Continental Drifters

1. Get over It

2. Invisible Boyfriend

3. Highway of the Saints

4. Mezzanine

5. Mixed Messages

6. I Can't Make It Alone

7. Soul Deep

8. Some of Shelly's Blues

9. New York

10. Desperate Love

11. Song for You

Continental Drifters,Continental Drifters,Monkey Hill,Alternative Country-Rock,Alternative Folk,Alternative Pop/Rock,Bluegrass,Country,Pop,Popular Music

Average customer rating:

Inexplicably bland
Love it...

Continental Drifters
Continental Drifters
Manufacturer: Razor & Tie
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Alternative Folk | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Vermilion
Better Day

ASIN: B000059M0S
Release Date: 2001-02-20

Tracks:

Get Over It
Invisible Boyfriend
Highway Of The Saints
Mezzanine
Mixed Messages
I Can't Make It Alone
Soul Deep
Some Of Shelly's Blues
New York
Desperate Love
A Song For You

Customer Reviews:

Inexplicably bland.......2002-09-07

You would think with the people involved with this - Peter Holsapple of the dB's, Vicki Peterson from the Bangles, Susan Cowsill from the Cowsills - this would be a guitar-pop gem. But...it's not.

Most of the songs have clumsy lyrics that don't sing or scan well, with Holsapple's work being a particular offender in this department. Peterson's songs are the best ones here; her unerring ear for melody and harmony and her sparkling guitar playing do a lot for this CD. But the major problem here is the overall blandness. There's nothing on here that is particularly new or interesting sounding. The CD sounds like a reissue from any number of post-REM/dB's/Athens bands from the 80's. The production, which is flat and dulling, does not help in the least.

The most distressing thing is the lack of original ideas here. For example, it has to be said that one song is a dead ripoff of a Richard Thompson tune, while "Invisible Boyfriend" is just a traditional Irish melody set to a remarkably pedestrian lyric.

I wanted to like this CD a lot, since I like the participants' work in their other bands. I gave it a fair shot, but the unmemorable songs, the clumsy lyrics and the strangely flat production make this one of the most disappointing CD's I've ever endured listening to. They could do so much better than this.

Love it..........2001-06-07

This is an amazing album... Worth the money for 'Mixed Messages' alone! 'Invisible Boyfriend' will stay with you. Get the album, and go see them live, you'll never forget it.

Average customer rating:

This man does it all ... and then some

Loose Strings
Carlo Nuccio
Manufacturer: Monkey Hill
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000065IX
Release Date: 1998-10-20

Tracks:

Zoo
My Home
Sake Of The Family
Don't Call Me A Flirt
Church Of The Dwindling Spirit
My Space
The Analyst
Losing My Direction
Jesus Freak
Tattoo

Customer Reviews:

This man does it all ... and then some.......2004-06-22

This record showcases the talents of Carlo Nuccio who, as an adept songwriter and student of popular music, combines the styles of artists he clearly admires; Elvis Costello, Tom Waitts, Randy Newman, Harry Neilsen, Carole King and Paul McCartney are all evident and, should they come across this record, would be flattered, I'm sure. As a musician, performer, singer and producer who wears too many hats to count in this project, his ambition and ability can only be compared to that of Stevie Wonder during the recording of Songs in the Key of Life (read the liner notes- there are few names other than the crucial one) This record is thoughtful, menacing, joyful, grieving and playful. It's no wonder Carlo has worked as a sideman for nearly everyone in popular music over the last 25 years (google his name sometime!) and it's clear that he's learned a lot along the way from these luminaries...and maybe taught them a thing or 3.
This is a one man show that feels like an ensemble project. Rumor has it that Carlo even catered the sessions himself. I hear he makes a mean gumbo.

20 Great Love Songs of the 50's & 60's - Volume One

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20 Great Love Songs of the 50's & 60's - Volume One
The Drifters , Dion & The Belmonts , The Crests , Petula Clark , Skeeter Davis , The Skyliners , The Chiffons , Marcy Blaine , The Passions , and Jimmy Curtis
Manufacturer: Continental
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000GQCFXS

Product Description

20 Great Love Songs Of The 50's & 60's - Volume One // 1. Save the last dance for me - The Drifters 2. Where or when - Dion & The Belmonts 3. Sixteen candles - The Crests 4. Kiss me goodbye - Petula Clark 5. The end of the world - Skeeter Davis 6. Since I don't have you - The Skyliners 7. This is my song - Petula Clark 8. He's so fine - The Chiffons 9. A lover's prayer - Dion & The Belmonts 10. Bobby's girl - Marcy Blaine 11. That's my desire - Dion & The Belmonts 12. Gloria - The Passions 13. Just to be with you - The Passions 14. Let's dance close - Jimmy Curtis 15. Dream, dream, dream - The Chiffons 16. Lonely world - Dion 17. I only want you - The Passions 18. No one knows - Dion & The Belmonts 19. Your big mistake - The Delrons 20. You betta be sure - The Casualeers

Average customer rating:

The best album I've heard in a long time
best yet
Real Music from Real People
Another amazing CD
Every day is a "Better Day"

Better Day
Continental Drifters
Manufacturer: Razor & Tie
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Vermilion
Continental Drifters
Continental Drifters
Just Believe It
Mavericks

ASIN: B00005JXQI
Release Date: 2001-06-05

Tracks:

Na Na
Tomorrow's Gonna Be
Live On Love
Long Journey Home
Cousin
Too Little, Too Late
Snow
That Much A Fool
Someday
(Down By The) Great Mistake
Peaceful Waking
Where Does The Time Go?

Amazon.com

The third release by this alternative folk-rock "supergroup" is its most focused. That's surprising given that the band expertly drifts between numerous Americana musical styles, including country twang (Vicki Peterson's "That Much a Fool"), Sir Douglas Quintet-like Tex-Mex, and good old garage rock, often backed with the same type of classic pop harmonies found in the Bangles, the dB's, and the Cowsills--that is, the bands in which the key members here cut their teeth. Better Day rocks more than 1999's Vermilion did--and while it's not Rumours-like in scope (thank God), the dissolution of the marriage of cofounders Susan Cowsill and Peter Holsapple is both humorously and compassionately addressed in the bookends "(Down by the) Great Mistake" and "Peaceful Waking." In addition to great songs by five different composers, the mix of horns, accordions, swirling organs, mandolins, and of course, guitars, are simply awe-inspiring, representing both a New Orleans ethos as well as the Los Angeles the Drifters left behind in the early '90s. --Bill Holdship

Customer Reviews:

The best album I've heard in a long time.......2004-02-08

I am not a music critic, but this album stands out in my collection as a masterful weaving of thoughtful songwriting conveyed with genuine emotion. The album's break-up songs play against each other in a way that paints the hope that was with the disillusionment that is against the cautious expectation of what is to come. The topic sentence for this album may be the first lines of Vicky Peterson's "Na NA" (also the first song) "This is the story of my life / Somebody's little girl to someone else's wife / And what happened in between / Is the dying of a dream". In a real autobiographical way, Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" can't help but come to mind when you experience this album.

best yet.......2001-09-29

While I was much impressed with Vermilion, and the self-titled debut was above average, both were spotty, with some songs that were pure gold and others that I'd just as soon skip over (though not many). Better Days is a much better overall effort. The writing is much more consistent, and the arrangements (ranging from r&b to solid rock and roll to digging-deep-into-the-heart introspective knock outs)are superb. What impresses me the most is the overall writing on the recording. What really impresses me even more is the light years that Susan Cowsill's contributions have improved - I suppose wrenching personal loss is always an artistic jumpstart. Her Peaceful Wakings is easily the best single cut on any of their albums (excuse me - CDs). Having said that, this makes for a welcome advance from a band that probably won't sell monster amounts of numbers, but if it touches you . . . it will touch you deeply. Get it.

Real Music from Real People.......2001-07-03

A New Orleans band that's not really from New Orleans...that's a hard thing for New Orleanians to accept. (It's just the way we are.) But in New Orleans, the Drifters are big favorites. Here's why...they pretend to be nothing more than what they are. They dish up home-spun rock and heart-felt ballads, accented by subtle accordians and banjos that bring a smile to those of us who really don't care that much for accordians and banjos. These are real people making real music, and it's amazing to me that I never even knew of them til I heard this CD. If I have any criticism it's that the mix seems just a bit muddy, but it makes the CD sound like a live recording, and maybe that's just what the band wanted.

Another amazing CD.......2001-06-07

Yet again the Drifters deliver some of the best music that can be heard today. The songwriting, harmonies... everything brings you in and won't let you go. Take a break from bubble-gum pop, and listen to music with feeling, intelligence and emotion.

Every day is a "Better Day".......2001-06-07

The Continental Drifters have done it again. Not seeing the need to duplicate the wonderful "Vermilion", they have crafted "Better Day", a brilliant, and totally different, CD of 12 original songs that speak of joy, sorrow, life, love, missed chances and lost innocence. From the first track, Vicki Peterson's snappy "Na Na", to the last, Peter Holsapple's brilliantly bluesy "Where Did the Time Go?", this disk serves up a diverse series of songs that will keep you coming back for more. You'll be left wondering how it all fits together so seamlessly since these guys touch on an incredible variety of song styles, from rock to pop to country to blues and everything in between. But it does. Boy, does it ever! There are songs here that belong on Top-40 radio, the aforementioned Peterson-penned "Na Na", Susan Cowsill's shimmering "Someday", and Holsapple's horn-filled nugget "Live on Love" that stirs up memories of the '70's. (Of course, since they are smart, well-crafted songs, don't ever expect to hear them there). Mark Walton, the only founding member still with the band, makes his lead vocal debut on "Tomorrow's Gonna Be", an accordion and organ-laced tune that reminds you that no matter how bad it seems, things can, and will, get better (the lyrics to this song also provided the album's title). Peterson's country-tinged "That Much a Fool", featuring Holsapple's accordion and Robert Mache's sparkling mandolin, tells the story of a love that happened too late, while Cowsill's "Cousin" tells one of an innocent love from a more innocent time. There's "(Down by the) Great Mistake", a 60's-tinged he said-she said between Holsapple and Peterson that will make you chuckle, or shake your head, probably because you've been there before. "Snow", a heartfelt ballad of one's lost childhood and the innocence that went with it, features Susan Cowsill's expressive, impressive vocals wrapped around powerful, moving lyrics. The wonderful "Na Na" is an out and out rocker and, in Peterson's own words, "a raspberry" to those who would hold us back and keep us down. "Too Little, Too Late" is a rocking tale of missed opportunities, mainly due to arrogance, not pride. Once again, a horn section kicks this song into another realm. The ballad "Peaceful Waking", a collaboration between Cowsill and drummer Russ Broussard, touches close to the heart of anyone who can't seem to let go, even though they know they must. Lyrically, it reminds me of Fleetwood Mac's stripped down "Songbird." Peterson's "Long Journey Home" sounds like it would be a forlorn tale, instead it's got an upbeat, finger-snapping tempo topped with a jangly piano. It could also be the only pop song ever recorded to feature, and successfully rhyme, the word "guillotine." It all ends with Holsapple's "Where Did the Time Go?", a bluesy tune so evocative you can almost see the smokey dive filled with broken-hearted lovers crying in their drinks. This disk is the perfect accompaniment to the Continental Drifters previous efforts, another collection of 12 wonderfully crafted songs by 5 incredibly talented musicians who really seem to enjoy what they're doing. This is the Drifters at their very best. The only thing better than their recorded works is seeing them do it all live.

Average customer rating:

Didn't Thrill Me
Go Driften!
Excellent - roots rock album!
Great CD...Horrible Recording
A Granite-Solid Musical Alliance

Vermilion
Continental Drifters
Manufacturer: Razor & Tie
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Better Day
Continental Drifters
Continental Drifters
Paris Avenue
Just Believe It

ASIN: B00001T3G0
Release Date: 1999-10-12

Tracks:

The Rain Song
Drifters
Way Of The World
Don't Do What I Did
Spring Day In Ohio
Watermark
I Want To Learn To Waltz With You
Meet Me In The Middle
Heart, Home
Darlin Darlin
Christopher Columbus Transcontinentental Highway
Who We Are, Where We Live
Daddy Just Wants It To Rain
Anything

Amazon.com

Their roster reads like a one-shot all-star combo: ex-dB Peter Holsapple, Susan Cowsill (of those Cowsills), and Vicki Peterson, the former Bangle. But the Continental Drifters are for real, an all-embracing, seemingly effortless marriage of rock, pop, and country unveiled in an awesome songwriting spectrum. Recorded near an isolated bayou in the band's Louisiana homeland, Vermilion has no MVP among the three heavy hitters. Each writes alone and paired with another: Peterson and Cowsill's stunning harmonies carry "The Rain Song"; Holsapple offers a Neil Young-styled romp in "Don't Do What I Did"; Peterson contributes the highway-blues rocker "Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway"; and "Drifters," by Holsapple and Cowsill, boasts this chorus: "We are all drifters / Singers and sisters / Brothers and lovers and mothers and confidantes." All those, yes, and a damn fine band, too. --Scott Holter

Customer Reviews:

Didn't Thrill Me .......2005-04-27

Sorry, but I find this alt country/pop superband a little dull. Nothing on Vermilion is bad, but neither is it particularly distinctive. The songs describe frayed or broken relationships and hardworking people who -- surprise, surprise -- don't get rewarded for their effort. In other words, these are well-worked and familiar themes, but no Drifter brings new insights to these old ideas. The work lacks cohesion, no single voice, no single vision. It's not even an ensemble effort that works in the way the best Robert Altman movies work, with individual talents melded into a group identity. Instead, with Vermilion and the CD's first CD -- which I like somewhat better -- you get six distinct talents, supporting each other's songs with harmonies and instrumentation. Very nice and very forgettable.

Go Driften!.......2004-03-15

I'm going to keep this short and sweet--I LOVE this cd because of the raw energy. It is barely produced-it sounds like they just plugged in, picked up the microphone, turned it up to 10, and hit record, in someone's basement! Great songs, rough, ragged playing, voices that seem to appear out of nowhere, it feels like you're in the room with them. Long live Americana, long live the Continental Drifters. Highly recommended!

Excellent - roots rock album!.......2003-06-22

This is great album, great fun. I was skeptical at first because I always associated Susan Cowsill with "I Love the Flower Girl" but this album is great rock and roll record. I loved the duets with Vicki Peterson and Susan: Way of the World and Where we Live. Watermark and Chris Columbus shows just why Vicki Peterson was the Bangles' best songwriter (though not vocalist) and if that band had any success it was due to Vicki's edgy, rock and roll sensibilities. Since Vicki does not have a strong voice the combos with Sue Cowsill are well advise. The Rain Song is a bit trite lyrically but the harmonies save it from boredom. Drifters tells the story of the band with a somewhat philosophical and pessimistic note "We are born alone/we're alone when we go/ so while we may as well just sing a long." Also philosopical is Way of the World with its a++ kicking middle "What were you're expecting/ it's not what you had planned!"Meet me in the Middle is also fun with its advice "don't go to extremes..."The album doesn't break any new ground musically; it's basically traditional rock and roll. Weak cuts: Heart, Home. Silly lyrics about flying angels. Vicki's voice sounds weak and thin here too though she sounds great on Watermark.Despite its shortcoming this is a great record, great fun, diverse, smart and celebratory. Too bad they'll never be this good, now that this lineup has disbanded.

Great CD...Horrible Recording.......2001-04-19

I agree that this is a remarkable cd in terms of the songs and style, but the recording is so bad that I can no longer listen to it. The recording is so grainy that it is painful to listen to, and at the same time, sounds as if it was recorded behind a curtain. This is simply the worst recorded cd I have ever heard. I have a very large cd collection and a pretty high end system so I don't believe my equipment is the culprit. Has anyone else experienced this problem?

A Granite-Solid Musical Alliance.......2000-07-24

The Continental Drifters are group of six family members who have been sharing same house and making music together since they were children. OK, that's not at all true, but Vermilion sounds like result of a twenty-year musical alliance: the band is granite-solid with each member playing off the nuances of the other.

It's not unusual that such an intimate group would pursue the subjects of romance and family, but most surprising is their ability to convincingly cover such a wide spectrum of popular music. The jingle-jangle guitar rhythms and vocal harmonies of `The Rain Song' sounds as though they came from a `Best Of Badfinger' album. The menacing `Don't Do What I Did' is a no-limits rocker. Listening to `Watermark,' I'm tempted to visit the Appalachian Mountains, drink moonshine from a jug, and do some serious clogging. When I close my eyes, I can imagine Keith Richards and Ron Wood trading blues riffs while Susan Cowsill and Vicki Peterson strut about the stage. Perhaps unintentional, `Heart, Home' pays tribute to Richard and Linda Thompson. With its lonesome lyrics ("This heart needs a home"), tender accordion melody and weeping guitar solo, the similarities are difficult to dismiss. Ordinarily, "classics" require a few decades to age; however, the Continental Drifters have composed a "brand new" Folk classic (Anything) hearkening back four-decades to the heyday of Peter, Paul and Mary.

Tracks:

Get Over It
Invisible Boyfriend
Highway Of The Saints
Mezzanine
Mixed Messages
I Can't Make It Alone
Soul Deep
Some Of Shelly's Blues
New York
Desperate Love
A Song For You

Customer Reviews:

The Best Band You've Never Heard.......1999-05-07

This band has garnered mountains of critical acclaim and this CD is one reason why. It's a great combination of classic covers (A Song For You, Some of Shelly's Blues, I Can't Make It Alone) and divergent originals (Get Over it, Mixed Messages, Invisible Boyfriend). The Drifters are a wonderfully talented family of musicians, singers, songwriters and storytellers. I'm not a music critic, I just know this is one of the best albums I've ever listened to.

Average customer rating:

SONG LIST

Vermilion
Continental Drifters
Manufacturer: Blue Rose
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Country | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000562O3

Customer Reviews:

SONG LIST.......2007-06-18

1. The Rain Song
2. Drifters
3. Way Of The World
4. Don't Do What I Did
5. Spring Day In Ohio
6. Watermark
7. I Want To Learn To Waltz With You
8. Meet Me In The Middle
9. Heart, Home
10. Darlin Darlin
11. Christopher Columbus Transcontinentental Highway
12. Who We Are, Where We Live
13. Daddy Just Wants It To Rain
14. Anything