Bittertown

Lori McKenna | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 11, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Signature Sounds
• ASIN: B0001Z4PGE
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #194,420 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Boston Globe

"No songwriter today is more uncompromisingly, even harrowingly intimate than Lori McKenna".

Product Description

This songwriter and mother of four, who lives a stones throw from the town she grew up in, doesn't fit into any stereotype. She's garnered comparisons to Lucinda Williams, Bruce Springsteen, Dashboard Confessional, and Roseanne Cash. Her songs, as solid as Georgia oak, are played and sung with an emotional grit under the nails that comes from digging in life's mundane and less illuminated holes. These songs grab you with Lori's signature strident, soulful, and unapologetic vocals sharing earnest observations and stories of growing up and growing old, of loves and losses, winners and losers, guns and god, and drinkers and dreamers in a town that is resting uncomfortably between its blue collar roots and modern suburbia. Incapable of artifice, Lori McKenna speaks of the bitter and the sweet, but doesn't simply write songs, she documents her life, and in turn ours, in word and melody. Meet Lori McKenna and welcome to Bittertown

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's early, but this is album of the year, September 9, 2004

By 

twoodburn - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bittertown (Audio CD)

Four words: Album of the Year. Why this artist is still under the radar is beyond me. Maybe raising 5 kids while you are a recording/touring musician creates some logistical difficulties. "Bittertown" is nearly flawless. Kudos to the fine team of musicians and producer, Lorne Entress. Anyone with a love of Lucy Kaplansky, Roseanne Cash, Nanci Griffith, Lucinda Williams should FLIP over this album. Lori sings and plays as if this is her last chance to record an album. Solid songcraft, subtle and rich dynamics and the upbeat rockin' songs leave everything out there, no holding back. I can only hope more people hear this album and discover the pure genius of Lori McKenna's work. 5 BIG stars for this one.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard Times Again, October 14, 2004

By 

Lee Armstrong (Winterville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bittertown (Audio CD)

"Paper Wings & Halos" was a CD I found at a bargain basement price in a used bin. It was a revelation, amazing for its purity and sweetness. "Bittertown," as might be expected from the title, is a darker view, but elegant and still sweet with McKenna's melodic originality that puts her in a class with Lucinda Williams & Iris DeMent. Three of the tracks are my very favorites. "Just because you lie in his bed don't mean you mean the things you said; they marry young in these parts; they work the factory," she sings on "Bible Song" with a powerful vocal. This is a classic track. "Mr. Sunshine" is another of my favorites. Lori's alto is strong like Nanci Griffith's and wraps itself around the lyric, "You scare me more than the hard times; I know they're coming around again." "Pour" is another stellar track, more simplified in arrangement with Kevin Barry's lap steel guitar milking the country, "I don't know where my lover went, but I know he took the rent." All of the tracks on this set are consistently strong. McKenna's voice is riveting, her songwriting is stark and original, and the band backs her up like a fond embrace. This is best of the year quality. Bravo!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just Another Under-Appreciated Artist, August 8, 2004

By 

P. McDermott "[e-mail]" (Springfield, Va USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bittertown (Audio CD)

I enjoy reading other people's reviews of CDs and will often buy a CD based on a good review or a series of comments, but I rarely review CDs myself. I am really surprised to see the lack of reviews for this CD. Simply put, this is one of the best CDs of the past several years. I listen to a lot of Female singers, from the country-folk-alt-rock genre - I'm pretty sure I've tried them all - and Lori is my favorite.

And Bittertown is her best effort yet, a collection with great lyrics, imagery and mood, backed with equally impressive instrumentation and melodies. Dare I say Electic Nebraska! Best tracks include Lone Star, If You Ask, Monday Afternoon, Bible Song, One Kiss Goodnight and a few others....heck there are two only two weak tracks for my money. As an aside I have bought several copies for friends, something I rarely do since musical preferences are very personal.