The Well

Jennifer Warnes | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 4, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sin-Drome Records
• ASIN: B00005NNOX
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,959 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #21 in Music > Indie Music > Pop > Adult Contemporary

Track Listings

1. The Well

2. It's Raining

3. Prairie Melancholy

4. Too Late Love Comes

5. Invitation To The Blues

6. And So It Goes

7. The Panther

8. You Don't Know Me

9. The Nightingale

10. Patriot's Dream

11. The Well (Reprise)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Let the Celebrations Begin!, September 9, 2001

By 

Charles Meyrick (Fairfield, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Well (Audio CD)

It seems like a century since we have had a new album from Jennifer Warnes. (In fact, her last album was in the last century, released in 1992...) After a too-long wait, caused apparently by short-sighted record labels, Jennifer Warnes returns with The Well. And what a return it is. She has gone to the well, and has not come back empty-handed.
The entire album is simply amazing, and a worthy successor to her last album (The Hunter). Some standouts on the album:
- Too Late Love Comes: a strong Gaelic atmosphere. She opens acapello (am I the only one who likes to hear her *breathe*?) and then is joined by pipes, violins, mandolin.
- Invitation to the Blues: bluesy, moody, full of longing.
- And So It Goes: if Billy Joel didn't write this song specifically for Jennifer to sing, he should have.
- The Panther: outstanding use of percussion to set the mood. One feels that one is in Louisiana on a hot and humid night, with a panther is sloping through the fog.
- You Don't Know Me: an Eddy Arnold standard, reset to a jazz-like mood, a great duet.
- Patriot's Dream: Jennifer sings this Arlo Guthrie song, with accompaniment by Arlo Guthrie. This song reminds us of the blessing of being American, and the responsibility we have to keep the dream alive.
Let us hope that this new album is the first of many for the 21st century from Jennifer Warnes.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Artistry of the Indefinable Jennifer Warnes, August 6, 2002

By 

Dennis Brislen (Omaha, Ne USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Well (Audio CD)

There are many questions to be asked concerning Jennifer Warnes. Why isn't she a BIG STAR? Why does she record so seldom? Why isn't she more commercially successful?

It isn't that she lacks critical acclaim. Her voice and interpretations have been praised By disparate forces from Dick Clark to Leonard Cohen and practically everyone in between.

So what are the answers? Wish I knew. Perhaps she is too eclectic, talented and independent too allow herself to be categorized. She fuses folk, pop, rock and the blues so well that it is impossible to label her. So rather than try, one is left to simply enjoy the artistry that moves you and leaves you wanting more.

THE WELL is a triumph worth the wait. There is something for everyone from the plaintiff, haunting PRAIRIE MELANCHOLY to the bluesy IT'S RAINING and Billy Joels ode to never giving up on love, AND SO IT GOES. Warnes, who has made everyone she has dueted with sound good, is in fine form with Doyle Bramhall on YOU DON'T KNOW ME and Arlo Guthrie on PATRIOT's DREAM. The title song, written by Warnes is excellent.

Warnes is a rare talent. One who apparently refuses to "sell out" artistic integrity for commercial success. May she thrive and continue to thrive both artistically and commercially.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SWEET WATER FROM THE WELL, February 15, 2002

By 

Thomas R Markham (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Well (Audio CD)

For those of us who have followed Jennifer Warnes brilliant work as one of our premier singer songwriters the release of "The Well" has been more than worth the long wait between the always critically acclaimed, if not always commercially successful, albums of this talented singer and interpreter of song. The synthesis of the many musical styles and genres that Ms. Warnes has explored throughout her career and made her own is seamless and transcends the definition of eclectic.
The four cuts penned by Jennifer Warnes have the poetic beauty and insight of a nature mystic with her feet firmly planted on mother earth. She surrounds herself with a bevy of talented musicians. I am particularly impressed with the lead acoustic guitar work of Doyle Bramhall II and the rhythm guitar of Dean Parks on "The Well" and the second cut, "It's Raining." Another standout is the muted trumpet work by Lee Thornburg that perfectly compliments Ms. Warnes sultry and soulful cover of Tom Wait's "Invitation To The Blues." The lush, original arrangement of the traditional Irish air, "Dawning of the Day," re-titled "Too Late Love Comes" with new lyrics by Ms. Warnes is as lilting and poignant in its presentation as another self-penned piece "The Panther" is haunting. She is unparalleled in her ability to convey a story as she takes on "And So It Goes" by the master storyteller himself, Billy Joel. Her duet with Doyle Bramhall on the country blues standard "You Don't Know Me" is as smooth as silk and yet every bit as soulful as the classic Ray Charles rendition. Ms. Warnes partnership with Arlo Guthrie, who unfortunately isn't heard enough from these days, on his "Patriot's Dream" is very timely yet subtle in its reflection on our values as Americans in this time of worldwide turmoil and tragedy that has caused emotions to run high and reasonable action to be too often abandoned. The Celtic arrangement and instrumentation on this cut is as stirring as the lyrics are thoughtful. A mature richness of "voice" and a perennial wisdom are evoked in this inspirational pairing with Arlo Guthrie as guest vocalist.
The string arrangements on several of the cuts are beautifully done adding a rich and textured backdrop, without distraction, to the always-straightforward genius of Jennifer Warnes vocal and interpretive abilities. The simple pleading reprise of "The Well" with the brilliant percussionist, Alex Acuna, on a tree trunk drum is the perfect closer to a compelling and masterful recording. We can only hope Jennifer Warnes continues to hold the reigns of her ongoing career with uncomprimised artistic vision and that we will hear much more from her more often. She has yet to receive the recognition fitting an artist of her caliber.