Album Review: Todd Snider – Peace, Love, And Anarchy

Today saw the release of Todd Snider’s Peace, Love, and Anarchy (Rarities, B-Sides and Demos, Vol. 1). As the title suggests, the album is full of raw cuts consisting of vocals and the acoustic guitar with an occasional harmonica thrown in for good measure. Snider opens by dedicating the first song to his producer and a couple of half-hearted chuckles before breaking into an upbeat “Nashville” supported by the rapid strumming of the guitar.

Next up are a couple of decent songs in “Feel Like I’m Falling In Love” and “Missing You.” Snider’s voice possesses a raw grit that adds to the emotions of the songs. Jack Ingram joins Snider for another okay song, “Old Friend.” However, Snider really stands out on songs like “Combover Blues” in which he sings “this crap they play today is just way too loud / and rude” and the story songs like “Stoney.”

All in all the album was generally good, some songs were pretty bad, and maybe two or three could be considered borderline great, but you can’t really complain when the title clearly mentions that it’s full of b-sides and demos. If you’re a fan of Snider then Peace, Love, and Anarchy is worth picking up. Otherwise, I’d skip it as it’s probably not for those unfamiliar with Snider’s past work.

Buy from Amazon: Todd Snider – Peace, Love and Anarchy