Kathleen Edwards - Asking for Flowers
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Free Music Notes for Asking for Flowers
Free Music Review: Best of 2008? Truly a masterpiece
Hit: 5 Stars
I think that "Failer" was one of the best debut albums of the last 10
years. I don't find that I listen to "Back To Me" very much, and I
wondered whether maybe the first album would stand as the best of
Kathleen's career.
I did not know what to expect with "Asking for Flowers". I'd read in
No Depression that Kathleen had experimented a bit more, and I did
not find that particularly appealing, frankly.
The first couple of spins did not catch my attention. I didn't hear
any song which had a hook that caught me.
But somewhere along the line, this CD really started to get to me.
It's alternately poignant and humorous--take the juxtaposition
of 'Alicia Ross', a haunting, true story about the murder of a young
girl, with 'I Make The Dough, You Get the Glory" with its already
classic "You're the great one, I'm Marty McSorley" line. That one
will resonate with Canadians and hockey fans.
'Buffalo' is tremendous, 'The Cheapest Key' is straight ahead, no-
nonsense, no-message rock. 'Scared at Night' is beautiful.
This album has it all--poignant lyrics, great rock, catchy hooks and some nice humor. Truly a keeper--and a masterpiece.
Anyway, if you ask me, this one is a classic and leads my 'Best of
2008'.
Rick V
vosmo
(Please note--no mention of 'Neil Young' or 'Lucinda Williams' in the above review!)
Free Music Review: Bullseye
Hit: 5 Stars
I could sum this review up in one sentence: "Asking for Flowers" is phenomenal and you should buy it. But then you'd ask, "Why?" and I'd have no way of answering. So the long version goes something like this...
No matter where you come from or what your life experience has been, there will be at *least* one track on Kathleen Edwards' latest offering "Asking for Flowers" that will resonate with you. The haunting melancholy of "Buffalo". An achingly fond memory of a lost loved one inspired by "Scared at Night". A social conscience awakened by "Oh Canada" (which will *never* be confused with its better known namesake, "O Canada"). The wry, mildly caustic wit of "The Cheapest Key" or "I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory". (You have to love a girl who can work Marty McSorley into a lyric!) Maybe the wistful regret in the title track will be what speaks to you. But one thing is certain. No matter your usual taste, and really no matter your opinion on her first two efforts, *something* on this album will hit you right between the eyes.
With "Asking for Flowers", Edwards shakes off all of the comparisons that followed her through her first two albums. While references to Neil Young or Lucinda Williams are certainly complimentary -- and apt -- here Edwards stands on her own. Where she should have been all along.
Can't wait to hear what she does next.
Free Music Review: Worth the Wait
Hit: 5 Stars
I almost didn't give "Asking for Flowers" 5 stars, if only because I wasn't sure there was a way any follow-up album could compare to "Back to Me," which I think is still Kathleen Edwards' best work.
But on its own, this new release is terrific. "Alicia Ross" is moving, stunning, and yet somewhat numbing all at once. "Oh Canada" and "Cheapest Key" are more raw, and may need to grow on long-time KE listeners as they are a bit stronger-voiced than much of her library to this point. "I Make the Dough" should be on heavy rotation somewhere, and the McSorley line is pure genius.
Favorite song on the CD, ironically, is "Goodnight, California," on which Edwards probably sings the least. But her vocals combined with the long instrumental work are a priceless way to wrap up a listen to the whole album. "Oil Man's War" really picks up to a great pace.
Perhaps the only disappointment is that Edwards' cover of "Face in the Crowd" didn't make the CD, but that's being nit-picky. Overall, this is great stuff.
Free Music Review: The Perfect Melding of Heart and Head
Hit: 5 Stars
"Don't be like that," she sings in "Buffalo," the wonderfully orchestrated opening song from Asking for Flowers. The poinancy of her plea is evident in a voice that is at once beautiful and bereft. No one today can fashion lyrics with more honesty and insight than Canadian, Kathleen Edwards. Her songs, with indelible snapshot imagery, world-weariness, and masterfully produced music, generate in the active listener empathy, compassion and, for those who've been wounded by Love, unmistakable recognition. Like visiting a great museum, listeners will come away from Asking for Flowers with a heightened awareness of their hearts, and their sensibilities. Great Art will do this every time, for those willing to go deep enough to experience it. And they will be left feeling thankful that Kathleen Edwards, as she did in her previous releases (Failer and Back to Me), has once more gone deep enough to create her art for us. This is a great record by a profoundly talented singer-songwriter.Free Music Review: Exceptionally Brilliant Album
Hit: 5 Stars
I'd completely passed Ms Edwards' first two albums by, but took a chance on this one, based on Amazon reviews. One word: wow!
Not only is she a pretty good singer, but the songwriting on this album is everything it should be: fresh, wry, tender, clever (without being pretentious.) I immediately rushed out to buy her other two albums. And they're every bit as good.
Prior reviewers have done a proper job here, so I won't go into deconstructionist mode. But the clear debts to Neil Young and Tom Petty do not detract from this album in the least. She's working an original vein of thought in the style of proven successful bands, and doing it damn well. The standard of production is very high, without sounding like the usual glazed-over sessioneer hackwork.
My advice: Press Add To Cart. You'll be pleased you did.