Anchors & Anvils (Dig)

Amy LaVere | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 15, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Archer Records
• ASIN: B000OZ2D3S
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,012 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars diamond covered guns are a girl's best friend, June 1, 2007

By 

ARM (Mississippi) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anchors & Anvils (Dig) (Audio CD)

Buy this album and fall in love with Amy Lavere. In recent years almost every emerging female vocalist who can write, compose, and manage to maintain artist integrity is immediately compared to Norah Jones. Most often, this turns out to be nothing more than a compliment to the artist who almost hit the mark; however, Amy Lavere has blown everyone else out the water with this album. Just like Norah Jones did several years, Amy Lavere has taken a genre of music and made it her own in Anchors and Anvils. Instead of drifting beside you in the glow of love as Jones does so well, Lavere pulls a stool up next to you, buys you a shot of something strong and tells you her story. Her sound is phenomenal. Her musical talents are as brazen and sexy as her evocative lyrics. She is jazz, country, and blues all rolled into one very talented musician and writer. This is the album that you've been waiting to hear. She is one to watch.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever and quirky songs, October 5, 2007

By 

Smallchief - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Anchors & Anvils (Dig) (Audio CD)

Amy Lavere's second CD is just as good as her first, and may show a bit more range in her song choice. The gypsy violin is superb and prominent on many of these country-rock-cabaret-jazz-songs. Amy sings and plays a stand up bass.

Lavere has a little-girl, ingenue voice that sounds oh-so-vulnerable, but with a touch of cynicism and humor. "Killing Him" has a hard driving rhythm line. I heard it on NPR and it first attracted me to Lavere. "Tennessee Valentine" has echoes of "Tennessee Waltz." The lyrics are great on all the songs: "Sitting in the dark at night, listening to the washing machine, wishing she could leave, but she had so many loads to clean." I wish they had printed the lyrics.

"Cupid's Arrow" is the funniest, edgy-ist song on the CD: "Like a sniper with a rocket...you gotta learn to shoot first if you aim to kill." Lavere is a bit dark, a bit tongue-in-cheek, and always original.

Smallchief

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great new talent, June 7, 2007

By 

Robert - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Anchors & Anvils (Dig) (Audio CD)

I'm enjoying this album. How many people sing while playing stand-up bass? How many women play stand-up bass at all? Here is all of the above which is kind of neat, and LaVere also writes to boot.

I can see the comparisons to Nora Jones, but she also reminds me of Lucinda Williams, and other times like the female vocalist who was (is?) in the Squirrel Nut Zippers. However, she really sounds like none of them, they're just elements one can pick out. She's more entertaining and less torchy than Nora and less country than Lucinda. Or you can just listen to the samples and decide for yourself.

Her bass playing is not virtuosic but it's solid and supportive of the rest of the band which often cooks. It's not a mere gimmick.

I also like her writing. Five of the cuts are LaVere originals. No one would compare her with Joni or Ani here, but the songs are catchy and hooky. I especially like the first cut, "Killing Him," which is the story of a domestic murder with the tag line "Killing him didn't make the love go away."