Customer Reviews

Catching a Tiger

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

FINALLY! And yes it does deserve all caps. This album is so refreshing because the songs are so original and they are written so well. I agree with the previous reviewer in that she sounds kind of like Fleetwood Mac. I loved that group early on. But its not really her voice but the almost orchestral building to a crescendo of the songs that remind me of them. Only a few other bands, that I've heard, have this quality. I think of early U2 and Coldplay. I have some classical training and it is so great to hear modern music with actual quality to it. Buy this album!

Lyrically, tonally, and musically this album is one of the best I have heard in a while. It doesn't do much in terms of reinventing the genre, but Lissie breaths new life into the alt-rocker chick scene. She brings such a passionate resonance to her performance, that you can't help but feel yourself being affected.

In all honesty, this album speaks for itself. Just lay back in the sun with your headphones on and bathe in her warmth.

Grab your head phones ,turn them up, sit back in your recliner , close your eyes and get ready to be blown away by her vocals. Totally amazing! Can't wait to see her live.

Listening to Lissie's major label debut is a familiar experience, in that she's not the first artist to surrender the organic qualities of her roots in the process of aiming for a larger audience. Where her debut EP, Why You Runnin', turned deeply confessional moments into arresting outbursts of emotion, her follow-up feels forcedly written, sung and played. Where the debut offered the studio as a space in which Lissie could be heard singing, the album is filled with placeless overproduction that, aside from the quality of Lissie's voice, sounds disappointingly like other pop records on the market. The edginess that made Lissie's earlier vocals so magnetic is lost here as she's forced to compete with gratuitously busy arrangements; it feels as if the producers didn't trust her voice to keep listeners' attention.

The double-tracked "Stranger" does provide a clever modern twist on Buddy Holly and Bobby Fuller, but it's only a moment's respite from the album's banal guitar solos and pop-rock arrangements. The minutes of deep artistic accomplishment belong to the songs brought forward from the EP: "Little Lovin'," "Everywhere I Go" and "Oh Mississippi." On these, Lissie's voice is riveting, the arrangements build tension rather than volume, and the instruments create atmosphere rather than distracting complexity. Lissie's moving, gospel-based homage to the mother river is perfectly set to a sparse arrangement of piano, chorus and distant tambourine, and the spine-tingling emotion shot into lyrics like "danger will follow me, now, everywhere I go" are unmatched by any of the newer performances.

It's unclear whether Lissie felt the need to try something new, or her label wanted to produce something with a better shot at mainstream success. Rather than spending time developing a relationship with a sympathetic producer, the sessions shuffled their artist between Jacquire King, Bill Reynolds, Julian Emery and Ed Harcort, none of whom knew enough to lay back and let the power of Lissie's voice - and more importantly, the spaces she creates - lead the way. It's like hearing David Kahne's airbrush of the Bangles after having grown to love the raw folk-rock of their David Leon-produced debut EP - disappointing. Those new to Lissie may not miss the unique edges and earthen folkiness, but the breathtaking artistic force Lissie unleashed on Why You Runnin' hasn't been caught here. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

Some of the songs on this album are laid back and some are spirited, but I like each track for what it is. Nevertheless, I favor the more spirited of the songs over the other tracks. My two favorites are When I'm Alone and Worried About, both very spirited, emotional songs with great vocals and great accompaniment. I can really lose myself in When I'm Alone; listening to that song, it's as though her spirit is soaring and mine is soaring right beside her, which is somewhat ironic given the title, but that just makes it all the more interesting. If you enjoy listening to emotional, heartfelt music sung by female vocalists, you shouldn't miss this album.

This is a perfect example of how the big record labels like Sony/Columbia ruin music. Lissie's first EP release "Why you runnin" was on an obscure label and was hauntingly beautiful and filled with amazing vocals and a raw unprocessed acoustic sound. Truly something very special. So she get's noticed by Sony and they obviously feel she will sell better as a more mainstream pop artist. This is a very good pop recording and Lissie manages to make the pop offerings on this recording very good indeed, but the best songs on this recording by far are the songs that came from her original EP. The big record labels have been ruining music since the 1980's and while it has gotten better with all the indie label competition, they continue to do their formula approach to record making that mostly turns out garbage. This is a very good recording, but it could have been world class had Lissie added 5 more songs with the same style as her original EP. Go listen and judge for yourself.

I expect we'll be hearing more from this promising young artist based on this excellent debut effort. She covers a lot of musical ground and though it becomes obvious who her musical idols are, she brings a distinct mix and voice to pop music. Worth your consideration.

Lissie's latest CD, "Catching a Tiger," simply blew me away. I play it in my car daily and sing along with the lyrics. It's uplifting music for a dull boy in a frozen tundra of a land, for sure. Long live Lissie! I'm also so fortunate as to have caught her live in concert in Minneapolis (in February '11) in below zero weather.

Luckily, she played inside of a heated building, and I thoroughly felt warmth in my heart and spirit as I left the venue. Wondrously refreshing and down to earth sound. (She's most versatile, however, and does a great cover of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance"; an ironic choice of artist for her to cover, as the two are such opposites in appearance and style.)

I heard Lissie on one of the few true independent, non-satellite radio stations left on the planet. I instantly loved "In Sleep" and "Little Lovin'" and decided to take a chance on an unknown. She has a wonderful, throaty expressive voice, her songs have lots of rhythm and the closest comparison is KT Tunstall. The whole album is excellent, with additional songs that will soon become favorites. Our whole family of four loves Lissie!!

I absolutely love this album! I just wish I had found it sooner. Lissie is an amazing and talented artist, with a beautiful voice to match.