JJ on Kathleen Edwards new cd

[slaa]

http://chartattack.com/damn/2005/03/0106.cfm

Kathleen Edwards Gets A Hand From My Morning Jacket

Tuesday March 01, 2005 @ 04:00 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff


Kathleen Edwards  

The sophomore slump — it's what every musician dreads. Following a successful debut, the accompanying acclaim brings extra pressure to produce a follow-up album that is just as good, if not greater, in the eyes of record-label execs, critics and fans alike.

Singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards can relate to this pressure. Her major-label debut Failer was all the rage in roots-rock circles in 2003. No Depression raved that the album marked "the arrival of a rare talent" and Rolling Stone named her one of the year's most promising acts. It's no surprise then that these accolades weighed on Edwards' mind when she entered the studio to record Failer's follow, Back To Me — released this Tuesday on MapleMusic.

"I think going into it, I was like I'm definitely not going to allow myself to succumb to the external forces that tend to impose that [pressure]," she explains. "Then, I actually started doing it and I realized, 'Holy shit!' I totally was struggling with the feeling 'What am doing here? Is this like Failer? Is it different? Is it more produced? Is it too produced? Are the songs as good as the first record?'

"I definitely went through a couple of weeks where I was really uncertain as to whether or not what I was doing was any good."

A few listens of Back To Me are all the proof one needs to know that this Americana artist has overcome the sophomore jinx by producing another disc that's filled with heartache, longing and songs that will warm you up until spring arrives... and then will continue to find a home in your stereo until the next frost.

Edwards' touring band for the past few years were the same who joined her for the Back To Me sessions.

"I'm lucky that I have surrounded myself with the same people," she says. "If anyone would tell me it sucks, it was them."

Several guests also joined the songsmith for the Back To Me sessions that took place over nine months at Toronto's Reaction studio. [glb]My Morning Jacket's Jim James (whom Edwards met at the Gram Parsons Tribute show last summer) lent his vocals to "Independent Thief" [/glb]and friend and fellow songwriter Jim Bryson sang on "Summerlong."

Edwards also covers one of Bryson's songs ("Somewhere Else") and he's joining her band for the upcoming tour.

Overall, Back To Me evokes the theme of absence; the 26-year-old songwriter documents all the changes that life as a professional musician has created.

"'Copied Keys' is the song that is most reflective of what the record is about," she says. "I think for the most part the record is a lot about absence. I moved from Ottawa to [Toronto] and I pretty much spent the last two years on the road before I started making this record. And, as much as it's been an amazing experience, it's also been a pretty shockingly huge change for me and there are a lot of things in my life now that are very different.

"I think 'Copied Keys' captures the true essence of what it's been like to be plucked out of my life."

—David McPherson

[whothrewthecake]

i saw kathleen edwards on david letterman last night. and i must say, she was quite enjoyable.

[Chills]

Jim is so popular now!
Who wouldn't want him to sing back-up vocals.
I would ask it now before he gets to expensive  ;)

[EC]

Oh good it's out.  I've been waiting for this one.  I loved Failer.  And Jim sings on the new record?  :D

It's almost like all of my favourite musicians are friends.  (with each other)  

(anybody heard it yet?  the new one?)

[JacketGal]

Heard it once, it just appeared on Rhapsody today. I'm also going to see her in May at a small club which should be perfect.  :D

Here's their mini-review:
With the underrated Failer grabbing the attention of twang heads, it's no surprise that Edwards' second outing includes Jim James of My Morning Jacket. Sounding like the long-lost daughter of Linda Hargrove, Edwards writes the kind of mercurial musings that seem to address your own lovelorn longings.

[MMJ_fanatic]

Great!  I love having a motivational excuse to check out new, interesting artists!

[EC]

Great! ÊI love having a motivational excuse to check out new, interesting artists!

She's also very cute and sings about drinking and other cool girl things.

www.kathleenedwards.com

[whothrewthecake]

i love how she links mmj.com on her site and says jim sings like a motherfucker. well she ain't too bad either!  ;)

[EC]

Yeah.  She's very badass.  It's extremely cool.

[40206]

From

From www.productionsimple.com

Kathleen Edwards
w/ [glb]SPECIAL GUEST[/glb]


Tuesday, May 17, 9:00pm
Uncle Pleasants (which is in Louisville--for those of you not familiar with the Biggest City in Kentucky)

Tickets: $12• On Sale
March 12 @ 10am
Available at TicketWeb, Venue
& ear X-tacy
Ages: 21 & up

Any ideas on who the special guest could be?  I have one guess, and his name ain't Jebus.

[EC]

maaaaaan.

(Need to point out that it's not written here, so it isn't happening until it's written here...)

You Louisville people must go to this.  Yes yes for Jim, but you will love her.

[EC]

So.  

Today was a shitty, shitty day for me.  No need to get into the details, just stupid dumb stuff that wrecks a day.  Started off bad and just continued.  This is at work.

On my way home, I get one of our NOW magazines.  Kathleen Edwards is on the front.  I'm on the bus.  I realize that she's playing tonight (at a club about seven minutes away from my apartment), and I've totally forgot, and It's sold out.

Great.

So, for a lark, I decide to go by the club (The Mod Club for those who know Toronto) anyhow.  Just to see.  And there's a scalper, so I say "Fuck it" and decide to give myself an early birthday present.

I get in there, and I'm alone, but I don't really care.  I actually like being alone at concerts sometimes, and I decided to start drinking because the damn day warranted it!

I'm watching the opening act, and a gal who stage managed a show I produced last year was beside me.  And I adore her, so that was cool.  And then, during intermission, a great friend, a guy I play with, came up.  He was there with this girl friend of his, and had a backstage pass.  (The gal works for the record company that represents Kathleen.)

So.  We watch the show.  It's really, really fucking good.  The girl can play, and Colin Cripps is ridiculously good.  They're all good.  She has a stellar band, and I'm extremely jealous of her guitars.

Oh fuck, I totally forgot.  When I first got there I ordered a double Maker's Mark, neat, and the bar gal said they were out of Maker's, so I had a Jim Beam.  (A sad second, but it was that or Wild Turkey, and somehow, it didn't seem like a WT night.)  Anyhow, I didn't know what to do with my drink because I had to pee, so I made friends with a bouncer who held it for me.

Dudes, this is a long story.  If you're not interested any further, I grant you full permission to stop reading.  I'm long winded as it is, and this isn't gonna change here.

Anyhow, I'm washing my hands, and Kathleen walks out and starts washing her hands.  I whisper "I'm really excited!"  She whispers back "Me, too!  I've never played here before."  So I explain that the sound is always really good.  And then I ask her where she played last, and she says they haven't played for ten days because they're taking a break before leaving for Europe tomorrow.  (Riny, O, Europeans, take heed - you gotta go and see this girl.  It's an amazing show.)

So I say "Good luck", and it ends at that.

Anyhow, back to the set.  So, my friend S. is there for free because a friend of his works for Kathleen's label.  And they have passes.  And I'm jealous.

The show ends, it's incredible, and someone who has a pass leaves and asks me if I'd like it.  Ummmm, okay?

So we hang upstairs with the band.  Nothing crazy, we talked to them a bit, but I did that HORRIBLE thing where, ah nevermind, here's how the conversation went.  

Kathleen passes me, and I say
"Hey, great show."
"Thanks a lot."
"Yeah, really lovely."
"Do I know you?"
"Only from the bathroom."
"Oh YEAH."
"Yeah, hey, have fun on your European tour."
"Thanks!"
"Okay, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"On Independent Thief, where did you record?"
"Here in Toronto."
"So Jim came to Toronto?"
"Oh?!  No, we did it all, and sent it to him."
"So he recorded in Louisville?"
"Yeah.  And it was so cool that he did that."

Ah, yeah.  Yes it was.  And you should've turned the fucking volume up on his backup, only I NEVER said that, of course.

So they all took off, and it was just me and my pal S. hanging out.  And, dudes, there was a spread, and there was alcohol, and there was MAKER'S MARK.  I guess they hadn't sold out, they'd just used it all up for the band.

And wine.  There was a $90 bottle of wine sitting there half done.  And everyone was gone.

This is maybe bad, I don't know - we took it!  So I'm sitting here, it's now my birthday, I'm drinking wine that is way more expensive than I could possibly ever imagine buy8ing (it's very lovely).

And that's the start of the big weekend.  Isn't that fun?

[sweatboard]

That is certifiably AWESOME Meg.  I really love her performance with John Doe at the Gram tribute.  As for turning up the vocals, you can't even f-ing hear Jim on that song.....what a crime.  I'm not even sure that he actually sings on the album.  Oh Well, at least M. Ward knew what the hell he was doing. :D

[EC]

As for turning up the vocals, you can't even f-ing hear Jim on that song.....what a crime.  I'm not even sure that he actually sings on the album.  Oh Well, at least M. Ward knew what the hell he was doing.

WORD!!!!! :)

Totally forgot.  I asked Kathleen and Colin about the GP DVD, too.  Apparently Colin wore a Nudie suit, as well.  AND he told me the story of how Nudie got his name.  (Used to design for strippers.)  Anyhow, I THINK the story goes that Polly had a few kicking around, and wondered who wanted to wear them.  So Colin and Jim wanted to.  (This may be totally wrong.  I have drunk a LOT tonight, and I'm flying by the seat of my pants here.)

Anyhow, Colin picked one and Jim picked one.  And there were probably others.  Did I mention that Colin is a class A guitarist?

I would've picked a Nudie suit.  Girls never wear them, and I think they should.  Nudie designed some very nice tailored classic suits for girls, but god damn, the babes need to wear the glitzy numbers.

[Oz]

So what was that horrible thing that you did?  :P

[EC]

So what was that horrible thing that you did?  :P

Oh, just talk about another musician when you're chatting with someone who just had a show.  Like how people always want to talk about Bob when they're talking to Jacob Dylan.  (I talked a bit about Jim James to Kathleen Edwards.  But yeah.  It wasn't too bad. :))

[ChiefOKONO]

Wine Stealer!! hahh just kidding

great story thanks for sharing!

[EC]

Wine Stealer!! hahh just kidding

Yeah, well, next time I see THAT girl, I'm gonna call her a Wine Waster!!  Who leaves a half full bottle of wine?!

Rock stars, that's who!!!  Yeah!!

(and who picks 'em up?  Po people.  heh.  :))