Didn't He Ramble

Didn't He Ramble
Studio album by Glen Hansard
Released 18 September 2015 (2015-09-18)
Genre Folk, Rock, folk rock, alternative rock, indie folk, indie rock
Length 39:20
Label ANTI-, Epitaph
Producer Thomas Bartlett, David Odlum
Glen Hansard chronology
Drive All Night
(2013)
Didn't He Ramble
(2015)

Didn't He Ramble is the second studio album from Glen Hansard. Epitaph Records alongside ANTI- Records released the album on 18 September 2015. He worked with Thomas Bartlett and David Odlum, in the production of this album.[1] The album was nominated for Best Folk Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
AbsolutePunk[4]
American Songwriter[5]
Clash[6]
Classic Rock[7]
The Daily Telegraph[8]
Exclaim![9]
PopMatters[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
Under the Radar[12]

Awarding the album four stars at AllMusic, Mark Deming writes, "Didn't He Ramble shows that as a performer and a songwriter, Hansard can create powerful and satisfying work that's up to the standard he set with the Frames, and this is a step up from 2012's impressive but uneven Rhythm and Repose."[3] Hal Horowitz, giving the album four stars from American Songwriter, states, "Production by longtime collaborator Thomas Bartlett and ex-Frames member David Odlum is inviting, alluring and engaging. It pushes Hansard into his finest performances yet on originals that are haunting, poignant and beautifully conceived."[5] Allocating a nine out of ten rating on the album by Exclaim!, Matthew McKean regards, "Didn't He Ramble shimmers, saunters and charms; Hansard has never sounded so good."[9] Rating the album four stars for The Daily Telegraph, Marcus Chilton says, "On Didn't He Ramble, he brings his expressive voice and interesting lyric-writing to traditional-minded Irish ballads such as McCormack's Wall, while Her Mercy uses horns in a stirring soulful way. Paying My Way is a melodic beauty. Class."[8] Grading the album a B- for Consequence of Sound, Janine Schaults criticizes, "While it might not capture his energy, Didn’t He Ramble fully illustrates Hansard’s deep empathy."[13]

Haydon Spenceley, assigning an eight out of ten on the album on behalf of Clash, replies, "He might ramble sometimes, but his ramblings are like the songs of angels."[6] Putting an eight out of ten on the album from Classic Rock Magazine, Jo Kendall describes, "Hansard says of his emotional, spiritual and musical journey to complete this record. He’s succeeded. Ramble on, indeed."[7] Craig Manning, rating the album an eight and a half out of ten for AbsolutePunk, believes, "even in his least effective moments, though, it's impossible to ever doubt Hansard's honesty or conviction, and that level of trust he's earned with his listeners is what makes him one of the best songwriters living."[4] Giving the album a seven out of ten from Under the Radar, Matt Conner explains, "Ramble, perhaps more than any Hansard release, feels intimate and confessional, marked by encounters with grace and mercy and wrapped in lessons of loss and endurance."[12] Alexandra Fletcher, indicating in a seven out of ten review by PopMatters, responds, "He writes beautiful homages to love, and equally ornate eulogies to it, but this record feels less about heartache and more about introspection, patriotism, encouragement and healing—and it works."[10] Signaling in a three star review at Rolling Stone, Jonathan Bernstein recognizes, "Yet as the LP progresses, Hansard too often lapses into his trademark brooding melodrama — an easy fallback for a singer who's at his best, nowadays, when he's trying something new."[11]


Track listing

All tracks written by Glen Hansard. 

No. Title Length
1. "Grace Beneath the Pines"   3:31
2. "Wedding Ring"   4:47
3. "Winning Streak"   3:21
4. "Her Mercy"   4:46
5. "McCormack's Wall"   4:39
6. "Lowly Deserter"   3:02
7. "Paying My Way"   3:34
8. "My Little Ruin"   4:26
9. "Just To Be the One"   3:13
10. "Stay the Road"   4:01
Total length:
39:20

Chart performance

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] 24
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 42
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] 183
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 47
Irish Albums (IRMA)[18] 3
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[19] 14
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 31
US Billboard 200[21] 92
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[22] 16
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[23] 5
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[24] 15
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[25] 23

References

  1. AllMusic (18 September 2015). "Didn't He Ramble - Glen Hansard : Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  2. Metacritic (18 September 2015). "Critic reviews for Didn't He Ramble by Glen Hansard". CBS Interactive. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 Deming, Mark (18 September 2015). "Didn't He Ramble - Glen Hansard : Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  4. 1 2 Manning, Craig (18 September 2015). "Glen Hansard: Didn't He Ramble". AbsolutePunk. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  5. 1 2 Horowitz, Hal (18 September 2015). "Glen Hansard: Didn't He Ramble". American Songwriter. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  6. 1 2 Spenceley, Haydon (15 October 2015). "Glen Hansard - Didn't He Ramble". Clash. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  7. 1 2 Kendall, Jo (2 October 2015). "Glen Hansard: Didn't He Ramble". Classic Rock. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  8. 1 2 Chilton, Marcus (18 September 2015). "GLEN HANSARD: DIDN'T HE RAMBLE (ANTI RECORDS)". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  9. 1 2 McKean, Matthew (16 September 2015). "Glen Hansard Didn't He Ramble". Exclaim!. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  10. 1 2 Fletcher, Alexandra (17 September 2015). "Glen Hansard: Didn't He Ramble". PopMatters. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  11. 1 2 Bernstein, Jonathan (14 September 2015). "Glen Hansard: Didn't He Ramble Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  12. 1 2 Conner, Matt (8 October 2015). "Glen Hansard: Didn't He Ramble (ANTI-) Review". Under the Radar. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  13. Schaults, Janine (14 September 2015). "Glen Hansard – Didn't He Ramble". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  14. "Austriancharts.at – Glen Hansard – Didn't He Ramble" (in German). Hung Medien.
  15. "Ultratop.be – Glen Hansard – Didn't He Ramble" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  16. "Ultratop.be – Glen Hansard – Didn't He Ramble" (in French). Hung Medien.
  17. "Officialcharts.de – Top 100 Longplay". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  18. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 39, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA.
  19. "Dutchcharts.nl – Glen Hansard – Didn't He Ramble" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  20. "Swisscharts.com – Glen Hansard – Didn't He Ramble". Hung Medien.
  21. "Glen Hansard – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Glen Hansard.
  22. "Glen Hansard — Chart history". Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Glen Hansard. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  23. "Glen Hansard — Chart history". Billboard Folk Albums for Glen Hansard. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  24. "Glen Hansard — Chart history". Billboard Independent Albums for Glen Hansard. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  25. "Glen Hansard — Chart history". Billboard Top Rock Albums for Glen Hansard. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
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