Customer Reviews

& The Ys Street Band Ep

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An EP with only three tracks, only one of which being a new song. Doesn't sound particularly promising does it?
Well by way of an answer it should be pointed out that all the tracks are new recordings and the total runtime is just over 24 minutes.

The songs were recorded at the end of the U.S. tour (Autumn 2006 in California)after having to cancel three gigs due to a lost voice, the songs were recorded 'live' in the studio with her tour band and minimal tinkering. Her vocal troubles certainly aren't evident here, although her voice seems to get richer and less spikey with each new recording.

Anyone lucky enough to have caught her recent live shows will be familiar with the new song here ("Colleen") and the new version of "Clam,Crab,Cockle,Cowrie"(from "The Milk Eyed Mender"album) but british fans will not have heard "Cosmia" in this form as they had the benefit of orchestral backing not available on the american tour.

"Colleen" starts the EP off with a frenetic energy and is typically untypical of anything else out there, it's kind of folky, kind of sea shanty and breaks the verses with a strange flamenco/belly dancing jig that should have you on your feet and jumpin'.
It's followed by a new recording of "Clam,Crab,Cockle,Cowrie" which is fully justified as it is very different from the album version, an almost achingly tender rendition that shows a softer side to the artist, it also benefits from the addition of an accompanying voice, richer instrumentation, and the richer vocal delivery already evident on the "Ys" album. It is possibly my favourite on the EP.
The final track("Cosmia") is in some ways the most exciting prospect as it takes the original and expands it to double its previous lengh replacing the orchestration with a rich variety of sounds utilising the band to its full. I don't think it improves on the original but will certainly be of interest to those who argued that they'd have preferred "Ys" without the orchestration (not my view). The song feels slightly more gentle here than on the album but no less rich for it.

I would say that this is definitely one for the converts (newcomers should start with "Ys") but if you are already a fan then this is an essential purchase.

A final word on categorisation of music. I hate it! This need to pigeon-hole and fence music within little boundaries. If anything new or excitingly different comes along (like this), instead of celebrating its singular beauty, there is a rush to be the first to coin the term that will peg it back. If that weren't bad enough there are a million followers-on who have to prove how smart they are by using the terminology as if it were there own. Thus we have people describing this album as 'freak-folk' a category which, if it exists at all, has been used to describe acoustic driven performers with a hypnotic trippy rythmic feel. Joanna Newsom has actively denied the tag herself and her music is actually nothing like anything in the genre (if it even exists) in fact the only connection is that she has been on stage with some acts that hover on the fringes of the genre. It really comes down to lazy journalism and second-rate 'would-be-critics'who'd like to appear smart at the expense of artists who possess genuine talent.

For all those people who need a category for this music here is one: Joanna Newsom.

It took me almost 2 years to warm up to her first album MIlk Eyed Mender. My brother in law would play it over and over again when we went to visit. Then after one of our visits I couldn't shake the songs from my head and I had to hear them! I was hooked! This ep is also addictive! Newsom's songs have an optimistic and other worldly elegance that is missing in mainstream music culture. These songs are especially endearing, ( is it the band accompaniment?) and I especially love the mix of melodies pointing to a more ethnic sound in some of the songs. A mixing of sounds, it's fantastic.

I cried the first time I listened to this version of "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie." I feel so lucky for the opportunity to listen to Joanna's voice get better and better and better through the years. The way she sings the line in this song, "And I am watching you/ And you are starry, starry, starry..." has always gotten to me, and with her improved vocal abilities here she manages to add a new degree of touching nuance to this favorite of moments. Give it a listen, I think you'll see what I mean.

I tend to not enjoy micro-reviewing records song by song, so I think I will leave it at that. This is for Joanna both a return to a more stripped down musical presentation and a leap forward in her development as a singer. This EP makes me so happy.

Joanna Newsome is not for everyone, that's for sure, basically Joanna singing with harp, and sparse other instruments. Her 2006 "YS" album created quite a stir, though. (It was my 17 yr. daughter who introduced me to her, incidentally). This live EP was recorded on the YS Fall 06 tour.

"EP" (3 tracks, 24 min.) brings a new song, "Colleen", which is pretty much in the vein of the "YS" album. Next is "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie", from "The Milk-Eyed Mender" album, in a slightly altered version from the album. Then comes a 13 min. blow-out version of "Cosmia", from the "YS" album, which here live sounds much more invigerated than the album version, and I can't stop playing it.

If you are familiar with Joanna Newsome, this is a great companion to the "YS" album. If you are new, this is the prefect introduction to her sound, and I highly recommed checking it out for those of you. No, it's not mainstream, far from it, but this is great music by all accounts.

for me, this new ep makes up for the pretensions of the Ys album; the band is amazing, and newsom has never sounder better.

i hope this bodes well for the future, for one of my favorite artists.

Don't let there only being 1 out of 3 tracks being new releases run you off. This is what made me fall in love with Joanna Newsom. Her vocals have made a change here, right before Have One On Me came out, for the better. The new arrangements are delightful, Colleen is incredible. My only complaint is you miss the strings on Cosmia with the new, smaller arrangement. Cosmia is my favourite Joanna Newsom song, and I love her vocal performance on this EP. What makes up for it is the ever so haunting extended ending.

This version of Cosmia is my favorite song ever. I'm serious and 100% sure of that statement. I cannot recommend this EP enough.

Ah Joanna, your siren call is heard and heeded! This EP is everything I adore about the music of this quirky Californian and her amazing backing band: weird, soaring, jarring vocals with unusual instrumentation (harp, banjo, saw). The opening song is the story of a were-whale (yes!) done up in a Nova Scotia jig, and is terrifying, melancholy, fiendish, and perfection--one of my top ten of all songs of all time! The other two tracks are gloriously updated versions of songs we know from previous albums, lending the magic of Van Dykes Park's genius orchestration to blow in renewed vigor. Newsom's music is deeply challenging and always rewards the patient, open-hearted listener: does the US finally have a Kate Bush-comparable? I would venture a hearty "yes" and urge anyone seeking music not just out-of-the-ordinary, but out of this world, to give this CD a place in your library and a return gig on your ipod whenever you need a shot of genius.

There's not much more to say. If you love Joanna you will love this. I was hestitant about getting an EP with only three songs on it, but it's so worth it. Just the new song, Colleen, is worth the price alone. When you add two spinetingling renditions of previous songs you can't lose.

If you don't like Joanna, this will do nothing to change your mind. Listen to a sample. Or better hit the library and listen to an entire album. She'll either immediately win you over, confuse you utterly, or make your ears bleed. If she just baffles you (I had no idea what the point of her was for months) give yourself time with her. You may, as I did, grow to love her.

This was a great little EP. Extended/different version of Cosmia. Definitely purchase if you're even a mild fan of Joanna's work. I like this EP more than I like some of her full albums as well.