A Year In the Wilderness

i saw x twice once on tour with warren zevon and acoustically(unclogged) the man lives every note and lyric he plays and sings give it up for the man he still writes from the heart and continues to keep a free spirit alive buy this album if you are a musician take note song writing is a dying art look at trashville as hank III would say peace out cub scouts

I first heard John Doe on the Black Snake Moan soundtrack. Loved his voice and bought A Year in the Wilderness. I crank it up when driving, cleaning house, painting... or when ever I want driving energy, insightful lyrics, and wailing guitars. Love it! Keep rockin' John, a new fan!

A friend from Eatsren Europe asked me what it means to be American...I told her it means that you have to buy every John Doe/X album ever produced. A Year in the Wilderness, put simply, is American Music writ large.

"The Golden State" alone is worth buying. John Doe is a wonderful songwriter in addition to being a good actor. He stands the test of time.

For anyone who gets chills hearing Johns voice, this cd is a must. And if you haven't yet, you will listening to this! It's a little more "country" than I usually go, but we're not talking Kenny Chesney here. Meanest Man in the World has such a Johnny Cash quality to it it's almost scarey. Just buy it...you won't be disappointed.....and I'll definately be at the show at TT the Bears!! Can't wait!!

From the rollicking rhythm of “There’s a Hole” to the breathtakingly soft intensity of “Grain of Salt,” from the seductive and bluesy “Big Moon” to the “hauntingly” punkish “Hotel Ghost, “A Year in the Wilderness” contains all of the elements that have made John Doe one of America’s greatest (although often underappreciated) singer/songwriters: poetic lyrics, vocal intensity, and well-chosen guests. No one expresses the possibility, the longing and the loss of the landscape of love better than Doe. Like the wilderness, Doe’s landscape is striking— awe-inspiringly beautiful and able to make us feel connected to each other and the world while it resonates with a sense of isolation. This album features some of Doe’s best writing to date, yet even when he makes use of a familiar phrase his delivery is transformative. No where is this clearer than in “The Golden State” where Doe uses phrases so familiar they have become clichés and transforms them in to a unique and powerful revelation about the complex nature of relationships through the alchemy of his delivery. This album is a must have for long time Doe fans and a wonderful introduction to his work for those discovering him for the first time.

Me and my girl saw you @ Maxwell's in Hoboken this last tour. My girl Abigail was really taken with you as she has been a fan forever. I almost wanted to smack you when you gave her a hug. How can I compete with the great John Doe? I can't write a song to help me but I CAN kick your butt. Alls good and so is this record.

The thing about this album is that it suits any mood. Whether you're melancholy, angry, happy, light-hearted, stuck in traffic, up late at night, on the way to work, even sleepy - it's always a good listen. While essentially guitar-driven rock, it also contains traces of punk and even country and folk in a way that doesn't call attention to the style being used but serves only to move the songs along. Stand-out tracks for me are Lean Out Yr Window, Meanest Man, and Hotel Ghost, but there's no filler on the album (except perhaps The Wilderness). There are few other albums I would rate 5 stars but this is a solid 5. In fact, I've never even written a review before, but A Year in the Wilderness spurred me to action. Hope everyone else enjoys it as much as me!

l'll eat a bug if this cd is not at the top of the "Year's Best" lists. John's a bloody genius... Plain and true...bloody genius.

This album has kick-started my summer ("The Golden State" is a perfect song, made more perfect with the inclusion of Kathleen Edwards... The line "I am on the tip of your tongue" makes me daydream about having sex in the lifeguard tower at Trail #3). John Doe remains the standard by which I measure all other men, which is why I am a lesbian.