Customer Reviews

Real Life

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Real Life is the kind of album that makes you think and wonder about it days after the last time you heard it, and makes you kick yourself when you want to hear it right now all the way through and you can't find the cd in your car, or when you realize you haven't uploaded it onto your ipod yet (what?! impossible!). . . There isn't an artist that sounds close, or even close enough to stand in for joan's honest and effortless voice soaring through a mood, liberated from any pedestrian linear storytelling, intimate and timeless. Real Life is the kind of album that you have to listen to at least twice, and after that, it's like a great movie that keeps giving you something new every time you watch it. I thought I'd make comparisons: she's like Laura Nyro-cross-PJHarvey-cross-Chrissy Hines-cross-Nick Drake (the Pink Moon album) -- but it feels lame to me, probably because none of it is really true. It's an either-you-get-it-or-you-don't album -- if you're reading this, get it :).

I discovered Joan As Police Woman after hearing a track on Uncut Magazine's "Best of 2006" compilation CD. The song stuck in my head. So I ordered the whole CD. And I wasn't disappointed. Joan is like a conglomeration of Cat Power, Beth Orton, Hem, and a bunch of other female singers/groups. I can't really describe it beyond that. But the songs and lyrics are great. And the vocals are so ethereal. I'd recommend this CD highly. But buy it for less from a third-party seller rather than paying the high import price.

Joan Wasser is well known in indie circles as a talented violinist who has worked with the likes of Rufus Wainwright and Antony & The Johnsons. She also happened to be Jeff Buckley's longtime girlfriend at the time of his tragic passing. No longer content with a supporting role or playing second fiddle, (if you'll excuse the bad pun), Joan steps out of the musical shadows for Real Life, her singer/songwriter debut as Joan As Policewoman.

Real Life has a dynamic, soulful, 70's feel not unlike recent records by Cat Power or Feist, yet defiantly of Joan's own creation. It features 10 pop songs of rare grace and beauty, by turns tender and sassy, sparse yet detailed, all of which combine to form a supremely satisfying and consistent debut. The sort which lodges in the mind and refuses to leave. Within the space of Real Life's first four songs the material ranges from intimate and confessional (`Real Life') to heady, insistent pop (`Eternal Flame') to swooning and transportive (`Feed The Light') to breezy ('The Ride'). Throughout, Wasser's adoration of soul music is clearly evident, with Al Green and Roberta Flack surely two key influences. I think it's also fair to say that her former bandmates Rufus and Antony have left a lasting impression on her musical stylings - with piano, voice and intricate string arrangements very much to the fore. It's Joan's delightfully distinctive sulty/tart vocal style that is the real selling point here though, it weaves through everything with a captivating intensity - as though she's singing to you, and you only.

Each and every track is like consuming the ripest of fruit, the sweetest of berries, the darkest of chocolate. Exquisite. It leaves you craving more. Joan is a major talent in the making, and Real Life is balm to these jaded ears.

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Feist - Let It Die
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Antony & The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now

A rare gem. Near perfect. Well recorded, this trio produces a wonderful up-front, live sound. The title track soars, lyrically and musically - put this on a good stereo and prepare for goosebumps. Listen close and you'll hear occasional Rufus-style change-ups trimming out beautiful melodies and lyrics. This will remain one of my all-time favorites.

If you like CDs by people such as Roisin Murphy, Imogen Heap, Cat Power, then you'll probably end up declaring this one of your favourite CDs of 2007.

I am very picky with the music I like and therefore the music I buy. But, ever since I bought Joan's album I can't stop listening to it. Every song is a great song. The production is so simple and so masterful. As soon as the album is over I try to stop myself from playing it again right away (because I don't wanna get tired of it!), but I find myself singing the songs to myself anyway so there I go and play it from the top one more time. Love it, love it, love it!

Joan As Policewoman is the solo project band for Joan Wasser, who works as a violist/violinist/arranger/back-up-singer for Rufus Wainwright, Sheryl Crow, Antony and the Johnsons, and many others. Though this CD has yet to receive a US release with proper fanfare, Real Life made many best-of lists for 2006 in Europe, where Joan has amassed a following. It's easy to see, er hear why. What a great debut. Each of the ten songs is perfectly written, arranged, and produced.

To begin with the songwriting-- the lyrics find the perfect balance between profound metaphor and accessible directness. Most of the songs expound upon a word or phase (which is usually the title) to describe some relationship conflict. Hence "eternal flame" is a metaphor for another person's satisfaction and self-fulfillment, of which Joan insists she "can't be the lighter." "The Ride" is a broader, more expansive metaphor for life and relationships. Musically, the melodies are stuffed with catchy hooks yet never take cheap or obvious turns. Again, the balance between complexity and accessibilty is one of the extraordinary accomplishments of this debut.

Joan's gift as an arranger/producer is clear on these tracks. The sound is organic yet rich. Textures abound and they always allow the songs to breathe. Horns and woodwinds grace "I Defy" "Anyone" "Save Me" and "Flushed Chest" to beautiful effect. The Elliott Smith tribute "We Don't Own It" and "Flushed Chest" also incorporate Joan's viola playing. The production aesthetic is very similar to that of Antony and the Johnsons and their CD "I Am A Bird Now." -- Live-sounding and organic with orchestrations/horn arrangements.

In my opinion, the best aspect of how these tracks are arranged and produced is the vocal arrangements. "Eternal Flame" has some of the wackiest, most insanely cool harmonies, evocative of 60's girl groups and opera. "The Ride" and "Anyone" also boast beautiful falsetto vocal compliments. Antony of Antony and the Johnsons guests on "I Defy" and his harmonies are great-- even as they sputter into chatoic oblivion by the song's end.

In conclusion, this is an awe-inspiring debut that, in my humble opinion, surpasses the accomplishment of Joan's more famous collaborators. My copy was autographed by Joan-- not sure if that is the case with all these CD's but it was a pleasant surprise.

This album is excellent. The instrumentals are beautiful and uncluttered, and Joan's voice is absolutely arresting. The lyrics are engaging, heartfelt, and honest. "Anyone" is my current favorite.

Most of the music is pretty mellow, but some tunes rock, and some of the tunes on the B side rock too. I couldn't begin to hazard a genre; I just know that I love it!

I don't know anything about Joan except that she's got great taste in music and a great way with a lyric. Real Life is an incredible song of modern love. No mush here, no hearts and flowers, just a slightly sinister smokey blue take on attraction. The music owes a lot to Anthony And The Johnsons (or visa versa) and also a lot to the early 20th Century French composer Erik Satie'. It's as cool as the back side of your pillow and as hot as an illicit kiss.

I like this album very much, but I received the simple version, not US 2Cd version. I don't understand why.