Customer Reviews

While You Weren't Looking

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Take your favorite country song. Now, throw in the majestic voices of Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch. Add a dash of folk and pop, throw in some hypnotic lyrics, and mix in that kind of catchy, beautifully arranged music that is impossible to get out of your head. The result is Caitlin Cary's debut album, WHILE YOU WEREN'T LOOKING.

Out of sheer curiousity, I downloaded a couple of songs from this album from various sources, wanting to get a glimpse of what Caitlin's style was before pursuing the full length album. I was hooked from the start--after hearing the songs only once, I immediately bought the CD. If you enjoy country artists like Emmylou, love Americana stars like Gillian, or find yourself playing records by Dar Williams and Lucy Kaplansky over and over again, this album is a must for your collection. Caitlin's voice is lilting and hypnotic, soaring over a beautifully arranged combination of folk, country, and pop music. An extremely versatile record, this CD has something for everyone--the opening track, "Shallow Heart, Shallow Water" grabs the listener immediately, gradually reels you in with upbeat numbers like "Please Don't Hurry Your Heart," and "Thick Walls Down," and by the time you reach "Pony" (which could have easily been a hit for Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, or one of the classic female artists of the late '60s and early '70s) and "Too Many Keys," you will be a Caitlin addict with no fear of breaking the habit. The album's closing track, "I Ain't Found Nobody Yet," is one of its highlights, a heavily influenced country track with emotional lyrics and music that is sure to provoke a strong reaction of any kind from the listener.

I'm going to sum this up in as few words as possible--BUY THIS ALBUM. No matter what kind of music you are normally geared toward, I guarantee you will love WHILE YOU WEREN'T LOOKING, and there are very few albums where that statement can be accurately applied. This is an astonishing wonderful debut by an artist who is sure to make a big name for herself outside of the Whiskeytown circle and is not to be missed by anyone who enjoys listening to fantastic music.

After the demise of alt-country wunderkinds Whiskeytown, all of the attention went to uberbrat frontman Ryan Adams. Overlooked was the fact that the band contained another fine youn gtalent who had been hidden by Adams's very considerablt shadow. Now violinist Caitlin Cary has fully stepped out on her own (albiet with an assist from Adams, who appears on several tracks). The first surprise, given that Cary was always relegated to a backup vocal role in the band, is that she is a very good singer. The second is that as a songwriter she's nearly on par with Adams in terms of quality if not in terms of incredibly prolific output.

Cary's sound is much closer to the country rock of Whiskeytown than Adams's solo material. She even takes a passable stab at bluegrass on "Hold On to Me." She's at her best, however, when she infuses a bit of rock energy into the mix, as on "Shallow Heart, Shallow Water," "Please Don't Hurry Your Heart," "What Will You Do?" and "Too Many Keys." On the downside, some of the ballads tend to be a bit bland and one experimental track, "The Fair," doesn't work at all. There's a bonus mini-CD in the package containing four extra songs, including a duet with Adams and the CD booklet contains a full lyrics sheet.

Overall, a decent solo debut from an artist just learning to perform on her own.

I wanted to like this a whole lot more than I do. I love her work with Whiskeytown, but the songwriting here is average at best. I just picked it up again after a few weeks and still feel the same. This reminds me of a Syd Straw record: great voice, unremarkable songs.

If you like country, folk, rock and pop music-you'll like this. If you like a sweet voice, smart lyrics, musical arrangements that are just right you'll like this. The songs deliver some serious messages about co-dependancy, not seeing reality, family troubles, resisting committment, and wallowing in self-pity delivered with such beautiful singing and musical arrangements that they seem upbeat, more like a little nudge instead of a kick in the head. It's obvious that a lot of work went into this cd to get it just right, but it never sounds over produced. Favorite songs include Thick Walls Down, Too Many Keys, Plese Don't Hurry Your Heart, and I Ain't Found Nobody Yet. Pretty good disc!

Two roads diverged in a wood ~~ and clearly Caitlin Cary chose a different road than Ryan Adams when Whiskeytown broke up. Fans of Whiskeytown will remember that Cary supplied a wonderful, harmonic background to Adams' lead, and frontlined in songs like "Matrimony." Here, she is practiced and confident, with a lovely sound, excellent intrumental back-up, and great songwriting. If you liked Whiskeytown, and enjoy female folk/country vocalists like Gillian Welch or Emilou Harris, this is for you!

Caitlin Cary is blessed with an almost bell-like clarity to her voice and a directness of her words that is most touching. I, like most, believed that Ryan Adams was the dominant force in Whiskeytown. After listening to this disc, it is difficult not to think that Caitlin was on equal footing. Comparing this album to Ryan's output is unnecessary and ridiculous. Caitlin's beautiful album provides for a very enjoyable listening experience and one that begs to be heard again and again. Each time I listen, I hear something that makes me enjoy the disc more and more--a lyric here, a melodic line there. The songs on this album remind me of Natalie Merchant in places and Carly Simon in others,but filtered through the alt-country of the past 10 years. 'Shallow Heart' is a hit that will probably never be heard on the radio. Shame. This song has a beautiful melody and lyric that would surely turn many a casual listener into a fan.

The disc is very much worthy to be part of your collection if you enjoy thoughtful alt-country songs played honestly and with focus.

Caitlin is the most underrated female singer today. Her name should always be included in the company of Lucinda, Emmylou or Rosanne.

I was surprised to read a couple of reviews that were less than glowing. This cd was a complete surprise to me, having almost no exposure to Whiskeytown. Cary's voice is wonderful, rocking-out on "Thick Walls Down" and not letting you down on the terrific ballads. ("Fireworks" is first-rate songwriting, folks!) Along with Springsteen's "The Rising", I think this is the best record I've heard in 2002...and I've heard a lot!

Like many fans of Whiskeytown, I first listened to this record expecting to hear fiddle, soaring harmonies, some fiddle, torch-n-twang guitars, lotsa fiddle, heartwrenching lyrics, tear-jerking vocals, and a whole lotta fiddle. Well, you discover quickly that Ms. Cary is eager to explore a broader range of musical influences and expressions (from old country to celtic folk to Linda Thompson). Fine with me!! This is a well-conceived, finely polished, expertly executed collection of fine rock, folk, country, soul, songs and ballads. The opener, "Thick Walls Down," "Too Many Keys," and "Hold on to Me" are highlights, but it's all good.

Caitlin Cary and Ryan Adams were both the vital members of Whiskeytown. This is Caitlin's full-fletched debut solo-album, and it is pretty good. Of course, it invites comparisons to Ryan's post-Whiskeytown solo output ("Heartbreaker" and "Gold") and this album simply isn't as good.

The opener "Shallow Heart, Shallow Water" is an uptempo, uplifting, almost radio-friendly track. "Fireworks" (unlike Ryan's "Firecracker"!) is a mellow, country-like track, with Caitlin prominent on her trademark violin. Mike Day, also of (latter day) Whiskeytown, co-wrote some and plays on most of the songs, the best being "Pony" and "The Fair", staying closer to Whisleytown's country-flavored origins.

The initial pressings of the album come with a 4 song bonus CD, the most notable track being "The Battle", co-written and co-sung by Ryan. Overall, a nice album, but it's so hard to not compare with Ryan Adams' sublime post-Whiskeytown albums...