Polaroids: A Greatest Hits Col [Best of]

I fell in love with Shawn Colvin the first time I heard the "Steady On" Cd. Coming from the same Greenwich Village folk scene that fostered friend Suzanne Vega's success (she contributes background vocals on "Diamonds In The Rough" here), Colvin also favors the same tough/tender style that highlights Vega's best work. From early on, Colvin maintained an independent woman's voice, especially on songs like "Steady On" and "Another Round Of Blues." She seemed headed towards the same kind of success Tracy Chapman, 10,000 Maniacs and Vega were enjoying, but she had a commercial and critical misfire with the covers album, the ill advised "Cover Girl."

Although that album was just the wrong choice at the wrong time, it did highlight Colvin's ability as an interpretive singer. On "Polaroid," The Police's "Every Little Thing (S)he Does Is Magic" and Talking Heads' "This Must Be The Place" are claimed as her own. (Also worth hearing, Colvin's sublime cover of Warren Zevon's "Tenderness On The Block" off "Fat City.") It may have been a sidestep, but "Cover Girl" was just a stepping stone to "A Few Small Repairs." The feistier sound and more aggressive stance gave Colvin the only real "hit" on this collection and a song of the year Grammy for "Sunny Came Home." But you also got the confrontational "Get Out Of This House" to back it up.

The long awaited success was short lived, as Colvin decided to take time out and become a parent. She then delivered "A Whole New You," which was a pleasant enough record but nothing revelatory. The title track, which harkens back to the earlier albums, is included here. And to once again highlight Colvin's strength as a songstress, her cover of The Beatles' "I'll Be Back" underlines that song's melancholy in a rock solid manner.

It is hard to recommend this to anyone but the curious, since there is only one new selection (The Beatles' cover) and almost all the individual albums are noteworthy in their own write. But if you only know of Shawn Colvin from that one "Sunny" song, then take a "Polaroid" home. Also worth getting, the DVD companion collection to this CD.

I simply love every word Shawn sings. I've been a fan from the first note of her Steady On CD when I stumbled onto it in April 1990. I guess I have agree with the guy from San Antonio - if you already own her CDs, there is only one new track here. Yet, it's a great new Shawn cover of a Beatles tune. So, I gladly plunked down the $$ for my copy. I guess you could burn your own Best Of mix if you own her previous CDs - but I like to support the artists. So, I'm enjoying my "new" Shawn CD. Listened to it twice on the Thanksgiving drive to Grandma's house. Enjoying it even more after recently seeing Shawn on the Oprah show. And, the most exciting news for the true Shawn fans - her videos and a collection of live performances are FINALLY available on DVD. I'm still waiting to watch my copy because I want to do it when I have the time to sit and savor it all. If you get the opportunity, you really need to see Shawn live. She is an amazing singer and it will be a night to remember.

I saw Shawn Colvin in concert the other night at the Big Tent Chautauqua south of Bayfield, Wisconsin, and she was introduced as a three time Grammy winner. Of course two of those Grammys were for "Sunny Came Home," which won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 1998. But the third Grammy was earned for her her first studio album, 1989's "Steady On," which won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. I first picked up "A Few Small Repairs," not so much because it had "Sunny Came Home" on it, but because I was going to see Colvin perform at Lilith Fair and was buying the albums of all of the performers. From there I went back and got the rest of her work and several years down the road I am still of the opinion that "Sunny Came Home" was an invitation to check out her other albums. By definition Colvin might be a one hit wonder ("I Don't Know Why" is her only other Top 20 success making it to #16 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, but that misses the point of Colvin's music. There is a reason that she is touring with only a pair of guitars, and the trip down memory lane provided by "Polaroids: A Greatest Hits Collection" only serves to reinforce the point.

These 15 songs represent selections from all of her main releases except for her Christmas album, "Holiday Songs and Lullabies," plus one new track with her cover of the Beatles song "I'll Be Back." The songs are laid out chronologically by album, although in fact the first three tracks are the same three that opened up "Steady On," namely the title track, "Diamond in the Rough," and "Shotgun Down the Avalanche" (the latter remaining my favorite Colvin tune). All three are Colvin lyrics written to the melodies of her songwriting partner, John Leventhal, and I find it interesting that they are presented in the same order, which I read to be an implicit acknowledgment of how codified they are in the minds of her fans (yes, sometimes I listen to just those three tracks when I play that album, or, more to the point, I always make sure I listen to those three tracks).

From "Fat City" we have "Round Of Blues," "Polaroids," and "I Don't Know Why." Her "Cover Girl" album provides "Every Little Thing [He] Does is Magic" and "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)," which is where I want to quibble because I think her best cover is of Bob Dylan's "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go," a fact she proved again last Saturday night (as much for the guitar playing as the singing). The order ir rearranged, but the first four tracks from "A Few Small Repairs" make it as well, with "Sunny Came Home," "You And The Mona Lisa," "Get Out Of This House," and "The Facts About Jimmy." See a pattern of always putting her best foot forward on an album, do you? Absolutely, because "Whole New You" and "A Matter of Minutes" are the first two tracks from her 2001 album "Whole New You," albeit in reverse order.

Except for the counter proposal above, the tracks collected for this album are on point, which is always nice to see with a greatest hits album. Colvin did over half of these songs in her concert, and after hearing the stripped down versions it seems strange to hear the studio versions. But hearing the "unplugged" versions simply reminds us that Colvin's strengths are her ability to write lyrics (the best part of "Sunny Came Home" are the lyrics) and her singing, with the husky but high voice that has matured gorgeously over the years. Colvin is working on a new album for release next February, which will pave the way for a second collection of her best songs (calling them hits seems counterproductive in this case) sometime next decade.

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