Buddy Greenbloom & the Gothic Cowboys

When I read the press I wasn't sure whether it was a joke – this disc is essentially the songs of the Jesus and Mary Chain done by a cowboy from Arizona. Yeah, no shit, is what I thought. But as the songs carried on, I grew to love this little disc, despite whatever whacked synergy brought it together. And, you know, even if you aren't too familiar with the originals, or don't know them at all, you can still find something to admire here. Greenbloom plays a nylon-strung acoustic, so the guitar has a soft sound, and his backup band is minimalistic, so the songs don't grab you by the head, rather they have a tendency to seep slowly into your system. And since he is working with good material to begin with, it's hard to screw up. His vocals are a bit shaky, well, shaky is not the best word, perhaps unpolished is a better choice. As such, there's a quirkiness, an unevenness as he sings, though not all the time, and it adds to the appeal of this CD. Kind of like Lou Reed. An endearing tribute. www.buddygreenbloom.com - NY ROCK SCENE

So far less embarrassing, I got some great covers of JAMC‘s You Trip Me Up, albeit minus the ‘feel-back’. ... Buddy Greenbloom turns out a fairly standard acoustic rendition... - Versions Galore

This album includes 10 covers of songs written by Jim and William Reid, co-founders of '80s band Jesus & Mary Chain. It opens with the title track, and folk-western singer Buddy Greenbloom's vocals sound like a sleepy Lou Reed or semi-comatose Leonard Cohen -- gravelly, two notches off monotone, bringing a whole new concept to the term laidback.

Not having been a fan of the group that originally released these songs, I am unable to make informed comparisons, but these tracks are uniformly arranged in a slow, low-key, downbeat, edge-of-blues, hint-of-folk style. It quickly became wearying and depressing to listen to, but may well appeal to those who like this type of music, or who are particularly interested in covers of the Jesus & Mary Chain.

"Sidewalking" lifts things momentarily, with a good walking beat around which a slide guitar slinks and slides, but the sensation is short-lived and the following tracks descend into morosity once more. The concept may or may not be laudable but, original or not, the music sounds like it is being played on a turntable under a sea of molasses. It is difficult to differentiate between tracks; with the slight exception of "Sidewalking" and the live version of the title track, they all sound sorrowfully similar. This is the musical antidote to Prozac and should carry a warning against listening to it if you are clinically depressed. - Rambles

The first person to take the stage was a country singer by the name of “Buddy Greenbloom”. His songs were all about being sad and eating the Red Death at Tent City. He gave me a plucky stick pick with the words, “Buddy Greenbloom, Gothic Cowboy” printed on it. He played three songs on the plucky stick, and then gave the stage over to a frightening old man who sang about crows. He frightened me. His hair was white. There’s no way he wasn’t a witch. I even told the lady at the bar, “That man is a witch”. - PHX Literal Music Reviews