Paul Sachs
These Quiet Streets
© 2001 Paul Sachs (634479422348)
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Urban folk songs in the tradition of Harry Chapin and Springsteen. Songs about growing up in Manhattan, love and arson. One guitar and voice that create an intimate experience that is at times raw, funny and sad.
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“When it comes to voices, they don't come much more powerful than our old friend, Paul Sachs. He'd blow people away on a regular basis down at the old Fast Folk Cafe and he's still doing it.”
Acoustic Live Magazine
“Growing up on the Lower East Side of New York will either get a man killed or make him a survivor. Paul Sachs chose to become the latter. ...If the Greenwich Village folk scene ever kicks back into high gear as in the 60s, we’ll all be better served if Paul Sachs joins in and shares his tales with us. This is my request that he do just that.”
Derek Blackmon of Indie-Music.com
"His metaphors are so organically built, so subtly derived from the mis-en-scene of the song as to catch the listener unaware. One finds while distracted by the simple pleasures of a finger picked acoustic guitar and Paul's unshaven unapologetic vocal that the vast and crucial beauty of the song has crept in the back door. It is at its most emotional a buoyant affirmation of the joy and sorrow bled from a life well lived..."
Joe Forte of HomeGrownRadioNJ.com
Paul Sachs was born and raised on the Lower East Side of New York City and that's where he draws most of his material. Sachs survived a tough life and lived to tell the tale through songs. Growing up he discovered such artists as Harry Chapin, Springsteen, and of course Bob Dylan, which pushed him into the folk music circles of the city. His songs soon caught the attention of Jack Hardy and other area performers, and he was featured in Fast Folk Musical Magazine. One of his songs was eventually selected for inclusion in the Smithsonian Fast Folk collection. Sachs still lives on the Lower East Side, performing in various venues around the city. He has recorded two independent albums, both featuring often raw and seeringly personal songs of life and love on the mean streets.His fingerstyle guitar work and powerful voice combine to create mesmerizing vignettes of the city that has been the backdrop of his life. His new CD, The Refuge, will be available in July '09
reviews
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- author: Justine
A very poetic and moving songwriter and singer. Sometimes I even cry cause these songs really bring back to the feeling of old NYC.
Powerful, moving; at times, darkly wry
author: LAPowerful, moving; at times, darkly wry. Individually, the songs are distinctive, & never less than fine. As a cycle, this is stunning, the work of a finished artist. Outstanding lyrics, music, & performance.
heartbreaking and real, these are songs that had to be written
author: Tim RobinsonThese are such compelling and soulful songs, I don't know where to start. It's a "Nebraska" for the Lower East Side of New York City. There are moments, simple phrases, in these songs that just stop you cold and shake you. I love this stuff. Not a bell or a whistle in sight of the production either, just this big, sad voice and a clean, raw guitar. Then, there's the words. The words. TR
Incredible talent from the Manhattan streets
author: Jim KasprzakThis album captures the gritty side of Manhattan from the point of view of someone who was actually born and raised there, but at the same time, it has something to say to all of us. Mean Streets tells a tale of a neighborhood that becomes part of everyone who grew up there, and the inevitable feelings of loss that arise when you grow up and see how the place has changed (as have you). Obituaries and The Faith of Adeline Washington are tributes to the power of faith and optimism, viewed from just over the fantasy/reality border. And if you've ever seen one of those performers in the New York subways and wondered what goes through their minds as they're playing... Busking has the answer. My favorite song on the CD has to be The Boat, a beautiful glimpse inside a creative soul. Really there isn't a bad song on the CD! I've been on the acoustic music scene for years and this stands out above many, many others.
powerful lyrics and catchy tunes
author: Nadia SilberzteinWhen I heard this album, I thought to myself; why isn't this artist better known?! These songs are a rare combination of powerful lyrics and great music; I haven't hear a new artist I liked so well in ages.
- author: Linda Stewart
Paul Sachs – If you don’t know his name, you should. The songs sound like old familiar favorites, as the best songs always do. The artist lists Tom Waits, Harry Chapin and Bob Dylan as his musical influences, and you can definitely hear it in his music. Yet he has his own sound that is both gritty and melodic. When I play the CD, it’s like settling down to a wonderful story. I have never lived in New York, but the connotations are real to me. My two favorite songs are Mean Streets and 100 Proof. This CD is definitely worth a listen.
these songs are close to the city's heart ...
author: Alisa MalinovichThese Quiet Streets is so powerful it pulls me deeper and deeper into myself and into the city I love. As gentrification slowly erodes 'the architecture of what used to be' (and as renderings like Sex and the City threaten to co-opt Manhattan's image) we need more than ever to listen to Paul Sachs's New York. These are songs teeming with heart and heartbreak, written with uncompromising love, uncurbed honesty, and fierce intelligence. This is a New York layered with many hues of beauty and meaning; one that speaks to both irreparable loss and overwhelming joy.
Step out of line and stop to smell this one.
author: Joe Forte (Jojo Americano), HomeGrownRadioNJ.comHis metaphors are so organically built, so subtly derived from the mis-en-scene of the song as to catch the listener unaware. One finds while distracted by the simple pleasures of a finger picked acoustic guitar and Paul's unshaven unapologetic vocal that the vast and crucial beauty of the song has crept in the back door. It is at its most emotional a buoyant affirmation of the joy and sorrow bled from a life well lived and at its most intellectual a lesson in how to write a song.