![]() It has the feel of two old friends just getting together and playing some songs, joining in where they feel like it, and it all working out seamlessly. There are no fancy arrangements or intricate harmony workings here, just the song basics and the both of them singing together on all the songs. The new songs are good basic 'Americana' songs. To me, what is great about this collaboration (and this show) is its very simplicity. And this show is a good intro to the album, as they perform all the songs from the album, some additional covers, but only a select few of their own solo songs they are most known for (So, those wanting a normal Colvin OR Earle show, may be disappointed). ![]() But that is missing the point of the collaboration completely, in that it isn't supposed to be a Shawn Colvin album or a Steve Earle album, this is Colvin & Earle, a whole different entity, and it is a delight to hear the two of them singing together on their new shared songs and the selected covers they do. The album has received a somewhat mixed reception so far, mainly by fans of each of these veteran songwriter-performers concerned that this combined effort does not sound like or is as good as their respective solo work. Here are 2 renowned singer-songwriters, from seemingly very different styles and backgrounds joining forces to produce an album of new songs (some jointly written, some covers). It’s one for the ages.Here's Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle in a recent show from their current joint 'Colvin & Earle' Tour, promoting their just-released new album together. The image of a middle-aged woman laid bare in These Four Walls isn’t one for the industry. Reviewing These Four Walls, the Washington Post said, “The emotions fueling the lyrics are more complex and more mature than anything she’s offered previously. Since joining Nonesuch, Colvin has racked up the accolades. ![]() Aside from the occasional “thank you,” Colvin avoids between-songs patter-though she manages a funny, memorable retort to an audience member’s joking request for “Free Bird” at encore time. Her deft acoustic-guitar playing is as eloquent in this unadorned setting as her vocals and her lyrics, which are stripped of sentimentality but stocked with hard-earned wisdom. The simplicity of Colvin’s performance makes for an engrossing, intimate experience. She ends on a sweeter, more hopefully romantic note with a version of Talking Heads’ “This Must Be the Place,” which she made her own years ago on the 1994 Cover Girl collection.Ĭolvin culled these 15 tracks from three sold-out nights at the new San Francisco location of famed Oakland jazz club Yoshi’s in July 2008. Along with original songs from five studio albums, Colvin performs covers of Robbie Robertson’s “Twilight” and Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.” With the latter, she transforms what was a funky, sing-along smash into something dark, brooding and bluesy-and she performs it with utter conviction to a rapt audience. ![]() The three-time Grammy Award–winning singer-songwriter combines material from two decades’ worth of recordings and makes it all sound even more deeply insightful and compellingly up to date, recent songs like “Fill Me Up,” the yearning opening track of These Four Walls, and the tougher, bleaker “I’m Gone,” seem as much like old favorites now as “Sunny Came Home,” Colvin’s career-making Top 40 success, and “Shotgun Down the Avalanche,” from her 1989 major-label debut, Steady On. This new live solo set reconfirms that feeling. “I’ve been doing this a long time,” declared Shawn Colvin upon the release of her 2006 Nonesuch debut, These Four Walls, “and it’s great to feel like I’m doing my best work now.” ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |