Nolita

Keren Ann

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 15, 2005)
• Original Release Date: December 21, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B0007LXP5O
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #75,370 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

French singer/songwriter Keren Ann moved to New York to record the follow-up to her English-language debut, Not Going Anywhere. She settled in the area north of Little Italy, i.e. Nolita, hence the title of her second release. While her first two recordings were in French, Nolita is in both languages (pre-production took place in Paris). It's a quieter, more intimate affair than previous efforts, but just as lovely. Like Brazilian vocalist Astrud Gilberto or Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval, Keren Ann never shouts when a whisper will do and the music throughout could even be described as "whispery" (as opposed to, say, wispy): gently strummed guitars, delicate strings, spare percussion. There is one song, however, on which she does not take the lead: actor Sean Gullette (Pi) recites the spooky "Song of Alice," John Cale-style, while Keren Ann provides backing vocals. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great songs, but why re-sequence them, Blue Note?, June 9, 2005

By	Dan (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

First of all, the music on this CD is tremendous. Based on this album, Keren Ann has just become one of my favorite female musicians, along with Neko Case, Mirah, Nina Nastasia, and others.

However, having heard the original French release of this album numerous times and consciously remarking that it was very well sequenced, with a wonderful ebb and flow, I was bitterly disappointed upon receiving the American version and finding that the idiots at Blue Note had decided to reorder the songs for no apparent reason. Were they afraid that having three of the first four tracks in French would put off English speakers?

Without changing a note, the altered tracklist gives the album a different feel - for one example, ending with the somber "Song of Alice," leaves you with a much different aftertaste than the original version, which had "Greatest You Can Find" after it as a hidden track, for a nice romantic coda that seemed to sum up all that had come before, and then gently fade away.

This may be a minor grievance, but it's awfully annoying that I will have to program my CD player every time I want to listen to this CD in the way the artist originally intended it to be heard, or else plunk down twice the money for an import copy.

In case you're curious, the original tracklist (which is the only one that appears on Keren Ann's website, incidentally) is:
1. Que n'ai-je
2. L'onde Amere
3. Chelsea Burns
4. Midi Dans le Salon de la Duchesse
5. Nolita
6. Roses and Hips
7. One Day Without
8. La Forme et le Fond
9. For You and I
10. Song For Alice (with uncredited hidden track "Greatest You Can Find" at the tail end)

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars chilling, but chillingly good, March 16, 2005

By	Alexander Steinberg (White Plains, New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Keren Ann makes love to the microphone, caressing it, coaxing it, and the results are haunting. "Chelsea Burns" is one of the most beautiful songs I've heard in years, and its textures evoke Emmylou Harris' classic "Wrecking Ball." Also strong is "La Forme et le Fond." Rest of the album is not quite as enchanting as these two; but these alone are well worth the price. Buy this album.

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars QUAINT AND PEACEFUL...SIMPLY DELIGHTFUL!, April 4, 2005

By	Knyte "To The Stars" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

As someone who is very unhappy with contemporary music these days (I'm not into the hype machine around the likes of Joss Stone or The Donnas, but Keane is ok with me), Keren Ann is truly a breath of fresh air for me. It's like finally avoiding that awful stench of what saturates today's hits, inhaling deeply, and listening to something pure, peaceful, and delicately timeless in a retro-folksy sort of way. Like an old kitchen table draped with a green and white checkered tablecloth sitting in a room with bright yellow walls. So quaint. No one told me to like this music. I simply heard it online and fell in love. I love writing to this music - it puts me in such a creative mood. Her voice is marvelous, her harmonies warm, and her approach devoid of crass commercialism. If you're as dissatisfied as I am with most of today's music, give this a try. I have a pretty strong feeling this will not let you down. Let's hope Keren can remain under the radar like she has so far. I have yet to see her all over magazine covers or MTV...and I hope it stays that way.

Andrew Knyte.