Search - Kathleen Edwards :: Asking for Flowers

3rd Masterpiece from Kathleen

M. M Magliaro | Philipsburg, PA United States | 03/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's hard to believe that Kathleen Edwards has been able to churn out 3 excellent albums in a row, without the slightest sign of anything

being rushed, duplicated, or cheesy, but she has done it.

When I listened to her first album, "Failer", I must have played it 50 times, and thought it was the best album made by anyone, in any genre, in 20 years. At first, I thought her second, "Back To Me" flagged a little, but then realized I needed to listen to it more and that it had simply taken a turn toward a more rocked up sound.



"Asking For Flowers" is yet another beautiful turn, still preserving Edwards gorgeously emotional husky voice and introspective story telling. But the melodies are more delicate and mature, as are the stories. If you enjoyed her folk, rock, and humorous styles on the first two albums, you will not be disappointed with this CD. All of those elements are still there. Songs like "I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory" and "The Cheapest Key" show her cut-to-the-chase fighting side. Songs like "Asking For Flowers" are simply heartbreakingly beautiful and honest.

"Alicia Ross" carries its own weight about a kidnapped murdered girl, even if you don't know the true story on which it was based.



Musically, the styles are very similar to her other work, deftly mixing in some of Kathleen's solo violin playing, and the band's slide electric guitar and harmonica with just the right touches to add snap to the song arrangements.



The only knock I have against this album is the same one I had for the other two. The recording quality is just not up to par. All her albums have a mid-rangey muddiness that make the band sound like they were recorded in a metal box. The drums sound somewhat like old pots and pans, the bass is lost in murkiness with no definition, and her voice needs to be up more in the overall mix. But the musicianship, her wonderful singing, and beautiful songs are just so darn good that I can overlook the recording quality with ease.



If the rest of the stupid music industry would wake up and listen to albums like this, they would start to understand what it means to create a quality album - an album worth buying and listening to over and over again so you can appreciate it, like the layers of color on a fine oil painting.



It's truly rare to find somebody who can write good song after good song, never becoming repetitive or boring, and always stretching. This must be what it was like when The Beatles were releasing new albums in the 1960s.



Bravo, Kathleen!"

Best of 2008? Truly a masterpiece

R. Vosik | Omaha, NE USA | 03/16/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think that "Failer" was one of the best debut albums of the last 10

years. I don't find that I listen to "Back To Me" very much, and I

wondered whether maybe the first album would stand as the best of

Kathleen's career.



I did not know what to expect with "Asking for Flowers". I'd read in

No Depression that Kathleen had experimented a bit more, and I did

not find that particularly appealing, frankly.



The first couple of spins did not catch my attention. I didn't hear

any song which had a hook that caught me.



But somewhere along the line, this CD really started to get to me.

It's alternately poignant and humorous--take the juxtaposition

of 'Alicia Ross', a haunting, true story about the murder of a young

girl, with 'I Make The Dough, You Get the Glory" with its already

classic "You're the great one, I'm Marty McSorley" line. That one

will resonate with Canadians and hockey fans.



'Buffalo' is tremendous, 'The Cheapest Key' is straight ahead, no-

nonsense, no-message rock. 'Scared at Night' is beautiful.



This album has it all--poignant lyrics, great rock, catchy hooks and some nice humor. Truly a keeper--and a masterpiece.



Anyway, if you ask me, this one is a classic and leads my 'Best of

2008'.



Rick V

vosmo

(Please note--no mention of 'Neil Young' or 'Lucinda Williams' in the above review!)

"

Pulls you in with repeated listens

M. Connors | Connecticut | 07/26/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album has snuck up on me. There were a few tracks I liked right away--'Oh Canada', 'Scared at Night'--but others have emerged as favorites. 'Run' is heartbreakingly beautiful. And there's more where that came from."