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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Furnace Room Americana...Twangy Rockin'and Irresistible,
By
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This review is from: Furnace Room Lullaby (Audio CD)
What a CD! What a maverick performance!..dont let her ever get near Nashville..record company executives might find out that she really understands that traditional country sounds can be delivered in a new fresh and rocking way..that dont involve the santitized straight jacketed *pop* sounds of a Twain Hill or the like..it will cripple the country music establishment. Where did she come from?I hadnt heard of Neko Case before,I read a couple of reviews and bought this on impulse alone.If you are like me,and believe that country music can evolve from line dancing rural cringe and not end up like a production line of country pop divas,saying nothing more than dont leave me cos my dog died..this is your kind of CD,amen praise the Lord. Can you believe it!!!.. an intelligent emotional collection of gloriously rockin,twangy,heartfelt sensible songs sung by an ex drummer ex punk songstress with an exceptional set of pipes!!! Miss Case would have to be right up there with Shelby Lynn and Alison Moorer,as leading the way for the alternate fringe dwelling country movement that delivers interesting note worthy country for the mature adult. Every song on here is nothing if not an ambitous attempt to capture the history of country past,with a reverence to the style of Cline ,Jackson(Wanda)and dare I say it Springfield and Fitgerald(Ella)..and then it adds an adventureous touch of her own style. This Seattle songbird embarasses the Nashville phonys...big time!!!! Sure..there are flaws and there are some notes that are a little off..but I have no hestiation in saying that this CD is both an accessible bitter sweet melancholy journey and a feel good foot tapping delight...it is simply great!! From the excellent lyrics to the line up of her *boyfriends*,which pleasingly notes one Ron Sexsmith on acoustic guitar..this has a class above feel about it.She sings with a genuine emotion in the voice...it won me,I'm in heaven...you will be to if you like a true alternative to the same old same old being presented as *country*.From the opening bars of *Set Out Running*,through *Mood to Burn Bridges* to *Whip the Blankets* and*South Tacoma Way*and the haunting title track you are in for a delight. I am delighted with this impulse buy,it was worth every cent,,I give it 4 to 4.5..and I think it will get better every time I play it.I recommend you give it at least 4 or 5 plays to really appreciate the product.I do listen to country..and this is excellent...
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Country-Pop Perfection,
By elisa (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Furnace Room Lullaby (Audio CD)
The cover features a pic of a comatose Neko sprawled out on the gritty floor, red hair pooled around her, as if the victim of a dirty deed. The back features Neko looking guilty, crouching over the body of a knocked-out guy as she rifles through his wallet. Is it any wonder Nick Cave had her open for him on his 2002 North American tour?
Neko's music shares some similarities with Cave in its heartfelt intensity, haunting dark melodies, and occasional rip-roaring debauchery. They diverge at the line between soulful folk balladeer and soulful country pop, the difference between a Leonard Cohen-esque piano ballad and a twanging electric guitar. Neko's "Whip the Blankets" and "Mood to Burn Bridges" are countrified rockabilly rip-stompers. When she snaps "my mood to burn bridges is like my mood to dig ditches," you know you'd better not cross her for fear of ending up in one of those ditches. "South Tacoma Way" is a deeply heartfelt lament for a dead friend or partner that sounds too authentic not to be autobiographical. "Bought and Sold" is a loving but wry look at Neko's hometown of Tacoma, Washington, which has steadfastly resisted development and big-box stores for years. "God bless California, make way for the Wal-Mart," Neko sings, "I hope they don't find you, Tacoma." Then there's her voice. With Loretta Lynn twang, Patsy Cline throb, and Dusty Springfield soul, Neko has a voice big enough to fill a canyon. The album opener, "Set Out Running," is the most soulful country song about trying to outrun heartbreak that I've ever heard. When Neko belts out, "The springs inside the mattress will cry my dirty secrets; I just can't shake this feeling that I'm nothing in your eyes," it stops my heart every time. The gorgeous, haunting title track, "Furnace Room Lullaby," was featured on the soundtrack to the movie The Gift, with Cate Blanchett playing a spirit medium in the deep south, outwitting abusive boyfriends and vengeful ghosts. Neko's atmospheric song was a perfect choice. The lovely, weepy "Porchlight" is another cry-in-your-wineglass classic ("sorry to tread on your patience, my dear; my heart might be willing by this time next year; I can't make you wait `cause I long to be forgiven"). "No Need to Cry" harks back to Patsy Cline's romantic countrypolitan leanings of the late `50s/early `60s, and it's great to sing along with in the car. With her classic song structures and big voice, it's no surprise that Neko wrote a song about her influences. "Guided By Wire" tells of salvation through the radio, of the voices of songwriters and performers, new and old, who have influenced and guided Neko through her life and career. "Even in my darkest recollection," she sings, "there was someone singing my life back to me." Neko has been there for me in the very same way on many a road trip, hectic work commute, trip to the corner grocery.... Pop this CD in your car stereo and take Neko along for the ride. She'll provide some much-needed comfort on those hairpin turns, lonely roads to nowhere, and any time you need some soulful countrified pop to give more meaning to your day.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
some real nice modern honky tonk,
By Lanark (minneapolis, mn) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Furnace Room Lullaby (Audio CD)
You can't start to talk about Neko Case without first stating right out front that this lady has an incredible set of pipes. She can sing. It's like the best parts of Loretta Lynn mixed with the ballsier parts of Rose Maddox rolled into one package. I'm reminded of that Hank sr. quote about Rose and how she could sound like an angel one minute and like she just came out of a cathouse the next. Neko's got in spades. (She's to my ears just about the best country singer to come out of Canada since Hank Snow.) And this Cd showcases it all from torchsongs like "Twist the Knife" to barn burners like "Mood to Burn Bridges" (Althought the highlight for me is the incredibly sultry little "No Need To Cry") This isn't any of that prepackaged Nashville crud (I mean, if the Dixie Chicks sang the same but looked like Motorhead, do you think anybody'd listen?)or that too hip swing revivalist stuff in cowboy hats and shiny shirts. this is honky tonk. Music meant to be heard in a smokey bar with a glass of something in your hand. (having had that pleasure I can highly recommend it if she comes your way.)She sings it like she means it. Has an ace backing band (with Ron Sexsmith and the criminally under appreciated Evan Johns making appearances) and she just rocks. In a just world this woman would be a platinum selling star. See what you can do.
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