1372 Overton Park

Lucero is a truly amazing band that needs to be heard by everyone. This album incorporates some horns and an upbeat fun southern vibe. Darken my Door is truly a testament to knowing whats wrong for you but wanting it anyway. Hey Darling is the song that brought me and my husband back together after a 10 year separation and I owe our new found life together to this band.

Took a Long while to get here (almost two weeks after the other two CDs I ordered) but it was in great condition and the songs are awesome. I listen to Pandora and have heard maybe five of these songs regularly...this is one of those albums you can just play straight through twice without skipping a track and not get bored. Great Stuff !!

The sixth studio album by Lucero is really a classic (that nobody will ever hear). They rock with vigor with some great memphis horns and play some great ballads here as well. The rockers are the classic to be "Smoke", "What Are You Willing To Lose" the horns really make this song, "The Devil And Maggie Chascarillo", "Johnny Davis", "Sixes And Sevens", "Sounds Of The City" some fine keys and horns, mid tempo rocker "Can't Feel A Thing" and the slower songs "Darken My Door", "Hey Darlin' Do You Gamble" and the meaningful "Mom". Ben Nichols' vocals heartfelt throughout. Produced by Ted Hutt who has done the last two Gaslight Anthems. A solid album by these Memphis rockers.

Album after album of hook-laden alt-country gems. Smart, heartfelt lyrics sung by a singer who sounds like his lungs need cleaning out with a bottlebrush. A whole catalog of instant toe-tappers and head-bangers and these guys can't catch a cold, much less the kind of widespread recognition that lesser bands, like Kings of Leon and My Morning Jacket, seem to stumble into. Oh well. "1327 Overton Park" is a great Lucero record. Yes, it has horns on it. No, they aren't too obtrusive. I can quibble with the mix, but hey, I'm just happy to have more Lucero to listen to. This album doesn't break much new ground but it does a fine job of making the argument that Lucero is a band that deserves to be much, much bigger than it is.

This is a different direction for them. They've added horns. The feel of it is still undeniably Lucero though. It has a ton of good songs on it. Most notable are 'Can't Feel a Thing', 'What Are You Willing To Lose?', 'Hey Darlin Do You Gamble', and 'Mom'. Other good ones are 'Smoke', 'Sound of the City', 'Goodbye Again', 'Johnny Davis', and 'Darken My Door'. Because of the horns, this album will have to grow on me. But I'm liking it so far. It is a must have for all Lucero Fans and an album that fans of Two Cow Garage, Slobberbone, My Morning Jacket, Gaslight Anthem, Alkaline Trio, Marah, and Macon Greyson should check out. Also fans of real rock and roll mixed with a little punk and country need to listen to.

Lucero has been "in the van" for years putting on awesome shows. I am a huge fan and have driven for hours just to see them live. This album is typical "Lucero" (that is a good thing BTW) but also shows what great musicians they are. It is a great album, maybe one of their best so far, starts strong right from the start, I love Good Bye again and the horns, oh the horns... And they close the album out with two of my favorites- Hey Darlin, do you gamble? and Mom. Well done Lucero! I expect this will be an album I listen to again and again...

To those of you who already love Lucero, this review is not for you. You have already bought this album, and are simply reading this review because you love Lucero too.If you are new to this band, and you find yourself asking, "I wish I could find other bands that meet the high standards of Drive-By Truckers, The Bottle Rockets, or Ryan Bingham." Or if you are one of the many that thought great music has not been written in decades, please do yourself a favor and buy this album. You will love it, you will become a huge fan and buy all of their other albums, and you will ask yourself, "Why have I not heard of Lucero before."There is no reason to talk about the tracks on this album or any Lucero album. Ben Nichols writes about booze, lost love, and the South. Once again, if you have come this far, and you like what you hearing, you will be eternally happy that you spent $10 on this album. You will be eternally happy that you spent $50 on their entire catalogue. You will just be happy.

Good Music

I love these guys! They do the boyfriends head in so this CD does the job :)

Lucero strikes again - good listen

Great CD, prompt arrival, as described

Prendete la seconda traccia. Dopo neppure un minuto e mezzo, arriva il ritornello: beh se vi vien voglia di cantarlo a squarciagola sotto un palco (no, le parole NON SONO ‘out in the baaaackstreets’!) vi innamorerete di questo disco tanto da non riuscire a staccarlo dal lettore. Per gli (sfortunati) altri resta comunque uno splendido esempio di american music, dominato dal timbro rauco del cantante e leader Ben Nichols- un po’ Springsteen ed un po’… Ligabue - e con la propulsione di quattro musicisti in stato di grazia. Non bastassero loro, fondamentale risulta l’apporto dei fiati: gli arrangiamenti di Jim Spake regalano una marcia in più all’attitudine southern del gruppo come nel travolgente boogie ‘The devil and Maggie Chascarillo’; souleggiano con calore in ballate come ‘Goodbye again’ (siamo a Memphis, dopotutto); trascinano le atmosfere dalle parti della E-Street Band – qualche volta anche troppo, come ad esempio nella ‘Sounds of the city’ guidata da un organo ‘federiciano’. Le radici punk del gruppo magari sono lontane, ma si possono rintracciare nell’energia con cui vengono rielaborati country, rock e soul: dopo lo scatenato avvio, i pezzi ritmati superano per quantità e qualità quelli più languidi. Un viaggio nelle radici affrontato con freschezza e personalità, raccontando storie di più o meno romantici perdenti: non sempre si riesce a seguire il ritmo del cantato, ma un verso come ‘She asked me if I loved her and I showed her my tattoo’ è un assaggio di tutto rispetto.

Wurde durch einen Querverweis auf diese CD aufmerksam gemacht. Die Anschaffung hat sich gelohnt, auch wenn mir der Sound und die Attitüde der Band etwas zu punkig sind. Es gibt Ähnlichkeiten zu Cross Canadian Ragweed, wobei letztere mir deutlich besser gefallen. Freilich fahren die keine Bläser auf, was LUCERO tun und was sie schon zu etwas besonderem im alternativen Country-Rock-Americana-Red-Dirt-schießmichtot-Revier macht.