The Return Of Paradise Hotel

Posted In: Paradise Hotel

Sang Ramirec says...

After a bit of a dip with her last CD ("Land of milk and honey") in terms of accessibility and range of songs covered, this CD sees Eliza definitely back at the top of her game. The music is more fuller and varied than prior CDs (witness the opening "Borderline" which almost comes on as AM in tone and the Hispanic flavoured and Spanish sung "Bellarosa"). On political themes, she finally nails the Bush/Iraq issue (a matter she has long been vocal on) in spot on fashion with "Man of God" capturing the neo-con and christianity themes beautifully, and this contrasts with the subsequent "Jedidiah 1777" drawn from contemporary diaries of a US citizen soldier fighting in the War of Indepednece.



However as always Eliza really hits her stride with her well observed songs on love and life, my personal favourites "Think about You" and "Calm before the storm" matching anything on my prior favourite CD "Hard times in Babylon".



I cannot wait to see her on this form during the forthcoming UK tour later this month (May 2006).

Posted on August 30, 2011

Bud Ianuzzi says...

"Man of God" really is a powerful indictment of Bush and friends, from a Christian perspective, with a Texas drawl - and she follows it with an amazing song "Jedidiah", putting to rhyme and music letters home during the revolutionary war from an ancestor of hers - the juxtaposition subtly links today's "King George" with the old one, and our need to act and perhaps sacrifice in a good cause. "Requiem" is hauntingly beautiful, and evocative of recent tragic events. "Is it like today" is wonderfully poetic, capturing the sweep of human history. The others are more along the lines of love poems, but still beautiful. One or another of these melodies has been running through my head since I started playing it a few days ago!

Posted on September 1, 2011

Reagan Eslick says...

On the evidence of "Paradise Hotel" alone, Eliza Gilkyson could be our most spiritually mature songwriter.Her words lament the drive to plunder and exploit, without wasting energy on self-absorbed emotionalism, and her sensibility lives in the here and now.She knows that the best parables are images ("he who is without sin, let him cast the first stone"), and that grace and redemption are always within our grasp -- that they cannot be stolen, only forfeited.Her songs become the mistress of our hearing, for weeks.And, like her, what she says is ageless.

Posted on September 2, 2011

Ami Zachter says...

Over the past 5 years or so, I have heard some Eliza Gilkyson tracks on compilation albums. I enjoyed one of her tracks enough to go to the library and sign out her CD, "Lost and Found" (2002). I received it with a resounding "eh."



Then I got "Paradise Hotel," an incredible, superb album. It blew me away. I hear a critique about what we're going through today. Sort of a study in current events. Discussing GW and his contradictory self-description as a Man of God. "That ain't the teachin's of a man of God...", discussing the evolution of man from Babylon to today, spreading slowly across the continents and globe and now the moon. To the moon. I wouldn't call it all that positive, with some resignation in the tales, but bright rays of hopefulness do shine through.



Her sound is accessible to grown-ups. She doesn't have a superior range, but her voice is smoky and pleasant, coming from a low register. Lots of acoustic guitar along with hard-driven electric riffs, some twangy-country-ish rock and some Celtic sounding mixes, with a bit of east and west religious education. If a comparison must be made, while she doesn't necessarily sound like Lucinda Williams, she is similar in style: serious, honest, insightful, and rockin'. A little bit of Joan Osborne shows through, as well, with loud, energetic harmonies in the background on a couple of tunes.



Check it out.

Posted on September 3, 2011

Marian Vanweelden says...

I could not tell by the one listening selection ("Requiem")that the recording would be more of a country folk style, but I am now a big fan of Eliza's.

Upbeat, rich recording. Strong, beautiful lyrics.

Generally, a lovely discovery.

Posted on September 4, 2011

Dalila Notowich says...

Not nearly as famous as she deserves to be, Eliza Gilkyson just gets better and better. With each album she proves that she's the equal of any of her folk-rocking, singing-and-songwriting contemporaries.Always a formidable singer, a vocalist of the smoke-and-tears school, she just plain sounds great throughout as she delivers one compelling performance and composition after another.



Paradise Hotel opens with the hook-laden "Borderline," with Mike Hardwick's electric guitar affording the bleak lyrics an oddly warm country ambience, though this is not, strictly or even broadly speaking, a country tune. Written in a style reminiscent an old folk ballad, "Jedidiah 1777" movingly relates the true story of a Gilkyson ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War.



Perhaps the stand-out cut, though, is the hard-driving, blues-drenched, impassioned "Man of God," whose target is not hard to discern. The song opens: "The cowboy came out of the west/with his snakeskin boots and his big war chest."It goes on from there.Lovers of the current regime in the White House will not be pleased, but the rest of us will see that if American leadership in the early 21st Century has done nothing else, it has done wonders for the old-fashioned folk-protest song.

Posted on September 5, 2011

Lisabeth Fuerbringer says...

I first saw Eliza Gilkyson at a SXSW showcase in Austin in the late 90s. She blew me away then -- it was right before "Hard Times in Babyon" came out -- and every CD she's released since then has exceeded the one before. "Paradise Hotel" continues her winning streak, and works on so many levels: highly listenable right away and very satisfying on a melodic/groove level, but the song lyrics yield deeper riches every time I tune in and pay closer attention. Searching for words to describe how much I love this CD, I googled for reviews and found this one from the Austin Chronicle. I couldn't agree more....



"Neither life nor love has spared Eliza Gilkyson its sharp edges, even if the muses have blessed her bountifully. She bore her wounds with style and grace on 2000's Hard Times in Babylon...and the acclaimed Lost and Found (2002). Last year's Grammy-nominated Land of Milk and Honey was filled with blood tears for losses redeemed and the dead remembered. It's with great relief and comfort, then, to hear Paradise Hotel and feel the new, soft skin as old scars heal. This new offering in her contemporarily flawless oeuvre is tender and cathartic to the point of jubilation, brimming with radio-polished tunes ("Is It Like Today," "Bellarosa") and exquisite traditional folk ("Jedidiah 1777"). Paradise Hotel is rife with nuances that distinguish its author's pen; on "Borderline," she hums "Whiter Shade of Pale" to her own melody. Gilkyson hasn't backed down from her hard-line political stance either. The album's showstopper is the third track, "Man of God," booming with authority and righteous rejection of the party line. With longtime producer/compadre Mark Hallman providing his intuitive and expert touch, the question then is not which of her albums is the best; it's how do you choose between silk and velvet?" 08/12/2005, Austin Chronicle, Margaret Moser

Posted on September 5, 2011

Camila Zelechowski says...

I would have paid twice as much for this CD just to hear the song, "Requiem." It is so deeply moving, and departs rather radically from Gilkyson's other pieces on this lovely compilation. she has almost single-handedly reawakened my devotion to Mary, Mother of God, after a long stint as an anti-Catholic evangelical (you know those Catholics aworshipin Mary and idolizin bread). By far the most evocative image comes in these haunting words: "Funeral fires burning/ each flame to your mystery returning." No truer expression of Mary's perfect capacity to calm her children's fears has ever been made--for through her own immeasurable suffering she has become Mother to us all. This hymn manages to raise us into rare airs and hallowing fires, while nevertheless cradling our clay hearts in the shelter of her maternal care. Gilkyson's own motherly nurture becomes a vehicle for her empathic outpouring of compassion--she ministers to us in this song with such authentic grace no doubt by reflecting on her love for her daughter, who sings the soprano accompaniment in the backround. This is truly one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. Thank you Eliza!

Posted on September 5, 2011

Elvie Bostick says...

I agree with another reviewer here who has noticed that Eliza Gilkyson just keeps getting better and better.I have loved her music ever since I first heard her sing "Calling All Angels" (not the Jane Siberry song, but a Gilkyson original with the same title) in the 1980's.With a voice somewhere between the velvet-smoothness of a Jennifer Warnes and the grittier edges of a Lucinda Williams, Ms. Gilkyson does few covers of other songwriters' work, since her own compositions are more than enough to carry an entire album.Having just said this, I'm particularly fond ofthe one song on this CD not at least co-written by Eliza, "Is It Like Today" (by Karl Wallinger and Edmond De Vere), with its addicting, melodic hook line, "...how could it come to this, yeah I really want to know about this..." However, this latest collection of songs may be Eliza Gilkyson's crowning achievement as a songwriter, thus far, and fans of great contemporary "folk" music who, for one reason or another have managed to miss ever hearing this artist (she certainly deserves greater fame), would do well to start with this latest CD.It's hard to pick favorites, as this is all so good.I love the tunes to "Borderline" and "Think About You."Now, with the horrible disaster of Hurricane Katrina, "Calm Before the Storm," already a strong piece, acquires even greater poignancy.Throughout this album, Gilkyson's band is spot on, and provides more than ample support for Eliza's expressive voice.What is perhaps Gilkyson's greatest strength is her ability to grab the listener with a strong melody first; then she moves in for the kill with devastating lyrics.Whether her words are political, as with the angry "Man Of God," or personal, as in "Think About You," repeated listenings reveal deeper layers of meaning.Throughout her career, Eliza's poetry has used lots of Christian imagery and symbolism, but she is no religious extremist.Her music is spiritual in the deepest sense, and her songs resonate with compassion, an understanding of the human condition, and a love for life.Do you like Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch or Dar Williams? Buy this record.You will not be disappointed!For further listening, seek out the CD "Pilgrims," which may be out of print, and 1997's "Redemption Road.""Pilgrims" is lovely, but it also reveals how far Eliza Gilkyson has come since then; her poetry was like that of a talented schoolgirl, as compared with the artistry of the world-wise woman of today."Redemption Road" is my second-favorite album by this artist (the latest being my pick for The Best), closely followed by her Red House CD, "Hard Times In Babylon."

Posted on September 9, 2011

Austin Murty says...

Being from Austin, I get to hear Eliza on the radio all the time.The title track is why I bought the CD, but I am amazed by every track.Almost every one brings a chill to my spine and a tear to my eye every time I play it.Mike Hardwick is the best guitarist in Austin.The harmony vocals are hauntingly beautiful. (If you're a musician, download the sheet music for Requiem from her website.)Exquisitely packaged, this album should finally bring Eliza the national acclaim that she deserves.

Posted on September 16, 2011