Gambler's Ecstasy

Last updated
Gambler's Ecstasy
Chris Brokaw, Gambler's Ecstasy (2012) CD cover.jpg
Studio album by
Chris Brokaw
Released2 October 2012
Recorded2008-2012
Genre Alternative rock, Post-rock
Length37:39
Label 12XU
Damnably
Producer Chris Brokaw
Chris Brokaw chronology
Stories EP
(2012)		Gambler's Ecstasy
(2012)		Tidal Mud
(2012)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Blurt magazine Positive [1]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Gambler's Ecstasy is American musician Chris Brokaw's sixth solo studio album.

Chris Brokaw American musician

Chris Brokaw is an American musician, mostly known for his work with the bands Come and Codeine, in addition to his many collaborations and original soundtracks. His outlier, underground status, in addition to his constant touring, abundant collaborative projects, and prolific musical output, have resulted in Brokaw being repeatedly described as 'one of the hardest-working musicians in anti-show-business.'

Contents

Background

The recording of Gambler's Ecstasy took place between 2008 and 2012 in a number of different studios: Soma in Chicago, IL; The Echo Lab in Denton, TX; and Soundhouse and The Track Shack both in Seattle, WA. The album was recorded by Matthew Barnhart, Matthew Brown, and Tim Iseler, and mixed by Matthew Barnhart and Chris Brokaw. CD and LP versions were released by Damnably and 12XU, respectively, on October 2, 2012.

Soma Electronic Music Studios is a recording studio owned and operated by John McEntire in Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago city and county seat of Cook County, Illinois, United States

Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States. With an estimated population of 2,705,994 (2018), it is also the most populous city in the Midwestern United States. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, the second most populous county in the US, with portions of the northwest city limits extending into DuPage County near O'Hare Airport. Chicago is the principal city of the Chicago metropolitan area, often referred to as Chicagoland. At nearly 10 million people, the metropolitan area is the third most populous in the nation.

Illinois American State

Illinois is a state in the Midwestern and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It has the fifth largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth largest population, and the 25th largest land area of all U.S. states. Illinois has been noted as a microcosm of the entire United States. With Chicago in northeastern Illinois, small industrial cities and immense agricultural productivity in the north and center of the state, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a diverse economic base, and is a major transportation hub. Chicagoland, Chicago's metropolitan area, encompasses over 65% of the state's population. The Port of Chicago connects the state to international ports via two main routes: from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois Waterway to the Illinois River. The Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the Wabash River form parts of the boundaries of Illinois. For decades, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world's busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and, through the 1980s, in politics.

All its songs are Brokaw's compositions, with the exception of "Crooked" which was written and originally performed by Cincinnati indie rock band Wussy. "Criminals" was partly inspired by the homonymous novel by Margot Livesey and originally appeared, along with "Into the Woods", in Geoff Farina and Brokaw's second collaborative album, The Boarder's Door . "The Appetites" was partly inspired by Brokaw's late friend Caroline Knapp's Appetites: Why Women Want, published posthumously in 2003, which described Knapp's experience with anorexia and women's struggles with addiction. "Richard and Vanessa in the Box" was originally commissioned by Nicole Peisl for the Daghdha dance company. "Exemptive", the instrumental opening track on Brokaw's previous album, Canaris, appears in electric form with vocals under the title "Exemption" on Gambler's Ecstasy.

Cincinnati City in Ohio

Cincinnati is a major city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and is the government seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line with Kentucky. The city is the economic and cultural hub of the Cincinnati metropolitan area, the fastest growing economic power in the Midwestern United States based on increase of economic output, which had a population of 2,190,209 as of the 2018 census estimates. This makes it Ohio's largest metropolitan area and the nation's 28th-largest. With a city population estimated at 302,605, Cincinnati is the third-largest city in Ohio and 65th in the United States. Cincinnati is also within a day's drive of 49.70% of the United States populace.

Indie rock is a genre of rock music that originated in the United States and United Kingdom in the 1970s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock. As grunge and punk revival bands in the US and Britpop bands in the UK broke into the mainstream in the 1990s, it came to be used to identify those acts that retained an outsider and underground perspective. In the 2000s, as a result of changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the Internet, some indie rock acts began to enjoy commercial success, leading to questions about its meaningfulness as a term.

Wussy

Wussy is an American five-piece indie rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, formed in 2001. The band consists of Chuck Cleaver (vocals/guitar), Lisa Walker (vocals/guitar), John Erhardt, Joe Klug (drums) and Mark Messerly (bass). Cleaver and Walker write most of the songs and either alternate lead vocals or sing them in harmony. Live performances feature the two vocalists having a "combative rapport". They have released six albums, one live album, two EPs, one mini LP and a number of singles. The group has received critical acclaim from Rolling Stone, Robert Christgau, Chicago, and SPIN.

Guest musicians include David Michael Curry from Empty House Cooperative, Howard Draper from Shearwater, and John Herndon and Douglas McCombs both from Tortoise.

Shearwater (band) Indie rock band from Austin, Texas

Shearwater is an American indie rock band from Austin, Texas, led by multi-instrumentalist and lead singer Jonathan Meiburg, a singer-songwriter. The band's music is notable for its imagery based in nature, cerebral yet intimate melodic songs, as well as Meiburg's vocals.

Tortoise (band) American post-rock band

Tortoise is an American experimental rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1990. The band incorporates krautrock, dub, minimal music, electronica and jazz into their music, a combination sometimes termed "post-rock". Tortoise have been consistently credited for the rise of the post-rock movement in the 1990s.

The cover artwork is a photograph of composer and visual artist Paul Rucker's piece Convenient Truth, [3] part of the artist's multimedia project Four Scores which had previously featured on the cover of Grantmakers in the Arts' periodical publication GIA Reader, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Winter 2012). [4]

Track listing

All songs written by Brokaw, unless otherwise noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Criminals" 3:15
2."Crooked" Wussy 2:34
3."Danny Borracho" 1:50
4."Into the Woods" 2:47
5."The Appetites" 9:19
6."Exemption" 3:40
7."California" 4:32
8."How to Listen" 3:53
9."Anacordia" 2:38
10."Richard and Vanessa in the Box" 3:11
Total length:37:39

Personnel

Additional musicians
Viola bowed string instrument

The viola ( vee-OH-lə, alsovy-OH-lə, Italian: [ˈvjɔːla, viˈɔːla]) is a string instrument that is bowed or played with varying techniques. It is slightly larger than a violin and has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the violin family, between the violin (which is tuned a perfect fifth above) and the cello (which is tuned an octave below). The strings from low to high are typically tuned to C3, G3, D4, and A4.

Organ (music) musical keyboard instrument

In music, the organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more pipe divisions or other means for producing tones, each played with its own keyboard, played either with the hands on a keyboard or with the feet using pedals. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria, who invented the water organ. It was played throughout the Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman world, particularly during races and games. During the early medieval period it spread from the Byzantine Empire, where it continued to be used in secular (non-religious) and imperial court music, to Western Europe, where it gradually assumed a prominent place in the liturgy of the Catholic Church. Subsequently it re-emerged as a secular and recital instrument in the Classical music tradition.

The bass guitar is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, except with a longer neck and scale length, and typically four to six strings or courses. Since the 1960s, the bass guitar has largely replaced the double bass in popular music.

Additional personnel

Critical reception

In her review of the album for Blurt magazine, Jennifer Kelly stated that "Gambler’s Ecstasy takes some risks, pursuing diverse styles and eccentric paths to tunefulness, but it mostly comes up sevens." [1] Mojo's review stated that Brokaw's album "asserts his mastery of mood-shift", [2] concluding that "Brokaw's weathered voice and reverberant playing make another rewarding set." [2]

Online music publication The Line of Best Fit gave the album a rating of 8.5/10, declaring that, "[w]hether best described as having a restless muse or an open mind, there’s no denying Brokaw is a phenomenal musician." [5] Likewise, giving the album a rating of 8/10, The 405 affirmed that "at its best, Gambler's Ecstasy can be described is a heartfelt album that is practically oozing emotion and personality." [6] Writing for Penny Black Music, Andrew Carver ends his review of the album as follows: "Never a very high profile performer, even at Come’s height, Brokaw's Gambler’s Ecstasy shows why it would be a terrible shame to let one of America’s finest musicians fall from the radar." [7]

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References

  1. 1 2 Jennifer Kelly (October 17, 2012). "Chris Brokaw – Gambler's Ecstasy". Blurt Magazine . Retrieved 2013-01-06.
  2. 1 2 3 "Chris Brokaw – Gambler's Ecstasy". Mojo . 2012. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
  3. ↑ "Paul Tucker - Works - Four Score". PaulRucker.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-07.
  4. ↑ "GIA Reader, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Winter 2012)". Grantmakers in the Arts.
  5. ↑ Will Fitzpatrick (6 November 2012). "Chris Brokaw – Gambler's Ecstasy". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
  6. ↑ Sophie Roberts (7 November 2012). "Chris Brokaw - Gambler's Ecstasy". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
  7. ↑ Andrew Carver. "Chris Brokaw: Gambler's Ecstasy". Penny Black Music. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
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