2010 debut album from this side project formed by Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody and featuring members of R.E.M. and Belle & Sebastian. Tired Pony began life as a doodle in Lightbody's jotter. During idle moments on Snow Patrol's year-long tour for a Hundred Million Suns, Gary began writing songs for this imaginary band having earlier in the year hinted at his ambition to form a Country band. Forward to January 4th 2010, a cast of characters assembled at Portland's Type Foundry; from the extended Snow Patrol family there was Troy Stewart, the band's guitar technician, Iain Archer, long-time Snow Patrol associate and collaborator, Richard Colburn, the renowned drummer with Belle & Sebastian, and producer Garret 'Jacknife' Lee, who brought in Tired Pony's final two members, Peter Buck from R.E.M. and Scott McCaughey, the Seattle musical polymath who's been R.E.M.'s full-time auxiliary member since 1994. Tired Pony were joined by a number of guest contributors including M. Ward, his She & Him partner Zooey Deschanel (who sings harmony on "Get on the Road") and Tom Smith of Editors, who sings lead vocal on "The Good Book".
T**E
Mesmerizing
A mesmerizing CD. I have utmost appreciation for frontman Gary Lightbody and have listened to much of his back catalogue, starting with his earliest days of Snow Patrol, then onto his Reindeer Section side project, and up to present day including Tired Pony and more recent Snow Patrol work.I wouldn't characterize this as Americana, just well-written, likable, and -- at times -- ethereal music. It's marked by Lightbody's expressive voice (he's got the Celtic crooner thing down; even my husband has a man-crush), vivid characters, and rich lyrics. He's a poet of the highest order. Although it has not been described as autobiographical in the least, I do think the music reflects that Lightbody is thinking about new themes in his music, or at least thinking about love, loss and longing in other ways.There are lots of good moments on this album, my favorites include "Get On the Road", "Northwestern Skies", and "That Silver Necklace" -- the latter of which includes such lyrical gems as: "I can read the signs, read your mind, read your lips, read your diary."
S**T
When the sum of the parts is greater than the whole
Take one part lovely Irish singer, Gary Lightbody, who has explored music through various permutations of "Snow Patrol," generously mix the spiritual lyrical mandolin of Peter Buck, season liberally with guest singers such as Tom Smith and Zooey Deschanel, bring together some of the finest musicians to elevate the vocals, and you have musical synergy.This collection of songs is amazing: each one seems connected to the others - much like REM has always done quite successfully. I find myself listening to the album from beginning to end over and over - something that hasn't happened since "Carolina Liar's" debut album. I even bought the CD because the mp3 version lacked depth, richness, and tonal quality. This was the first CD I had bought in over 4 years. Maybe the CD isn't dead after all.I hope they decide to tour and do at least one more CD. The blending of contemporary and folk produce music that is so soothing and uplifting. I would love to hear more.
M**E
I'm not running from it
Giving this CD a 3-star rating doesn't mean I don't like it, it only means I really enjoyed about half of the pieces on it. If you remember buying the old vinyl albums (making a come-back now), for one or two songs you had to hear at least 50 times a day, and realizing the bulk of the music didn't quite make the grade, well, this isn't like that! It's certainly worth buying, and enjoying, and most people seem to be happier with more of the songs than I was, so . . . happy listening.
M**L
The Place We Ran From.....and one I would love to run to!
An exceptional album by the notorious Gary Lightbody of SNow Patrol, Tired Pony is his latest side project which hopefully they will do a proper tour of the new album coming in the spring. This album is such a different album from Gary, it cuts you to the soul and it cuts deep, I can barely listen to this album without tears pouring at some point! Such in incredible album by a very gifted man and a great group of accompanying musicians!
J**.
A gorgeous album!
A friend of mine who is also into Snow Patrol recommended this recording, and I am so glad he did. From the very first listen, I just loved it. It's a bit like Snow Patrol meets (early) REM. The vocals are amazing, the guitar-work excellent, and I have to think that Gary Lightbody must be one of the best songwriters alive today. I can not believe that this album hasn't received much airplay on college radio & SiriusXM. The music is a bit "lighter" than the typical Snow Patrol record, but Lightbody's signature is clear, as well as Peter Buck's. So it's a little more acoustic than Snow Patrol, but the songs are so good (all of them) that I believe this record can be enjoyed by people who are into rock and into acoustic singer-songwriter stuff.
A**N
Good album
I have long been a huge Snow Patrol fan. When I heard Gary had this band, I was excited to check it out, but didn't expect a whole lot. It was much better than expected. They don't have the same sound as Snow Patrol, but you can hear the influence that Gary brings to them. Definitely worth checking out.
P**T
Nice album, if you like Snow Patrol, you will like this
Similar to Snow Patrol, but a little different. Nice album. Songs sung by lead singer of Snow Patrol, with other singers mixed in on other songs. One you can pop in and crack a bottle of wine and just chill.
P**E
Tired Pony
I have been a fan of this group from their beginning. Gary Lightbody is a great singer and group leader. You can't miss with this Band.
M**A
Muss man unbedingt hören.....
..nicht mehr und nicht weniger..einfach schön :-)) ..in die Welt der Musik und Gefühle abzutauchen..bin froh, diese CD zu haben
C**I
great cd
great cd
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