David Ackles

Album Description
Ackles’ 1968 debut was his most rock-ish, featuring backing by members of the band Rhinoceros, and had the closest thing to a hit he ever had, the first-person drifter narrative “The Road to Cairo.” Also on the album: “When Love Is Gone,” “Sonny Come Home,” “Blue Ribbons,” “What a Happy Day,” “Down River,” “Laissez Faire,” “Lotus Man,” “His Name Is Andrew” and “Be My Friend.”… More >>

David Ackles

5 Responses to “David Ackles”

1. Anonymous says:

   April 22, 2010 at 2:31 pm

   I think that this album is generally good with a couple of strong points.
   Rating: 4 / 5
2. lowell duluth says:

   April 22, 2010 at 3:24 pm

   This must be one of the most haunting debut albums of all. There are some songs by this dignified, rough-edged romantic which are so heartbreakingly moving that words fail – eg. Love`s Enough (if only Sinatra had heard that instead of My Way) and Waiting For the Moving Van, both from a later collection and, from this album, the peerless Down River. If I`d ever been able to see a dream concert featuring Ackles, Tom Rush & Tim Hardin – well, I would have died of pleasure. (Look after yourself now, Tom.)
   Four-and-a-half stars, mate? Huh!
   Rating: 5 / 5
3. Greg Cleary says:

   April 22, 2010 at 5:28 pm

   The late 60’s/early 70’s was a golden age of singer-songwriters, with Bob Dylan having pretty much invented the genre just a few years before. Although virtually unknown, David Ackles was one of the best singer-songwriters of this era. With his deep voice and somber tone, Ackles was somewhat similar to Leonard Cohen or Scott Walker, but his subject matter, unlike theirs, was middle American. Ackles has also been compared to Randy Newman, which is closer to the mark in terms of subject matter, but while Newman was almost always ironic, Ackles seldom was. It’s difficult to imagine them singing each other’s songs. A better comparison would be Harry Nilsson, who like Ackles, was able to capture some of that old-timey smalltown feel and bring it into the modern world.

   If you’re unfamiliar with Ackles’ work, his debut album is the one to start with. The opening track, “The Road to Cairo,” is one of his best-known songs. Based on a descending chord progression, like a funeral march, it tells the story of a drifter who is afraid to confront his past. Ackles was more popular in England than in the U.S., and in a couple of places I have read English fans speculating that he might be referring to Cairo, Georgia. They are right that it is not in Egypt, but the most likely Cairo would be the one in Illinois, where the Ohio River flows into the Mississippi–a town that is mentioned prominently in Huckleberry Finn. You can’t get any more middle American than that.

   “Blue Ribbons” is another standout–a song about a grieving woman, with a chorus that soars and then spirals back down to earth. All songs on this album are keyboard-based, but this is one of only two that is played mostly on organ rather than piano. “What a Happy Day” closes out the first half of the album (side one of the original vinyl) with an image of children innocently playing while the adults worry about nuclear war.

   Side two is where the album really hits its stride, however, beginning with “Down River,” another song that features a doom-ridden chord progression and a lost soul–this time, a man who has been in prison for three years and who meets up with his old sweetheart only to find that she’s moved on without him. I have never heard a piano that sounds quite like the one here. I’m not sure why that is. Is it the echo in the recording? Is he using the black keys a lot? It’s beyond my musical understanding, but anyone can hear that Ackles is wrenching as much emotion out of the piano as he possibly can.

   After three more top-notch tunes, each of them very different, the album ends on a sentimental note, with “Be My Friend.” This song parallels the side one closer, “What A Happy Day,” in its appeal to basic human kindness, but it sounds more urgent, more adult. In lesser hands, it might have sounded maudlin, but Ackles and his fellow musicians get the most out of it, especially on the instrumental coda.

   After his debut, Ackles would go on to make another album, Subway to the Country, that is in much the same vein as this one, and is similarly stunning. Both of these releases rank among the best singer-songwriter albums of their era, which is another way of saying that they are among the best ever. If you have just stumbled onto Ackles’ work, you are in for a treat.
   Rating: 5 / 5
4. Ulf Leiler says:

   April 22, 2010 at 6:56 pm

   I bought this album 1968 for two reasons. Wonderful albumcover and The Road To Cairo (which he wrote). Together with fantastic arrangements it’s one of the best albums ever. A forgotten singer-songwriter. If you like dark stricken music this is what you should buy. With the organ carressing the lyrics, this is most beatiful, year after year to listen to.
   Rating: 5 / 5
5. Andrew P. Benner says:

   April 22, 2010 at 8:10 pm

   I would call this one of those mature debuts. Even though he would reach greater heights in later recordings, the blueprint was laid down here. The Brecht/Weill drunken carnival music alternating with quiet piano songs creates a fascinating atmosphere of unease, grotesques & quiet reflection. Like some of the Syd Barrett albums where the instruments were added after the singer was finished recording vocals, the notes often chase the rhythym like a flock of birds, not quite arriving at the same time. But, it doesn’t seem to matter much. The songs are that good. I think the songs most often cited by critics are the strongest, “Down River”, “The Road to Cairo” & “His Name is Andrew”. But, I think all the songs are good.
   Rating: 5 / 5