The River & The Thread

Rosanne Cash

January 14, 2014

485 customer reviews

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The River & The Thread

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	Sample this album Title by Artist 0:00 / 0:00
1	A Feather's Not A Bird A Feather's Not A Bird	3:18	Listen Now $1.29 In MP3 cart View MP3 Cart
2	The Sunken Lands The Sunken Lands	2:56	Listen Now $1.29 In MP3 cart View MP3 Cart
3	Etta's Tune Etta's Tune	3:44	Listen Now $1.29 In MP3 cart View MP3 Cart
4	Modern Blue Modern Blue	3:01	Listen Now $1.29 In MP3 cart View MP3 Cart
5	Tell Heaven Tell Heaven	2:40	Listen Now $1.29 In MP3 cart View MP3 Cart
6	The Long Way Home The Long Way Home	3:17	Listen Now $1.29 In MP3 cart View MP3 Cart
7	World Of Strange Design World Of Strange Design	3:24	Listen Now $1.29 In MP3 cart View MP3 Cart
8	Night School Night School	3:47	Listen Now $1.29 In MP3 cart View MP3 Cart
9	50,000 Watts 50,000 Watts	2:58	Listen Now $1.29 In MP3 cart View MP3 Cart
10	When The Master Calls The Roll When The Master Calls The Roll	5:06	Listen Now $1.29 In MP3 cart View MP3 Cart
11	Money Road Money Road	4:00	Listen Now $1.29 In MP3 cart View MP3 Cart

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Product details

Original Release Date: January 14, 2014
Release Date: January 14, 2014
Label: Blue Note
Copyright: ℗© 2013 Blue Note Records
Record Company Required Metadata: Music file metadata contains unique purchase identifier. Learn more.
Total Length: 38:11
Genres:
- Pop > Singer-Songwriters
ASIN: B00HNEQGN6
Average Customer Review: 485 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,009 Paid in Albums (See Top 100 Paid in Albums)

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Pamela Kirby

Disappointnig

January 17, 2014

Format: Audio CDVerified Purchase

I've been a Roseanne fan for years, and have really enjoyed her last few albums, but this was rather disappointing. It didn't feel as authentic as her last couple of efforts. Nothing to really catch your attention either musically or lyrically.

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William A. Cox

They painted this together and it's a mastepiece.

January 16, 2014

Format: Audio CDVerified Purchase

It's hard for me to remove my absolute adoration for Rosanne while writing this review. However, this is a masterpiece. A great story or song transports you. In each of these songs I find myself INSIDE OF THEM, living them. Her lyrics can be very specific yet wonderfully encompassing. I found myself in The Sunken Land, In Mobile, In Florence. God this is good. There si not one ounce of filler on this album and though its hard for me to rate her art, cause with each albumshe just gives more and more of greatness. She is the Jane Austen of songwriters. Rosanne makes my mind think differently what a great artist. OK< enough of that onto Mr. L's part, the wonderful melodies, Oh these stories must have been hard to set to melody, but he nails it. Subtle and haunting, his musicianiship is without peer. Together they paint like only soul mates can. I have played this album 100+ times straight her at my Antique Shop on th banks of one of Americas greatest rivers, the Ohio and the response is great. I used to think nothing wouldethrone Interiors as my fav Rosanne LP but in a world where one must choose. FOr someone who doesn't over produce material, though its long and excrutiating between albums its always worth it. After listening, your a different person, with a diofferent view of thw world. In a personal note, I was able to see Rosanne & John in Baton Rouge & New Orleans just after this historic trip. She spoke of finding the Tallahatchie Bridge, so I love knowing I was in her prsesence just after these songs were inspired. Another winner RCL. Thanks from the 6%. You are the poet goddess and your husband is just a guitar walkin aound in human form. I love you Rosanne thanks for enriching my life. GRAMMY for ALBUM OF THE YEAR?

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Jef Fazekas

Strong Like A RIVER, Delicate Like A THREAD

February 17, 2014

Format: Audio CDVerified Purchase

The past can haunt you, like a cruel whisper in your ear, or it can comfort you, like a cozy quilt passed down from generation to generation. Over the last decade, Rosanne Cash has chosen to ignore the whispers, instead wrapping herself up comfortably in that quilt. The result? Some of the best work of her career.
Starting with 2003's RULES OF TRAVEL, continuing on to 2006's BLACK CADILLAC (quite possibly her greatest career defining moment) and through 2009's THE LIST, Cash has looked back on both the people and the music that have helped to make her the woman (and artist) that she is today.
Now, with THE RIVER & THE THREAD, she embraces the places where it all began, namely the southern states of the U.S. Born in Memphis, but raised primarily in Southern California, one would be hard-pressed to not think Cash was a real native of the South.
In fact, I can't ever remember being instantly transported somewhere the way I was upon my first listen of THE RIVER.... ~ I saw the moss and kudzu vines, the dirt roads and murky water. I heard the children laughing, the mosquitoes buzzing and the hushed whispers. Most importantly, I FELT it all (Kudos on this to producer/multi-instrumentalist John Leventhal....this really is a duet album....while Cash is singing with her voice, Leventhal sings with his arrangements and playing).
Things kick off with the hypnotic "A Feather's Not A Bird." Right from the powerful opening lines ("I'm going down to Florence, gonna wear a pretty dress/I'll sit atop the magic wall with the voices in my head"), you know this is something special. The arrangement is equal parts silky, sexy and mystical, while Cash's supple lead vocal is brilliantly aided and abetted by pitch-perfect backing vocals. A GREAT album opener!
There's a forlorn quality to "The Sunken Lands", but there's also a sense of triumph. Yes, your heart aches when Cash sings "The work never ends/There's not a single friend", but it'll also soar as she intones "And she sails away/She could never stay." This song made me think of my great-grandmother. Lovely. (Major shout out to Leventhal and his atmospheric mandolin playing here!).
Another favorite is "Etta's Tune." From the lilting arrangement and subdued (yet powerful) lead vocal to the gorgeous lyrics ("Horses pawing at the dust/Violets wilting at the door") and powerhouse harmony vocal courtesy of John Paul White, this song is probably the best arguement I've ever heard for marriage not being "work", but rather commitment and devotion. Got that, and the rest just all falls into place (I've got to say, this song has a special place in my heart, as it reminds me of my Mom and Dad).
I've long said Cash doesn't do enough rock, and "Modern Blue" proves just what a natural she is at it. Her lead vocal is buttery smooth throughout, but there's the slightest growl every so often, just when it's needed. And when they get to the "Na-na-na's" on the chorus...? Oh, man! This track STILL has me hitting "Repeat" constantly! Love, love, LOVE it!!!
There's a quiet, introspective quality to "Tell Heaven." Part traditional gospel standard, part somber lullaby, it's almost as if we're voyeurs into Cash's soul, or listening in on the other side of the door as ghosts of generations past sooth long forgotten offspring. Powerful stuff.
"The woods and winds now welcome you/To the places you once hid" perfectly sums up the vibe and groove and FEELING of "The Long Road Home." Other-worldly and mesmerizing, the cut just draws you in, thanks in large part to the minimal, yet beguiling, instrumentation. Oddly beautiful....or beautifully odd? Either way, it works. Boy, does it work!
"The World Of Strange Design" has the same kind of effect. Brooding, sly and slightly ominous, there's a charming quality to the track, but also a darker undercurrent. By the time Cash sings "We talk about your drinking/But not about your thirst/You set off through the minefield/Like you were rounding first/So open up a window/And hand the baby through/Point her toward the ghostly bridge/And she'll know what to do" you are totally drawn in. Stunning.
"Night School" is the only song I wasn't crazy about for my first few listens...there was something almost Disney-movie-theme-song-ish about Cash's vocal, especially when she sang the words "night school." But, dang it, I ended up caring about these characters! Did they ever reconcile? And if not here, maybe in their dreams? Or the afterlife? (And I LOVE the lines "The hungry ghosts still tap the walls/Where once there was a door!").
There's nothing really special about "50,000 Watts", but that's O.K. ~ it's FUN, plain and simple. There's just something about the track that takes you back to a simpler time. The arrangement lopes along, while Cash's vocal sparkles, thanks in no small part to just a hint of sass (Truth be told, I'd like to see more of this edge in the future!).
Much like with "Night School", you come to care about the protagonists of "When The Master Calls The Roll." Did Mary Ann find love again? Did William Lee come back to escort her when it was time to meet the Master? This tradition-seeped ode to the Civil War just reminds us how well Cash used to work with ex-husband Rodney Crowell. I, for one, would love to see them write a sequel to this stunner.
The standard disc wraps up with the molasses-and-honey groove of "Money Road." Cash's strong, assured lead vocal, crisp, haunting instrumentation and Allison Moorer's breath-taking harmony vocal all come together perfectly, resulting in a powerful cut that stays with you long after the disc ends.
But don't end things there....go for the deluxe edition! From the gorgeous packaging (Can you say "Grammy?!?") to the bonus tracks (the shuffling "Two Girls", the lazy "Biloxi" and the 60's flavored "Your Southern Heart" ~ can you say "Dusty Springfield?!?"), it is so, SO worth it!
In closing, it's interesting to note that, by embracing the past, Rosanne Cash continues to prove that she's so much more than just "the daughter of....!" THE RIVER & THE THREAD is an additional reminder that this woman is in a league all of her own. (As with all of my reviews, I'm giving the disc an additional half a star for including the lyrics, as well as an additional half a star for the song-by-song commentary!).

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