Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me

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OK, so you all know I've been unable to assess the musical greatness or otherwise of Ms. Newsom due to the striking similarity between her voice and that of iconic 70s sock-puppet Lambchop.

However, I decided to give her another try recently by checking out tracks from her last album Have One On Me, and oh my goodness - I think I've got it! I have absolutely fallen in love with some of the songs I've been listening to, because her voice doesn't seem to be getting in the way it did before. I've read some stuff on fanboards about her changing her vocal style because of problems with throat nodules? Whatever the reason, I think it's a vast improvement and now the extraordinary beauty and poetry of her songwriting is reaching me in a big way. This is just amazing, the most affecting song I've heard for years:




She's some writer! I'm curious to hear what you all think of this album, if you've heard it. I'm debating whether to buy the album or just individual tracks, because it's a huge record, 3 discs I think. Is it all this good?

[wirbel]

I really adore the latest album, but so far I've only really listened to part 1 of 3; it takes me a long time to get to know all the songs of these three combined albums. My instant favourite was 81; such a nice song and the lyrics are great and indeed the way she changed her singing her makes it much more accessible.

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Wirbel! Great to see you on the board again!

'81 is a fantastic song, I can't stop listening to it. Thanks for the feedback, I can imagine that you would need to take your time with this record and get to know it disc by disc - I've decided to go ahead and treat myself to it later this month, I get paid just before my birthday so it'll be my little treat.

She's really quite an amazing writer and musician. I've read a couple of interviews with her, she seems incredibly bright.

[sound world]

3 discs? cripes.
I never got round to listening to 'Ys' properly because there was so much of it. Even when it's somebody I really like, like Tom Waits, my heart sinks when they release a 3-disc set. I'm just not sure if I have the time or attention-span to do it justice. (It's different with classical/jazz, because I expect to give it serious attention for long timespans. So I'll happily digest one of Keith Jarrett's ten-disc sets, for example ).

With 'The Milk-Eyed Mender', I found that there were three or four tracks that really stood out, so I've put those on my iPod and the rest sit on the shelf until I find the time/attention-span to revisit the whole album. I would think it's the same with the latest one. For me it's about music, and I love her harp-playing. I didn't know she'd had problems with vocal nodes; her timbre is so like a young girls' that there must be something odd going on in her vocal cords...

I would think you'd have a great time with her words, Beth, which are pretty left-field.

Oh, and by the way, great to see you back here, Wirbel, I thought something must have happened to you!!

[sound world]

Wow, great words on '81', beautiful ! and nice to hear her harp playing in 3/4 once again.

Hmm, OK, *sigh*, better investigate this 3-disc set. This morning I got a 5-LP box set of Musica Reservata, my favourite Early Music group, and a couple of days ago a 6-CD set of Vanni-Marcoux, a legendary French baritone....

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I would think you'd have a great time with her words, Beth, which are pretty left-field.

Absolutely, this is invariably what pulls me into an artist's work and she is a genuinely interesting and gifted writer, from what I've seen so far.

[blue]

Wow, great words on '81', beautiful !

'The unending amends you've made are enough for one life. Be done.' Seriously, made me cry. You know sometimes things just hit you right in the solar plexus.

Hmm, OK, *sigh*, better investigate this 3-disc set. This morning I got a 5-LP box set of Musica Reservata, my favourite Early Music group, and a couple of days ago a 6-CD set of Vanni-Marcoux, a legendary French baritone....

Consider yourself blessed! At least you can afford to have lots of music to explore.

[RobB]

I only have Joanna's debut and Peach Plum Pear is still my favourite.

[blue]

Well that just confirms that it was her voice that prevented me from getting into the music, because while I adore that song musically and lyrically, I *cannot* bear the singing! It totally gets in the way of the song, which is very frustrating. I wonder if I'd find live versions of her earlier work more palatable, if she's performed them since her singing style changed?

Isn't it strange how one element of a piece of work can affect your perception of it to that degree.

[wirbel]

Isn't it strange how one element of a piece of work can affect your perception of it to that degree.

I guess that happened to Stina quite a lot... Allthough I've been playing it a lot at work, also some of Joanna's latest and I never got any remarks from people that they found the voices awkward or annoying. I did get one person saying lately that Joanna sounds like Kate Bush of course...

and yea, I was away too long. Sometimes I quit things for a while. I'm glad to see you all in good shape

[paul-pgss]

Good to see you back online Wirbel. What's up with the location? You're now based in Sweden?

[wirbel]

Hej Paul; thanks! I didn't relocate, just bought a second house there to spend as much time as possible in my favourite area

And to see if Stina has a hidden cabin around somewhere...