Texas Plates

Texas Plates

Texas Plates

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Musing over the proliferation of Texas singer/songwriters of baby-boom age, Austin songsmith Kimmie Rhodes once credited the frequent use of DDT in the Dallas-Austin-Lubbock triangle. Whatever it was, Vince Bell got a heavy dose. Twelve years after nearly dying in a 1982 car crash, Bell released Phoenix, an album that contained a mix of quizzical, John Prine-esque story songs and lambent ballads like "Woman of the Phoenix," which Nanci Griffith interpreted on Other Voices, Other Rooms. Although Bell is little known outside of Texas, 1999's Texas Plates suggests his talents have outpaced his fame. Bell doesn't have the voice of a Joe Ely or a Jimmie Dale Gilmore, but his songs are just as expressive and thoughtful, at times even more melodically catchy. He can paste together austere, meditative snapshots from Texas highways or capture the endearing romantic desperation of a dead-end dance floor. Producer Robin Eaton and engineer Elijah Shaw gently build around (and not over) a spare foundation of voice and acoustic guitar, layering touches of strings, vibes, slide guitars, and chunky percussive tracks. The result is a spacious, highly rhythmic sound, complementing the humor and imagination of Bell's memorable songwriting. --Roy Kasten

Texas Plates,Vince Bell,Warner Bros / Wea,Country & Western,Folk,Folk & Traditional,Pop
Texas Plates
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • From No Depression and Acoustic Guitar Magazines
  • What's there is good, just not enough of it
  • This is a masterpiece.
 Texas Plates
Vince Bell
Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Country | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Folk | Styles | Music
Traditional FolkTraditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
CDs $7 - $10CDs $7 - $10 | Folk General | Folk | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music
All Bargain TitlesAll Bargain Titles | Folk General | Folk | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music
ASIN: B00000IL09
Release Date: 1999-04-13

Tracks:

  1. Poetry, Texas
  2. All Through My Days
  3. Push Comes To Shove
  4. 2nd Street
  5. All The Way To The Moon
  6. Place To Call Our Own
  7. Best Is Yet To Come
  8. Have Not, Will Travel
  9. 100 Miles From Mexico
  10. The Fair
  11. Last Dance At The Last Chance

Amazon.com

Musing over the proliferation of Texas singer/songwriters of baby-boom age, Austin songsmith Kimmie Rhodes once credited the frequent use of DDT in the Dallas-Austin-Lubbock triangle. Whatever it was, Vince Bell got a heavy dose. Twelve years after nearly dying in a 1982 car crash, Bell released Phoenix, an album that contained a mix of quizzical, John Prine-esque story songs and lambent ballads like "Woman of the Phoenix," which Nanci Griffith interpreted on Other Voices, Other Rooms. Although Bell is little known outside of Texas, 1999's Texas Plates suggests his talents have outpaced his fame. Bell doesn't have the voice of a Joe Ely or a Jimmie Dale Gilmore, but his songs are just as expressive and thoughtful, at times even more melodically catchy. He can paste together austere, meditative snapshots from Texas highways or capture the endearing romantic desperation of a dead-end dance floor. Producer Robin Eaton and engineer Elijah Shaw gently build around (and not over) a spare foundation of voice and acoustic guitar, layering touches of strings, vibes, slide guitars, and chunky percussive tracks. The result is a spacious, highly rhythmic sound, complementing the humor and imagination of Bell's memorable songwriting. --Roy Kasten

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars From No Depression and Acoustic Guitar Magazines.......2007-05-15

NO DEPRESSION: "If Bell's story had stopped with the release of Phoenix five years ago, it would still rank as one of the greatest comeback triumphs of all time. As it is, however, that was just the first flower of his late-blooming career...Texas Plates continues where Phoenix left off, tastefully presenting Bell's songs in acoustic arrangements that bring out the subtle magic of his carefully crafted lyrics...His accomplishments as a guitarist and as an author not withstanding, Bell's truest talent remains as a lyricist."

ACOUSTIC GUITAR: "Vince Bell is not your typical Texas singer-songwriter. His music is more art song than folk song, more Jacques Brel than Woody Guthrie...He's easier to compare to David Crosby or Joni Mitchell than to Willie or Waylon."

3 out of 5 stars What's there is good, just not enough of it.......1999-12-10

I heard "All the Way to the Moon" on the radio a few weeks ago and thought this guy had a pretty interesting, though limited, voice. After buying "Texas Plates" I see that he writes pretty interesting and thoughtful lyrics as well. I like the CD, but at only 39 minutes it hardly seems long enough by today's standards.

5 out of 5 stars This is a masterpiece........1999-04-26

Well I guess somebody has to go first on Amazon about Vince Bell's TEXAS PLATES...it's a masterpiece. When we hear the story of what it took to make this wondrous record, we are moved first to sadness, and then to joy. Investigations into the world of Vince Bell yield amazing discoveries. Bravo!

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  7. The River Road
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  10. Therapy

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