EP [EP]

Rachael Yamagata

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 7, 2003)
• Original Release Date: October 7, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: EP
• Label: RCA Victor
• ASIN: B0000C3GZ1
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #94,082 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Collide

2. Known For Years

3. Worn Me Down

4. The Reason Why

5. Would You Please

6. These Girls (hidden track)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

Forget Bohemian lofts or any other romantic notions about how artists live. Rachel Yamagata has just signed her first record deal--with RCA Victor Group--and is essentially launching her solo career from a 900-square-foot Ukrainian Village apartment that has all the ambiance of a weather center. Everything you’d expect to find in her date book is scrawled on five-foot sheets of white paper that she found in an alley. One sheet is a calendar showing 23 days of upcoming meetings in New York and Los Angeles. Near it is a list of CDs--albums by Beck, Ryan Adams, and Bonnie Raitt--done with producers she likes. She needs to hire one, assemble a band, and book a concert tour, all in a few months’ time. Yamagata, whose father is Japanese, graduated from Northwestern University, where she majored in theatre. Honing her seductive style during the five years she spent with Bumpus, a Chicago funk and hip-hop fusion band, she wrote songs in her hotel room between shows—"when the guys were watching a movie," she says. Meanwhile, scouts compared her with pop heavyweights, Fiona Apple and Sarah McLachlan. In 2000 she sang at the Viper Room in Los Angeles for record executives who wanted a private concert. Several of these showcases followed, and she signed her two-record deal in September 2002. She aims to finish her first CD in a year. But as she pets her cat, Henry, she is marvelously matter-of-fact about the way a record deal injects life with equal parts glamour and rock ‘n’ roll grit. "I’ll have tons of meetings, writing sessions, lunches, and dinners with the label people," she says of an upcoming trip to New York. "Then I’ll go to my brother’s place and camp out on his floor."

–Noah Isackson "Chicago Magazine"

Product Description

With her instinct for melody, lyrics and deep-sinking emotional hooks, and having already opened for the likes of David Gray and Ed Harcourt, Rachael Yamagata has started a ground swell of anticipation for her debut 'ep'. Produced by Malcolm Burn (of EmmyLou Harris, Bob Dylan, and Patti Smith fame), the 'ep' reveals an emotional vulnerability that has drawn comparisons to the likes of Fiona Apple, Norah Jones and Sarah McLachlan - yet Rachael Yamagata is truly an artist in her own right.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow !! What an Introduction!, December 27, 2004

By	Monty Allan "Mal" (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews

"Worn Me Down" had been tossed into the playlist on the local eclectic radio station here in Philly and when I heard it, it stopped me in my tracks. I had to get online and find out who this singer was immediately. Well I haven't stopped listening or telling everyone I know about the EP and full length album.

Besides that killer guitar riff running through Worn me down, which is a perfect song for driving, esp. if you're on the highway), her voice so perfectly captures the equal parts of anger, desperation and defeat at the hands of a lover who just can't seem to let go of his ex. "Worn me down ,like a road,/ I did everything you told me to do but you/ you can't stop thinking about her."

Anyhow, I went out and bought the ep immediately. And it was well worth it. "Collide" and "Would You Please" both simmer to perfection(the cello on "Collide" is absolutely gorgeous), while "The Reasons Why" and "Known for Years" are comtemplative songs of love gone off-track. The hidden track "These Girls" also shines with Yamagata's shy lyrics and low growl gaining momentum until she belts out the final chorus.

But hands down, the crowning jewel of this set is "Worn Me Down"- for the lyrics, arrangement & production, every song should be this perfect.

In a time where music is becoming dominated by the likes of the Hillry Duff's and Britney Spears' of the world, Rachael Yamagata is indeed a breath of fresh air.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars BRAVO RACHAEL!!! - A new artist worth listening to!, October 16, 2003

By	Christopher Todd Durnil (Champaign, IL United States) - See all my reviews

Rachael Yamagata is like a breath of fresh air in this cluttered year that has been 2003. This has not been a great year for music, so when someone new like Rachael comes along, everyone should perk up and take listen! Rachael is not new to my ears. As a Chicago resident, I've heard Rachael's music for several years now, and it's finaly great to have it released on a national level, despite the brief e.p. format (her first full-length disc is due next spring). Rachael has a smoky, bluesy voice that wraps itself around a song. Her songs are personal odes that are insantly memorable and any of the six tracks included here could become radio hits. "Worn Me Down," which was recently included on the "Charmed" soundtrack, as well as "Collide" appear to be the best bets, and the fantastic hidden track "These Girls" shows Rachael at her vocal peak, belting out the song like a re-incarnated Janis Joplin. Here's hoping the media grabs onto this lady and embrace her like they did last year to Norah Jones - she's more than deserving.I didn't rate this five stars mainly due to the fact that it is an e.p. and that it is missing Rachael's greatest song, the beautiful "Under My Skin," which, hopefully, she saved for her full-length. For the un-initiated, pick this disc up! You'll love it, particually if you're a fan of contemporary female singer/songwriters like Fiona Apple, Sarah McLachlan, and Norah Jones.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Simplicity, April 5, 2004

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

A smoky voice and lovelorn songs are the heart of Rachael Yamagata's debut EP, a promising mix of vulnerable jazzy-pop with a hint of blues. Yamagata may be compared to established singers like Norah Jones or Fiona Apple, but the flavor of her songs is all its own.

Yamagata starts off on a strong note with the sad, cello-laden "Collide," before shifting to the catchier "Known For Years" and the fast-paced "Worn Me Down" ("Worn me down to my knees/I did anything to please/But you can't stop thinking about her"). Rounding it off is the melancholy "Reason Why" and slow-moving "Would You Please." (There's also a hidden track, the meditative "These Girls")

Love lost, love worn out or love that doesn't work seem to be the themes of "EP." Yamagata describes the feelings that lead to a breakup, being replaced in her lover's affections, and finally parting itself ("We can hang our heads down as we skip the goodbyes"). No angry-grrl stuff here, but a mature respect and reflection.

Yamagata blends blues and pop, with a bit of good funk and a touch of classical; cello, rhythm, keyboard and bass form an effective backdrop. The plaintive lyrics stir your emotions without being whiny or self-pitying. Don't expect her to bash or blame -- instead she sings "Would you please let me slide a few words/under your door/the first three say 'I love you'/the last five 'but I can't no more.'" Her throaty, smoky voice is the centerpiece of the album, and she can carry the emotion as well as the notes.

Slow and meditative, "EP" whets the appetite for Yamagata's full-length debut later this year. A rare talent.