The Long Surrender (Bonus Track Version)

Breathe it in. In all of it, there is war, and there is peace. The damned and the un-damned. Hoop skirts and flamenco dancers. There are grandfather clocks and there is cannon fire. There are rocking chairs, and the railway spikes crucify the tracks all the way to Memphis. There are heartbeats and hopes and strings aflutter. There is antebellum and there is reconstruction, and through it all is an unspoken long surrender. Breathe it in. And slowly, like a love song or a silent parade, exhale.

I just returned from my first OTR concert, which was also the first time they played in Santa Cruz. I was initially slightly disappointed that it'd just be the two of them. It seemed to me that I had only managed to catch one of my favorite bands on the down sloping swing of their careers in the farthest days when everyone goes their separate ways. After coming back from the show with this CD and listening to it non-stop for the past two days, I can absolutely say nothing could be farther from the truth. I'd be hard pressed to find a single song on The Long Surrender that I'd want to skip over and the two person show was raw, awe inspiring, and more intimate than it could have possibly been with a full ensemble. There are some tracks on the album that remind me of Raising Sand, the Alison Krauss and Robert Plant collaboration produced by T-bone Burnett. When your work emits a memory of the 2009 Grammy's Album of the Year, you're in heady company indeed. This album is a keeper.

I don't know why Over the Rhine has not found a larger audience. Most notable to me is "Only God Can Save Us Now". Its a poignant trip through the inner chambers of a dementia unit while retaining the sense of humor needed to survive the long surrender.

Words will simply not do this album justice.

Thanks to pandora I found OVER THE RHINE

Until one has experienced Over the Rhine live, you have not lived. An amazing duo that has traveled and toured with an array of talented people. Each giving a piece of them selves to the haunting and lasting music of Over the Rhine. They have a song for every emotion and every mood. Extremely humble and eternally grateful, Karin and Linford never cease to be emotionally amazing.

OTR needs Ric or some other real guitar sound again, it made their folk sound really stretch out beyond the candles and coffee hour. They write very nice music, but perhaps a little too obvious and crafted in the recent years.

Silky and creamy with some grit and a slow gutteral undercurrent of lamentation and hope. A dreamy and honest rebuttal of hyperbole. "Skeptical dreamers, you're welcome, you're safe right here, you don't have to go." I'm listening to this a couple times a day, there are many layers of discovery.

After more than two decades Over the Rhine is still making great music with a no retreat, no surrender attitude. The Long Surrender is an album that ranks among the best of their output to date. The production musicianship and vocals all merge with great clarity. The lyrics are mysterious, peppered with humor and salted with grace. Joe Henry and the added musicians complement the tunes rather than take away them. Don't wait too long to surrender the cash needed to purchase this little gem!

I've been a fan of OtR for a very long time. Their Christmas concert has become a family tradition and of late the summer Coney Island concert too. One of the things I love about the band is that they've never made the same album twice. It would be easy for Karin and Linford to remake "Ohio" or "Trumpet Child"; many bands have given in to that kind of temptation. But the band continues to grow, to experiment, and to branch out. It has disappointed some fans perhaps but without that spirit to grow "The Long Surrender" would never have happened. "The Laugh of Recognition" and "Days Like This" are obvious choices for single releases. They showcase Karin's soaring voice and literate lyrics. But without question my favorite is "Only God Can Save Us Now". I think no one but Karin could write a song about the people she met in a nursing home when she visited her mother and only Karin could make that song hopeful despite it all. Like Karin, all my favorite people are broken, and I'd have it no other way. In the past I introduced people to my favorite band by giving them "Good Dog Bad Dog" but from now on it will be this album. What Karin and Linford, Joe Henry, and a thousand or more good friends have created is a wonder to behold.