A Place in the Sun

• Artist: Friends of Dean Martinez
• Rating:
• Release Date: February 22, 2000
• Total Time: 59:57
• Genre: Rock

Review

A Place in the Sun marks another departure for Friends of Dean Martinez, who travel further away from their somewhat kitschy-sounding early work with each following effort. On their second album for Knitting Factory, the band aims for -- and achieves -- the filmic expansiveness of Rachel's, the Dirty Three, and Godspeed You Black Emperor while retaining their essentially Southwestern sound. The results sound like the soundtrack to a spaghetti western set in modern-day Arizona, especially on the epic title track, which remains compelling yet subtle over its nine-minute duration. "White Lake"'s scorched guitars, "When You're Gone"'s simple, spacious folk, and the Bill Frisell-like cover of "Summertime" testify to the band's increasingly wide musical range, while the brooding "Broken Bell" (which features the Tosca String Quartet) reveals Friends of Dean Martinez's growing emotive power. "Siempre Que" and "Nothing at All" recall the group's loungey/retro roots, and song titles like "Aluminium" and "Pistola Agua" show they haven't lost their sense of humor, but A Place in the Sun deals more with their potential and ambitions than it does with their previous successes. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
A Place in the Sun	Bill Elm	Friends of Dean Martinez	(9:07)
White Lake		Friends of Dean Martinez	(3:38)
Siempre Que		Friends of Dean Martinez	(2:36)
When You're Gone		Friends of Dean Martinez	(3:00)
Summertime	Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward	Friends of Dean Martinez	(6:18)
Broken Bell		Friends of Dean Martinez	(4:57)
Nothing at All	Bill Elm	Friends of Dean Martinez	(4:12)
Aluminium		Friends of Dean Martinez	(6:03)
Pistola Agua		Friends of Dean Martinez	(5:59)
Broken	George Reynolds	Friends of Dean Martinez	(2:12)
Another Place in the Sun		Friends of Dean Martinez	(11:55)

Credits

Bill Elm (Engineer), Buzz Moran (Engineer), Bill Elm (Percussion), Mike (Guitar (Electric)), Ames Asbell (Performer), Tom (Percussion), Bill Elm (Theremin), Mike Semple (Guitar (Electric)), Leigh Mahoney (Performer), Bill Elm (Pedal Steel), David Bias (Design), Todd Cole (Still Pictures), Sara Nelson (Performer), Tom Larkins (Percussion), Mike Semple (Guitar (Nylon String)), Dave Lachance (Drums), Dave (Drums (Snare)), Lara Hicks (Performer), Bill Elm (Guitar (Electric)), Bill Elm (Bass), Bill Elm (Harmonium), Bill Elm (Guitar (Nylon String)), Tosca String Quartet (Strings), Bill Elm (Guitar (Baritone)), Jerry Tubb (Mastering)