Bobby Long
A Winter Tale
Release Date: Feb 1, 2011
Genre(s): Folk, Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Contemporary Folk, Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Alternative Folk
Record label: ATO
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Album Review: A Winter Tale by Bobby Long
Very Good, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating B+
Long is a shy, serious Brit who should appeal to fans of John Mayer and Mumford & Sons. A Winter Tale‘s lyrics can tend toward the impenetrable, but his old-before-his-time romanticism and strong rasp are real draws. White Stripes producer Liam Watson sometimes frames the folkiness with a scorching full band and sometimes lets Long?s acoustic mystery be.
Based on rating 6/10
With scratched vocals that sound as if he’s screamed his way through hell, Bobby Long sings A Winter Tale like it’s his last chance. In reality, it’s one of his first chances, but the desperation in his tone leads me to believe he’s onto something. From the moment that the opening acoustic guitar breaks into distortion on the album’s title track, and his heavy voice cuts through, it is clear that he wants to say something important.
Based on rating 6/10
British singer/songwriter Bobby Long came to recognition when his friend Robert Pattinson sang his song "Let Me Sign" (co-written with Marcus Foster) on the soundtrack to the popular teen vampire film Twilight in 2008. A Winter Tale, his debut studio album for ATO Records, demonstrates that he has spent a lot of time listening to early albums by Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Johnny Cash, having apparently learned chords and fingerpicking he employs on his guitar, some harmonica playing, and, particularly, his poetic lyric-writing style. His husky singing voice also sounds a bit like the young Dylan, or perhaps more like a less arch Tom Petty.
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