Customer Reviews

Swing the Statue

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

 

 

Swing the Statue is worth owning just for Vic's version of "I Can't Cry Hard Enough." That song has become a favorite of mine. The rest of the album is touching as well, with "Why Look at the Moon" and "Holy Spirit" serving as highlights. Vic's songs have an innocence and sincerity that is so lacking in today's popular music. Just like all the great pleasures in life, her voice is an acquired taste; but once it sinks in, you'll begin to crave it!

I bought this album thru Amazon sometime within this last year.

I remember reading the reviews here, and thinking that the negative reviewers sounded like people who didn't like their conventions played with, and had had them seriously tweaked by this album. The positive reviews, especially the one that references Julie Miller & Co. really grabbed my attention, and the little voice in my head said to give it a chance. So I dropped it into my cart.

It arrived, I loaded it into my iTunes rotation of roughly 27k songs, and forgot about it.

I have so much music in my mix, and I'm always adding new stuff, so frequently tunes I've never heard pop out and charm me. I like it that way. It keeps me on my toes. Anyway, this last half year these odd cheerful lunatic carnival merry-go-round hillbilly hurdy-gurdy Alice went to wonderland through a rabbit hole somewhere down on the bayou piano and accordion inflected tunes kept popping up on occasion, where this obviously touched woman sang with a beautiful quirky voice and unique phrasing. Every time they popped up, I would mark the moment thinking, 'dang, what the heck is that?' For a few months they kept popping, and for some inexplicable reason I never checked.

Finally I realized 'Why Look at the Moon,' was Victoria, and thought, well this one song justifies having purchased this album. Then I gradually made the connection between that loony song and all the rest. It then dawned on me: this album is a minor work of genius.

'Boogie man,' 'Holy Spirit,' 'Vieux Amis' - and 'On Time!' What a hoot of a song! It's that Alabama tune 'I'm in a hurry to get things done' or Toby Keith's song about his list of things to do reinterpreted by a bohemian Cajun mystic. With an organ. She is a better philosopher and theologian than those guys, too. The lyrics are good. Every single time I hear it any crap tarnishing my heart is just seared away, and my soul starts to bob free- Every time this girl comes around on my mix, a piercing shaft of gladness creases my day.

Just recently, about a month ago, I pulled the bulk of this album into my special road mix. I listen to it daily now, along side the likes of Emmylou, Julie Miller, Kasey Chambers, John Prine, and Iris DeMent. Victoria belongs in that company. In some ways she's better than any of them. She's quirkier than even Prine, and her voice and phrasing is unusual - like an Appalachian cabaret songstress, a 19th century fused with postmodern alt sensibility. It's just nutty and marvelous. I'm addicted to it.

Interestingly, one of the only songs I don't like on this album is 'I Can't Cry Hard Enough..' To each their own, I suppose.

Victoria (or Vic, as she refers to herself) has built a reputation as a quirky, joyful (though aware of her mortality) singer/songwriter from rural Louisiana. Swing the Statue is a presentation of her range in lyrical and musical forms. From the Prince-evocative "Boogieman" to the campfire spiritual "Holy Spirit," to the O'Connoresque narrative of "Tarbelly & Featherfoot" and the mystical "man who walked bridges" in "Weeds," this CD is the best introduction to the future Vic friend. "Friend" is a more apt term than "fan," as Vic is also known for her accessibility; she tends to "show up" outside before her concerts, just hanging around in a toboggan & chatting with whomever she bumps into. Anyone with affinities for Julie Miller, Mark Heard, Vic Chesnutt, Flannery O'Connor, or Michelle Shocked needs this recording.

This is Victoria Williams' best album. Recorded in 1990, released in this version in 1994, it is not dated in any way. I've given many as gifts and always receive warm thanks of surprised appreciation. If you're thinking of buying your first Vic album this is the one. If you don't like this album, well... you just don't like Ms. Williams' music - give it to a friend and skip her other albums. But you won't be able to tell from just one or two songs.

As you will note from the other reviews, even those who love Vic don't like her every song, I almost won't listen to some very few. Just wait, your pleasant surprise will arrive in a moment. She is a direct and simple genius, thoroughly steeped in the popular music genres of the United States, and their performance. She is what the Beatles would have been (think McCartney), IF they'd been born 10 years later in the person of a white girl from Louisiana. The various styles only serve as a container for her poetry, by turns silly and moving, sometimes unintelligible (she almost never prints lyrics). This is one of those beautiful creations with passages that cause "The Shivers."

To call her a folk musician may be somewhat accurate, but puts an unnecessary filter on a potential audience. I'd like to offer an alternate comparison, and that is to The Neville Brothers. If you love the Neville Brothers (not just Aaron's voice), you will appreciate that her jambalaya has a different taste, but it's made with the same ingredients. They're both delicious.

And, those of you who find Joanna Newsom irresistable will be similarly delighted with Victoria Williams. Enjoy!

1. Why Look At The Moon
2. Boogieman
3. Clothesline
4. Tarbelly And Featherfoot
5. On Time
6. Holy Spirit
7. Summer Of Drugs
8. I Can't Cry Hard Enough
9. Wobbling
10. Veiux Amis
11. Weeds
12. Lift Him Up

EXTREMELY FAST SHIPMENT TO AUSTRALIA! VERY IMPRESSED CD IS GREAT! THANKS :O)

I bought this for the song "I can't cry hard enough" which I heard in a 9-11 tribute which circulated the net. The rest of the CD is not my cup of tea but it is unique and other may enjoy it. I do appreciate alternative styles and Victoria Williams definitely has an unuaul style.

Bought the album for the song tribute to 9/11, but should have left it on the shelf. Despite beautiful lyrics, her voice lacked control and depth. There was not cohesion between her voice and the male voice and I found it just not very good at all. I'll leave folk music to people who think it's good music.