Posted on: November 22, 2008 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 2

Todd Snider has never made a bad record. Sure some have been better than others; some take several listens before they finally click and no two records are ever really the same, but none have ever been duds – his latest, the 8-song Peace Queer, included. Snider has always been comfortable doing his own thing, even when signed to a major label for his first couple of releases, he never felt the need to write music for the masses.

Never completely a folkie, and not your typical rocker, Snider draws from some of the songwriting greats (borrowing just as much from Randy Newman as Hank Williams) and uses little more than an acoustic guitar to back him. Peace Queer kicks off in typical Snider fashion with his knack for nailing charmingly cynical, wickedly sharp lyrics in “Mission Accomplished (Because You Gotta Have Faith)” and then segue ways into a fantastic duet with Patty Griffin (“The Ballad of Cape Henry)” who also backs up Snider on a somber cover of CCR’s “Fortunate Son.”

The record has a few missteps (“Dividing the Estate” could have been left back in the studio and probably not be missed by many), but overall it’s another must-have for fans of the troubadour. For those who’ve never heard of Snider, well, you might as well pick up Peace Queer too. It’s a great gateway to his other stellar albums.

Top Tracks: Fortunate Son, Mission Accomplished

Rating: 8 out of 10

Todd Snider – Peace Queer (CD) / 2008 Aimless Records / 8 tracks

www.toddsnider.net

2 People reacted on this

  1. What? Have you listened to the lyrics of Dividing the Estate? It’s possibly the most important song on that record.

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