I think part of my problem with Elsie is that it closes with I Believe Jesus and Joey and both are so slow and non-melodic and I just don't really like either one. And right before that is Blood Loss which I do very much like, but not as much as the rest of the album. Tracks 2-10 are pretty incredible, although Cherry Blossoms is awfully slow in the middle there. Every other BF album in my opinion is more consistently great the whole way through than this one. Again, I know I'm in the minority and I'm good with that, I'm glad others think it's the best one.
To sum up - 3 of my least favorite BF songs ever come from this album. That doesn't mean I don't love the rest of it though, it just makes it a little less consistent than all the others.
elsie is probably the second best thing he's done and cherry blossoms might be the best song he's written
"Joey" isn't really part of the album though, is it? Not being an ass, I genuinely can't remember now, but I thought that was just a cover song that they did. "I Believe Jesus Brought Us Together" is definitely the weakest song on Elsie, but I don't strongly dislike it or anything, it's just that the rest of the album is so goddamn great. The live version from their live album at the Troubadour is pretty awesome.
I hear you, that is a valid point, but the way I have these albums sequenced I keep the B-Sides or deluxe tracks on there and that's how I listen to them. But fair point
Outside of everything else, but when I was going through Chemo, idk why but Blood Loss was a song I could really escape into for a second. I know it's super not what the song was about but that song and 1930 both continuously have my heart for very different reasons lol
sugar, go tell everybody and cherry blossoms are the best elsie tracks, i witnessed a crime is easily the worst
I used to think Elsie is the best thing he's done (outside of Gaslight at least) but now idk I think I may prefer Local Honey at this point in my life; it's so gorgeous and a really great fully realized work of art in my opinion. The highs on Elsie are still absolutely incredible but songs like Mary Ann, Go Tell Everybody, Crush I don't find myself really ever in the mood to revisit (I could listen to songs like Sugar, Behold the Hurricane, Cherry Blossoms, and Ladykiller every day for the rest of my life though).
I didn't love Local Honey at first but I realized at some point that I never got the chance to listen to it the way I typically do a new BF album because it was during Covid and I was stuck at home and out of my usual routine. When I finally went deep on it, it really worked for me. Still a tad short though at 8 songs though which makes it hard to compare to regular length albums. It's really just barely longer than an EP
Yeah it is really short, but I love that there's no filler because of that but yeah I get it. I bought the vinyl really early on in the pandemic and it felt like it was a constant companion getting me through the days so I think I have a really strong emotional connection to it. I would listen to it everyday while having coffee (I also have a strong emotional connection to Elsie which was in the wake of a horrible break up). Brian rules lol
After listening to the three solo records today, I think @phaynes12 is right: this is the best one. Those three songs at the end really put it over the top. "Hard Feelings," man. That one hits.
Hard Feelings is one of the greatest songs he’s ever written, I feel that way about open all night on Painkillers too