Customer Reviews

Hello

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you like music in the vein of Sarah McLachlan or Norah Jones, you simply must check out the music of this young musician named Tristan Prettyman.

I discovered her two albums Twentythree (2005) and Hello (2008) a few days ago, and I can't stop listening.

Highly, highly recommended.

She's a bit more country than Sarah, and a bit less hokey-folksy than Norah Jones. But she gives great melody with a terrific voice. (Oops, did I just say that?) She actually does a dead-ringer for Norah in the song "Blindfold" (not one of my favorites, personally, though).

Tristan Prettyman is just an amazing original talent still waiting to be discovered. Somewhere between Beth Orton's soulful vocals and Norah Jones' earthy tunes, Tristan holds her own distinctive voice and guitar play. Opening track "Hello" (one of my favorites) pulls you in with quirky guitar and edgy yet smooth vocals, and sets the tone for the rest of this folk-alt-pop album that will have you drift off to the country-side river or beach somewhere. The songs are inoffensive and light, yet never lack gut and emotion; this rare combination adds sophistication and entices many repeated listenings. As other reviewers have indicated, there isn't one bad track on this album. Definitely one of the better investments I've made this year and really a steal at this price point.

Amazon recommended Tristan Prettyman's Hello...x to me based on my purchases/ratings of Sonya Kitchell's CDs. After listening to the samples, I decided to give it a try. I was expecting some similar pop/folk to what I had enjoyed from Kitchell. I have to say that after listening to this for about a month, I just haven't connected with it the way that I had hoped I would. The instrumentation is pretty good, but not outstanding. It slants toward acoustic and slide guitar with the occasional groove. I actually found this to be the best aspect of Hello..x. Unfortunately that means that the lyrics and vocals don't hold up their end of the bargain. On "Echo", the repeating of the word echo in the chorus is predictable and trite. If it were coming from a teen pop queen, it might be considered clever, but from a grown artist it brings more of a groan. The "additional vocalists" on "Just A Little Bit" are used in a way that seems like an attempt to pattern after Pink Floyd's "Brick In The Wall", but it is nowhere near as successful. While a chorus by definition is repetitive between verses, Hello..x is littered with lyrics that are repetitive *within* the chorus as evidenced by "when i do, you're gonna hear an echo" repeated three times in the chorus of "Echo". "Hello", "California Girl", and "You Got Me" have similar problems. This unfortunately makes the songs monotonous. Vocally, Prettyman has nothing to make her stand out from a large pack of singer/songwriters who are just plain average. While there's nothing that jumps out and makes you want to run away screaming, there's also nothing about her vocal delivery that grabs hold of you and makes you want to hear songs over and over. I would contrast this to my listening experience with KT Tunstall. The first song of her first CD, Eye To The Telescope, Tunstall gives a smooth delivery on the first verse then she transitions to an elegant falsetto during ("You're the other side of the world to me") the chorus. I'm not saying that Tunstall is the first or the best to use this technique, but it gives "Other Side Of The World" something extra that it wouldn't otherwise have. I just didn't find anything on Hello..x that set it apart vocally. Based on the vocals and lyrics of Hello..x, I think it is too early to place Tristan Prettyman any higher than run-of-the-mill. Give KT Tunstall or Sonya Kitchell a try instead.

Slightly county-sounding, Prettyman's lovely voice and catchy rhythms make this a perfect album to listen to while at work, on the road, or cooking dinner. Highly recommended.

I'm not one that usually writes a review, mainly because I'm just not all that good at it. But this album deserves that I just give it a shout out. My first listen thru was like, there is not a bad tune on this album. Second time thru was even better.

Favorites thus far Blindfold, War Out of Peace and You Got Me.

This is a definite buy if you are a Tristan fan.

I can't remember how I came to find out about Tristan, but I have been looking forward to this album. I have been reading on her fan site and I have to say her fans are very devoted. I thought I would just love this album to death. I do enjoy this album and give it five stars easily. I love her voice and her lyrics are wonderful and insightful, but I think I am just in a different season of life than her. I will be listening to other albums that are just as wonderful but have different content that I can relate to better. I have only listened to this album now acouple of times, and I have to see that I am on my third or fourth spin now and I am liking it more and more. It is confusing...I will give it five stars because I know that if I was younger in my twenties that I would be a devoted fan. I love the music and her voice. If you like her you will also love Brett Dennen and probably Jack Johnson. I am just getting to old I guess....sigh....you go Tristan....good luck...!!!!!! I will keep listening. What I have to give kutos to bigtime is that I can listen to this album with my children present. i i don't have to worry about words. That is very important to me!! Thanks Tristan!!!!

Great sound , must Have cd, Where is she now? Songs touch the soul, I can listen to it over and over.

Tristan Prettyman is much more than just another pretty face, she is an accomplished songwriter (she wrote all of the songs for this album) and a gifted performer. In short, she's the real thing, and not a product of post-production magic or marketing. There are many artists out there, Kelly Clarkson for instance, that I feel produce very good music, but with much help from lots of technology and publicity. Tristan feels more...authentic. Indeed, her songs are bright, spirited, and catchy. There are few songs on this album that fail to reach the bar that she has set for herself, with "In Bloom" being in my opinion the weakest offering here. This is a very well executed album from a talented musician that I can only hope we see more of in the future.

I can't get enough of her soulful sexy voice. The powerful lyrics and soft guitar strums make this cd perfect for singing along with in the car.

Fantastic album (think Tori Amos + Regina Spektor + a grounded & sane Fiona Apple). Really despised California but now I'm warming to it. Can't wait for the follow up album!!