Junior

Kaki King | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 13, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rounder / Umgd
• ASIN: B0037VNU0G
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,969 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Singer & guitarist extraordinaire, Kaki King, has spent the past decade gathering critical acclaim and fan admiration for her unparalleled guitar skills. Not only is she the first ever female named a "Guitar God" by Rolling Stone, but she also received a Golden Globe nomination for her contribution to the musical score of Sean Penn's 2007 film, Into the Wild. That same year, King appeared in August Rush as the protagonists guitar double, performed on the Foo Fighters' Grammy® winning album, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, as well as opened for them during their Australia tour. Now at the start of the decade, Kaki reaches new heights with her Rounder Records debut album, Junior. This collection of songs delivers twists-and-turns: lyrically from exuberance and anger to heartbreaking melancholy; and sonically from experimental pieces to accessible pop. While the dazzling musicianship King has been renowned for still remains, Junior showcases her further maturation as a well-rounded artist, demonstrated by the humbling vocals displayed on this recording. Produced by Malcolm Burn, (Patti Smith, Emmylou Harris) Junior defies categorization and expectation; making it a recording to be reckoned with.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding album.... what a discovery, May 27, 2011

By 

Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Junior (Audio CD)

First things first... I had heard of Kaki King, but really wasn't familiar with her music. After some discusion on a music message board, tolling her virtues, I felt compelled to seek her out and picked this up. Imagine my surprise, even shock, how great this album is. Keep in mind as you read this that I haven't heard any of Kaki King's previous 4 albums.

"Junior" (11 tracks; 47 min.) starts off with a somewhat tentative but intruiging "The Betrayer", followed by a dynamic "Spit It Back In My Mouth" and then an oustanding instrumental "Everything Has An End, Even Sadness". But wait, the best is yet to come. The 6 min. fury of "Falling Day" just blew me away, and my favorite track on here. It is followed by the beautiful pensive ballad "The Hoopers of Hudspeth". I was quite surprised (in the best of way) by the mix of songs as they flow along, with several interesting instrumentals or spare vocal songs. Kaki's guitar playing is outstanding throughout. Several more essential tracks follow towards the end, such as the charging "Doom Head". The album closes with Kaki just on acoutisc guitar on "Sunnyside", a biting kiss-off to a relationship gone wrong, wow.

In all, I can;t emphasize enough how charmed I am with this album. I have no idea how I didn't discover this album any sooner. It surely would've made my top 5 of the best 2010 albums. That aside, what prompted the music message board discussion I referred to earlier is that Kaki King was announced to be playing the MidPoint Music Festival here in Cincinnati come September, and you can bet your last dollar I will be there front and center. So glad I finally discovered Kaki King, better late than never. Meanwhile, "Junior" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars VERY GOOD SURPRISE, July 1, 2010

By 

Luminator (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Junior (Audio CD)

I bought this album based on my son's recommendation. He saw her performing in San Francisco and told me he had seen a very nice singer/guitar player. After I listened to this cd I had a good surprise to confirm she is a solid guitar player with a beautiful voice and a nice style.
I definitely recommend this album for those who love rock 'n' roll.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kaki Evolved, April 16, 2010

By 

James Ellis - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Junior (Audio CD)

This is Kaki taking it to the next level. Reminiscent of Neil Young vs. CSN. You could do the same stale stuff and people would buy it, but let's push the envelope. Love the old Kaki, but embrace the new Kaki. Really good stuff, if you listen closely.