Customer Reviews

Water to Drink

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fifth CD from offbeat singer-songwriter may just be her best yet! While I grew to appreciate her last work, "Musings of a Creekdipper," it did not grab me as 1994's "Loose" did. With this new album, Victoria returns to her roots: writing uplifting, "feel-good" songs about salt-of-the-earth folks and assorted oddballs. She remains refreshingly down-to-earth and unpretentious. While Victoria's unconventional voice and unique arrangements may keep her off of Top 40 radio, I think "Water to Drink" will expand her fan base. My favorite songs are "Gladys and Lucy," "Grandma's Hat Pin" and "Junk." My only criticism is that I am not as crazy about Victoria's covers of standards as I am about her original compositions.

More immediately accessible than her previous work, Musings Of A Creekdipper, but by the same token, its very accessibility keeps it from brilliance. Less risks taken = less moments of brilliance. That said, the title track, "Water To Drink", has me compulsively tapping my feet. It's far from a let-down; fans old and new won't be disappointed in purchasing this album.

This record is wonderful and has POWER. Vic's stuff is so sophisticated and multi-layered. Its great for over and over and over listening. This morning on the way to work I had it cranked up on the cd system. It was probably about my 6th listen and suddenly I realized how completely involved I was with the music. It was taking me to another place (maybe not so good when I'm driving :)), but it is evocative, emotional and oh so together. There is a great mix of her own stuff and her OWN take on Standards. The inflection in her voice and the timeing on the Standards make them ever more memorable. She always ends each cd with an uplifting, ethereal, very spiritual number and " A Little Bit of Love" is all of that. I found myself tearing up at the power of it. But it was a good cry, the kind that makes you feel better for having had it, a cry for "A Little Bit of Love". While I love this cd, I still urge everyone to see her LIVE, she is a true improviser and her shows are full of surprises and humor and love. It doesn't hurt one bit that she is a great musician and always surrounds herself with the GREATEST. Buy this one and if you don't have them go back to "Happy Come Home" (her first) and start a collection. You won't be disappointed. Its an amazing, powerful body of work.

This marks Victoria's triumphant return to the positive vibes and uplifiting vision of her 1994 album, "Loose." What ties these quirky, offbeat songs together is Victoria's beaming worldview. There are those who will find her high-pitched, girlish voice annoying, but if you give it a chance it will grow on you. Victoria's music is truly like nothing else out there. My favorite songs on this album are "Grandma's Hat Pin," "Gladys and Lucy," "Junk" and "Claude." The only reason I did not give this CD 5 stars is because I would have preferred to hear more of Victoria's original works in place of the 3 covers.

this might be among my favorite albums of the year. i'm drawn to it like no other recent release; perhaps it's merely an antidote to the iommi solo album or the deftones. i first saw victoria on the "happy come home" tour. i've got all her albums since; anybody who tours with her dog is a good person in my book and worthy of support. fortunately, victoria deserves the support with unique yet addictive songs. and i think this album comes in a close second to "loose." "joy of love" is also one of her best songs. victoria -- especially her quavering, backwoods voice -- is an acquired taste. if you like folkie-pop sometimes accompanied by big string arrangements, then "water to drink" is definitely worth checking out. and please note that she never falls into the cliches of other folkie-pop people.

I always describe Victoria Williams to people by saying you'll either love her or hate her, because some people can't take her very unusual voice. Anyway, I fall in the first of the 2 aforementioned categories. This CD fits nicely in with "Loose" and "Musings of a creek dipper". All her work is very eclectic, but this one surpasses them all. Here, she even goes Brazilian, which has become quite fashionable lately, even though David Byrne turned the world onto it 11 years ago. The CD goes from Joni Mitchell influences to Neil Young folksy psychedelia to Billie Holiday style songs. Somehow, it all fits together. Someone above said you should see her live show. I couldn't agree more. When she came to Charlotte, right in the middle of the show she says "Excuse me for a minute, I gotta go pee...is the bathroom back that way?". And she went to pee, while the rest of the band stayed on stage, shaking their heads and tuning their instruments while the audience waited. She puts on a really great show, but while you wait for her to come to your town , check this CD and the 2 previous ones out.

After the adolesent joyful spontaneity of "Loose" and the eccentric complexity of "Musings of a Creek Dipper" comes the reverant restrained "Water to Drink." Williams talent as a brilliant songwriter is slightly eclipsed by the looney hillbilly preacher persona she projects to the public. Don't be fooled by her slightly contrived eccentricty,beyound the surface Williams possesses songwritting skills that rival performers like Joni Mitchell and Nancy Griffith.Get past that and her sometimes bizzare vocal stylings ,you'll be able to enjoy some of the best music in pop. "Water to Drink" simmers with a healthy mix of covers and originals. The material choosen here is probably the most accessable and restrained of her catalog and her vocals have never been more tempered (which isn't always a great thing). High points are "Water to Drink" and "Gladys and Lucy." The album is impecably produced but definitely lacks a certain "oomph" fans of Victoria have come to expect. Williams is set to tour and her show (part revival/ part concert) shouldn't be missed.

Either you have a taste for Vic's wonderful and eclectic musical journeys with her distinctive delivery -- or you don't. This album has some "standards-influenced" songs amongst other catchy americana offerings. It's been enjoyed by many of my friends, and it finds its way into the playlist more often than I expected.

This is not a bad place to jump into Vic's music, if you haven't experienced much before. If you are already even a mild fan, you ought to pick it up, for sure. Also, don't forget to stop by Pappy & Harriet's to enjoy Victoria live (semi-regularly) along with a wonderful cast of talented fellow hi-desert musicians.

good production, mixing old time sounding jazz songs(most prominent, IMHO), eastern sounding, easy listening, country... With some grand arangements of most of the songs. It's a mixed bag of songs. Despite that her voice maybe not suits this grand setting, its still good. Its hard to to imagine that this is the same girl that recorded a very weird cover of Neil Youngs " Dont let it bring you down" 12 years ago. More mainstream now but still worthwhile.

None of my friends can stand Victoria Williams' music...and I can see their point. Her voice is, well, unusual, and she seems to not care how she sounds. Her often lazy songs about birds, flowers, love and assorted happy topics would be hard to stomach for those who want angst, conflict and depression in their music. But only Victoria can pull it off without sounding syrupy or precious. Her music is part pop, part jazz, part folk and all endearing...

Which brings us to Water to Drink, a release that follows a pattern. After the acclaimed "Loose", which probably contained her best collection of songs but was hindered by full-on production values, Vic released the rudimentary and enchanting "Musings of a Creekdipper", seemingly a conscious effort to strip off all high-end production. So it follows that Water to Drink would get the full treatment. Her voice is couched in multi-tracked back up singers much of the time which, while helping to bring her vocals back between the lines, takes a way a little of her magic. This is not one of her best releases--Swing The Statue, Loose and Musings Of A Creekdipper are better--and I could live without the covers of the standards Young At Heart and Until The Real Thing Comes Along. I'm not averse to Victoria covering standards, but I would like to see her add something to them (as she did with Nature Boy from the Creekdipper CD), rather than just perform faithful renditions. Gladys and Lucy, The Joy of Love, Lagniappe, Grandma's Hat Pin and, especially Little Bird (a sweet little song that collapses in on itself before it drifts away) are stand outs.