I was glad that Carlene Carter's Stronger was on sale at the Elvis Costello show, which she opened, as I've been wanting to get it. The album is great! It contains new material from Carter with one older track, an update of "I'm So Cool" from the 1980 Musical Shapes album. The style is some hybrid of rock and country, leaning more towards one on some tracks and the other on others. For Carlene Carter fans, this is far from unfamiliar territory. The wonderful thing is that she pulls off both styles very well, delivering a highly satisfying album.
I think my favorite track on here is "Judgement Day," followed closely by the title track. I can honestly say I like every song, though.
At the moment I write this, the Yep Roc Records website is down. However, when it is up, you can go there to stream the entire album should you want to check it out. My suggestion is you do!
Tracks:
1. The Bitter End
2. Why Be Blue
3. To Change Your Heart
4. Bring Love
5. I'm So Cool
6. Spider Lace
7. On to You
8. Judgement Day
9. Break My Little Heart in Two
10. It Takes One to Know Me
11. Light of Your Love
12. Stronger
A digital-only bonus track is also available for anyone who purchases the album before March 2009. That song is a pretty remake of Paul Thorn's "When the Long Road Ends."
Showing posts with label carlene carter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label carlene carter. Show all posts
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Set lists: Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Carlene Carter
On 23 April, I had the pleasure of seeing Elvis Costello & The Imposters. As an additional treat, the opening act was the lovely Carlene Carter.
Carter was great fun. She still has a great voice and she seemed to be in fine spirit despite recent rough times, making jokes for the audience, narrating stories, and just being generally lively. Perhaps her best line of the night was when she claimed to finally be "putting the try back in country." She performed a mix of some of her 90s material and songs from her recent album, Stronger. As a cool treat, she also threw in "Cry," from her 1980 album Musical Shapes. She also demonstrated the importance of her family by not only mentioning them and dedicating songs to them, but also by singing some Carter material, including The Carter Family's "My Dixie Darling" and the June Carter-penned "Ring of Fire." It was a good set.
Costello and band were also very good. Costello, too, did a mix of classic and current material. It was great to see him live, and I had a pretty decent view of him and the band from my seat, so that was cool. I won't say this is the best concert I've ever seen, but it was definitely solid, and I would recommend catching a Costello live show. He and the band sounded quite good to my ears, and obviously the man has a vast catalogue of awesome songs. One song he performed that came as a very pleasant surprise is "Indoor Fireworks." The only other thing I can really say is that, through the uptempos, midtempos, down-tempos... through the wild abandon on some of the numbers and the potential energy of others... through it all, it was quite an experience.
Carter's set:
1. Every Little Thing
2. Bring Love
3. To Change Your Heart
4. The Bitter End
5. Me and the Wildwood Rose
6. Ring of Fire
7. My Dixie Darling
8. It Takes One to Know Me
9. Why Be Blue
10. Cry
11. Stronger
Costello's set:
1. Stella Hurt
2. (I Don't Want to Go To) Chelsea
3. Clown Strike
4. Wonder Woman
5. Either Side of the Same Town
6. Every Day I Write the Book
7. Song With Rose (a Rosanne Cash co-write)
8. Accidents Will Happen
9. Harry Worth
10. Drum and Bone
11. Flutter and Wow
12. Femme Fatale (the Velvet Underground song)
13. Pardon Me Madam, My Name Is Eve
14. The River in Reverse
15. American Gangster Time (which was dedicated to Jay-Z and Beyoncé)
16. Beyond Belief
17. You Belong to Me
18. The Impostor
19. Radio Radio
Encore
20. My Three Sons
21. Indoor Fireworks
22. Man Out of Time
Encore
23. No Hiding Place
24. Turpentine
25. Go Away
Encore
26. Mr. Feathers
27. Alison
28. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding
"Peace, Love, and Understanding" made an awesome closer, but I have to say, Nick Lowe's acoustic rendition was so amazing that I'd have to give him the nod there. Still, I'm glad I did indeed get to see both perform it within the span of a few nights.
As you can see, he played a substantial set, and I am grateful for that!
And lest there be any doubt, let me say here that the Momofuku material is excellent. I wasn't inclined to buy the vinyl edition, but I'm definitely interested in the forthcoming CD release and would recommend anyone check it out in whichever edition is more desirable.
Carter was great fun. She still has a great voice and she seemed to be in fine spirit despite recent rough times, making jokes for the audience, narrating stories, and just being generally lively. Perhaps her best line of the night was when she claimed to finally be "putting the try back in country." She performed a mix of some of her 90s material and songs from her recent album, Stronger. As a cool treat, she also threw in "Cry," from her 1980 album Musical Shapes. She also demonstrated the importance of her family by not only mentioning them and dedicating songs to them, but also by singing some Carter material, including The Carter Family's "My Dixie Darling" and the June Carter-penned "Ring of Fire." It was a good set.
Costello and band were also very good. Costello, too, did a mix of classic and current material. It was great to see him live, and I had a pretty decent view of him and the band from my seat, so that was cool. I won't say this is the best concert I've ever seen, but it was definitely solid, and I would recommend catching a Costello live show. He and the band sounded quite good to my ears, and obviously the man has a vast catalogue of awesome songs. One song he performed that came as a very pleasant surprise is "Indoor Fireworks." The only other thing I can really say is that, through the uptempos, midtempos, down-tempos... through the wild abandon on some of the numbers and the potential energy of others... through it all, it was quite an experience.
Carter's set:
1. Every Little Thing
2. Bring Love
3. To Change Your Heart
4. The Bitter End
5. Me and the Wildwood Rose
6. Ring of Fire
7. My Dixie Darling
8. It Takes One to Know Me
9. Why Be Blue
10. Cry
11. Stronger
Costello's set:
1. Stella Hurt
2. (I Don't Want to Go To) Chelsea
3. Clown Strike
4. Wonder Woman
5. Either Side of the Same Town
6. Every Day I Write the Book
7. Song With Rose (a Rosanne Cash co-write)
8. Accidents Will Happen
9. Harry Worth
10. Drum and Bone
11. Flutter and Wow
12. Femme Fatale (the Velvet Underground song)
13. Pardon Me Madam, My Name Is Eve
14. The River in Reverse
15. American Gangster Time (which was dedicated to Jay-Z and Beyoncé)
16. Beyond Belief
17. You Belong to Me
18. The Impostor
19. Radio Radio
Encore
20. My Three Sons
21. Indoor Fireworks
22. Man Out of Time
Encore
23. No Hiding Place
24. Turpentine
25. Go Away
Encore
26. Mr. Feathers
27. Alison
28. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding
"Peace, Love, and Understanding" made an awesome closer, but I have to say, Nick Lowe's acoustic rendition was so amazing that I'd have to give him the nod there. Still, I'm glad I did indeed get to see both perform it within the span of a few nights.
As you can see, he played a substantial set, and I am grateful for that!
And lest there be any doubt, let me say here that the Momofuku material is excellent. I wasn't inclined to buy the vinyl edition, but I'm definitely interested in the forthcoming CD release and would recommend anyone check it out in whichever edition is more desirable.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
I Fell in Love (Carlene Carter)
Carlene Carter's life has never been easy, especially in recent times. It is a testament to her strength that she managed to release a new album, Stronger, earlier this year. Her music, however, stands as a testament to her talent, and I Fell in Love is no exception in this respect.
I Fell in Love was released in 1990. Carter contributed to the writing of the majority of the tracks, which likely helps keep her connected to the material. She also does a version of a Carter Family song, "My Dixie Darlin'," keeping her connected to her country roots. Perhaps this is why I tend to like Carlene Carter - she's always been experimental in her approach to country music, incorporating many rock and other influences; however, she never seems completely disconnected from the country tradition. Whatever exactly it is that Carter does, she does it well.
The song from this album with which I was previously familiar was "Come On Back." I hadn't realized this was the case until it started playing, and suddenly it came back to my memory. This one is infectious and it's easy to see how it was a hit. The other big hit from the album was its title track, which is a fun song with a great arrangement. My favourite new discovery is the track "The Leavin' Side." Other standouts include "My Dixie Darlin'," "Goodnight Dallas," "One Love," "Me and the Wildwood Rose," and "You Are the One." "Me and the Wildwood Rose," penned by Carter herself, is a tribute to some of the previous Carter Family generations, including her mother, June.
Tracks:
1. I Fell in Love
2. Come On Back
3. The Sweetest Thing
4. My Dixie Darlin'
5. Goodnight Dallas
6. One Love
7. The Leavin' Side
8. Guardian Angel
9. Me and the Wildwood Rose
10. You Are the One
11. Easy From Now On
I Fell in Love was released in 1990. Carter contributed to the writing of the majority of the tracks, which likely helps keep her connected to the material. She also does a version of a Carter Family song, "My Dixie Darlin'," keeping her connected to her country roots. Perhaps this is why I tend to like Carlene Carter - she's always been experimental in her approach to country music, incorporating many rock and other influences; however, she never seems completely disconnected from the country tradition. Whatever exactly it is that Carter does, she does it well.
The song from this album with which I was previously familiar was "Come On Back." I hadn't realized this was the case until it started playing, and suddenly it came back to my memory. This one is infectious and it's easy to see how it was a hit. The other big hit from the album was its title track, which is a fun song with a great arrangement. My favourite new discovery is the track "The Leavin' Side." Other standouts include "My Dixie Darlin'," "Goodnight Dallas," "One Love," "Me and the Wildwood Rose," and "You Are the One." "Me and the Wildwood Rose," penned by Carter herself, is a tribute to some of the previous Carter Family generations, including her mother, June.
Tracks:
1. I Fell in Love
2. Come On Back
3. The Sweetest Thing
4. My Dixie Darlin'
5. Goodnight Dallas
6. One Love
7. The Leavin' Side
8. Guardian Angel
9. Me and the Wildwood Rose
10. You Are the One
11. Easy From Now On
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