Laura Cantrell - Humming By The Flowered Vine

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OK, so Matador put up the first MP3 from this yesterday, '14th Street'. I haven't listened to anything else for the past half hour. Laura's got a bit embellished, and sounds perhaps lovelier than ever. Oh my, but I'm anticipating this something awful.

― William Bloody Swygart (mrswygart), Friday, 29 April 2005 14:44 (twenty-one years ago)

i've listened to it (the album). it's very pretty.

― blackmail.is.my.life (blackmail.is.my.life), Friday, 29 April 2005 14:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Right, heard it all now... and it feels like a bit of a letdown. Someone's lacking confidence that Laura's voice can carry the songs, there's some drums that are mixed too high, 'Letters' is possibly the first flat-out bad song of her career ('Big Wheel' may have started with the line "I feel like a big wheel", but it was a nice enough tune), and it just generally feels like the production's got away with itself ever so slightly. Sure, those guitars sound crunchy an' all, but Laura's not a crunchy type of singer.

This said, 'Bees', '14th Street' and 'Khaki & Corduroy' are some of the best songs she's ever done. But overall... hmm. A few more listens, perhaps.

― William Bloody Swygart (mrswygart), Monday, 2 May 2005 11:41 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

Yep, the few more listens have done the trick. 'Letters' has suddenly become heroic, 'Bees' is flat-out gorgeous, the sun is out and this album is quite perfect for it.

― William Bloody Swygart (mrswygart), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 10:35 (twenty years ago)

three months pass...

I am going to see her tomorrow!

WBS, I think you may have a point. 'Letters' session version on Bob Harris Country sounded good to me; '14th Street' sounded fab on Bob also.

― the bellefox, Monday, 19 September 2005 13:40 (twenty years ago)

She's fantastic live, and I think Humming is better than the last one -- esp love 'Letters' and 'Old Downtown.'

― TRG (TRG), Monday, 19 September 2005 14:01 (twenty years ago)

I saw her live last week. She was wonderful, and "14th Street" was a highlight.

The support will probably be Holly Williams, granddaughter of Hank. I wasn't very enthused, until her final song (you'll see).

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Monday, 19 September 2005 14:15 (twenty years ago)

It's easily her worst album, even though it's still pretty okay. It's just too glossy and middle of the road for me... not that she was howlin' wolf to begin with, but her other two albums and her peel session are much more worthwhile.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Monday, 19 September 2005 15:13 (twenty years ago)

I saw her in Nashville couple weeks ago and thought she was good. I *like* the production on the new album--I think "Old Downtown" is kinda brilliant, those drums really make it, in my opinion.

― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Monday, 19 September 2005 23:17 (twenty years ago)

"14th street" is pretty.

― s/c (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 19 September 2005 23:27 (twenty years ago)

She was smashing.

― the bellefox, Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:23 (twenty years ago)

please buy more copies.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:38 (twenty years ago)

I admire greatly the craft of '14th Street'.

It's better than Lucinda Williams' song 'Letters'!

― the bellefox, Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:50 (twenty years ago)

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