Escondida: Jolie Holland: Amazon.ca: Music

1. Sascha

2. Black Stars

3. Old Fashion Morphine

4. Amen

5. Mad Tom Of Bedlam

6. Poor Girl

7. Goodbye California

8. Do You?

9. Darlin' Ukelele

10. Damn Shame

11. Tiny Idyll

12. Faded Coat Of Blue

Product Description

From Amazon.com

Jolie Holland's first album recorded in an actual studio is a sumptuous affair that extends her indie country and folk sound further into the realms of old-school jazz and country blues. But this is no quaint revivalism; ye olde sounds are made modern by smart lyrics that reference feminist writer/adventurer Isabelle Eberhardt on the whimsical "Old Fashion Morphine," or that speak of "a couple of food stamps and a caffeine buzz" on "Poor Girl." The arrangements are subtle and sophisticated, showing more breadth than those on her debut, Catalpa, with fewer instruments in the way of her superlative voice. Her singing has such soul and energy that she's as often compared to Chan Marshall and Karen Dalton as she is to Billie Holiday. Her update of the old Irish folk song "Tom of Bedlam" is brilliant, just vocals with roiling jazz drums behind it. It's difficult to think of a more compelling sophomore record by a young singer-songwriter, Norah included. --Mike McGonigal

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

16 Reviews

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.8 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars During breakfast, Nov 3 2007

By

M. Longazel "M L" - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Escondida (Audio CD)

A roommate of mine would play this CD on Saturday mornings while she was cooking breakfast and after hearing it a couple times from my room I would come out and sit just to listen. Somehow the music fit the mood of late morning mixed with the aroma of eggs and such. Now I have it for myself and Jolie Holland's sad, satirical, yet energetic music is a memory into that time. Thanks Marit.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars Good enough for Billy Burroughs, good enough for me, July 14 2004

By

Roy Pearl (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Escondida (Audio CD)

Jolie was a founding (now ex-) member of the Be-Good Tanyas, an all-female collective that made old-time country earn the alt. prefix. In her solo work, Jolie fieldtrips the listener even further back into history, slipping well past the Carter Family to conjure up a depressed Billie Holiday baring her soul for a disinterested crowd in a gloomy 1930s dinner club. Jolie's voice is wonderful, warm and emotionally charged, and her songs effortlessly mix subdued jazz with gothic country and folk. The production is so perfectly natural that it places Ms. Holland right smack dab in my living room - by the end of "Old Fashioned Morphine" I almost expect her to bum some smokes. There's other albums from this year that are more hip, more cutting edge, or more experimental - but greatness doesn't always have to be a cannon shot across the bow of tradition. This is the one album I already know I'll still be listening to in ten - or twenty - years time.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars Phrases like a young Louis Armstrong...very cool vocalist!, July 13 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Escondida (Audio CD)

Sure, the comparisons to Billie Holiday are accurate, but if you go back and listen to the Louis Armstrong of the 20's and 30's, you'll hear a musical style so beautifully mined and refined by both Holiday and Holland. I'll be listening to this one again and again.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 16 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 34 reviews 4.4 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Gimme that Old Fashioned Holland
This is a terrific CD, definately one of the best that I have bought in a long time. The style is evocative of Billy Holiday, Norah Jones and... Read more

Published on July 13 2004 by john b

5.0 out of 5 stars A return to the blues for me when I heard Jolie.
I was given a cd recently to listen to and one of the numbers had Jolie Holland on it singing Old Fashioned Morphine. Read more

Published on July 10 2004 by k haragan