Rating:
Genre:
Folk
Release Date: 05/16/2006
Fred Eaglesmith loves the road. The fiercely independent Canadian
singer/songwriter's 16th album listens like a stagecoach trip down Route 66, taking its own sweet time in order to sniff out every corner like an Old West
Canterbury Tales. The
Springsteen-esque opener,
"18 Wheels," follows the plight of a lovelorn truckdriver trying to fight the urge to plead his way back into the arms of his estranged lover. It's a fitting start for
Milly's Cafe, a sparse and determined collection of stories that refuses to ever break into a gallop -- even the rolling title cut, a
Bonnie & Clyde-inspired tale of guns and redemption, barely achieves midtempo. Still, it's an affecting album that uses the space allotted to it as a strength. The languid
"Summer Is Over" is all Ferris wheels and small-town lemonade, while the heartbreaking
"Rocky," which follows the correspondence between two weathered and ailing cowboys withering away in separate retirement homes, keeps reality clearly in check. It's a road-trip record in the classic sense, and one that's got a confection for whatever mood you may find yourself in.
~James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
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