for Railroad Earth's Amen Corner. Every single song could be played on repeat for eons to come, and I wouldn't complain. Knockout album. Buy it and you WILL be calling me in the morning!
 Really Really dig it....but.... July 31, 2008
there's nothing like seeing a live RRE show. the vibes just pour out of everyone. these guys make me dance holes through my shoes! I dig the new album....I love the lyrics as usual but....it's feels like they didnt "let it all go". It definantly doesnt sound like a real show cause its not! Just like the Dead...i'm not gonna pull out a studio album and jam it...at least not very often...it just doesnt sound anywhere near as good as a live show. U guys can feel me on that. Keep up the good work though, you're my favorite band out there right now! KEEP IT COMIN!
the Gothic show last yr was nothing short of a miracle! thanks for rockin ROTHbury, see you at YARMONY GRASS!!!!!!
You can't really go wrong here... July 30, 2008
Another great album from these guys, showing off their songwriting ability and instrumental skills. This IS a studio album, so there is less down and dirty picking than live shows, and it is a bit of a creative departure from Elko. Go in without any preconceptions however, and let this album grow on you a bit...you will not be dissapointed!
Arguably their best yet July 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Railroad Earth's most recent release (June 10), Amen Corner, was recorded in a 300-year-old farmhouse in the boonies of New Jersey (yes, they have farms in New Jersey), and is possibly their best effort yet beginning to end.
Amen Corner is one of those albums that takes a while to percolate. On first listen, nothing really stood out from the rest other than the fast-paced "Crossing the Gap," which not only is solid musically, but the lyrics hit home as well (a song about coming home from a long journey and looking across the Gap to Jersey). But after a few listens, I grew to love this album and haven't taken it out of rotation for several reasons.
First, it seems (to me at least) that this album is more mandolin-driven, which is a huge positive. Mandolin player John Skehan has always been very talented, but his picking shines through in this album more so than any previous album (to me, previous albums were more fiddle-driven). I love me some fiddle, and RRE's Tim Carbone is one of the best, but it's good to break it up once in a while. Skehan especially shines on the sole instrumental track on Amen Corner: "Lonecroft Ramble."
Second, lead vocalist Todd Sheaffer's songwriting is as good as ever. He's a master at crafting catchy, upbeat songs, and his opening lyrics on the album's first track "Been Down This Road" set the welcoming tone for the rest of the album: "Come around Amen Corner and there she's standing in the door/Staring in the eyes of my poor soul." "Right in Tune," Little Bit O' Me,"and "Lovin' You" are also standouts lyrically.
Third, Railroad Earth seems to incorporate much of their older roots on more traditional bluegrass anthems "Waggin' the Dog," "Bringin' My Baby Back Home," and "Crossing the Gap" (I just noticed that four of the songs include words with a dropped "g"). But RRE also experiments with new avenues, including the double saxophone on "Hard Livin.'" "The Forecast" has potential to be an epic live song, with mellow harmonies yet a driving rhythm that lends itself to a marathon jam.
Finally, the musical similarities between Sheaffer and the late Jerry Garcia are much more pronounced on this album, especially on two of the last three tracks: "All Alone" and "You Never Know." On "All Alone" Sheaffer's ethereal voice hearkens back to some of Garcia's slower ballads, and even the guitar effects are eerily similar to those on the Grateful Dead's Terrapin Station album. I don't see this as a bad thing, but it definitely begs the comparison.
This album isn't flawless, however, with some of the weak spots being the repetitive nature of "Bringin' My Baby Back Home" and "Waggin' the Dog." Also, while the album as a whole is quite solid (perhaps more so than any of their previous albums), there is no standout "goosebumps" song like on previous albums (i.e. crowd favourite "Long Way to Go").
I'm thoroughly enjoying Amen Corner so far, and am looking forward to seeing Railroad Earth live again in the future. They've shown that they have grown and matured musically, and this album is one of their best yet, and arguably one of the year's best album releases to date. I recommend it for seasoned bluegrass fans as well as music fans unfamiliar with the genre. It's a widely accessible album while still being complex and beautiful.
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