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The standout cuts on this follow-up to Kathleen Edwards's highly praised debut,
Failer, serve notice that the Canadian artist has no intention of remaining a cult favorite in the States. The opening "In State" evokes the anthem-like sweep of Tom Petty's "Refugee," complete with signature organ by the Heartbreakers' Benmont Tench, though its lyric of a prison-bound paramour smacks of déjà vu, Failure having opened with a similar narrative. The propulsive title track, with its irresistible double-entendre hook, deserves to be Edwards's breakthrough hit, while the yearning "Old Time Sake" and the buoyant yet bittersweet "Summerlong" expose a disarming tenderness underlying her tough-chick bravado. Over the course of the album, too much of the midtempo material sounds too much the same, more inspired lyrically than musically, failing to sustain the momentum of the opening tracks. The stripped-down intimacy of "Away" will likely rekindle comparisons to Lucinda Williams, but this artist sounds eager to outgrow those.
--Don McLeese Influences and Contemporaries
Whiskeytown, Strangers Almanac |
Whiskeytown, Faithless Street |
Sarah Harmer, You Were Here |
Sarah Harmer, All of Our Names |
Lucinda Williams |
Lucinda Williams, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road |
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(48 customer reviews) 59 of 63 people found the following review helpful
Gorgeous album with moments of penetrating beauty.,
March 2, 2005 D. Mok (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Back to Me (Audio CD)
Kathleen Edwards had already exhibited a great deal of artistic confidence on her first record, Failer, but on Back to Me, she seems to have moved on to the next level.
Her songwriting remains sharp and melodic, exhibiting a Neil Young-like ability to write concise, flowing lyrics and express deep emotions via simple, effective melodies. Her singing, however, has taken especially great strides. Playing and singing live for the past year has done wonders for her technique, for her pitch is more accurate, her phrasing more engaging, and her timbre far more rich than before. Instrumentally she gathers yet another great band, this one spearheaded by one of Canada's great guitarists, Colin Cripps (formerly of Crash Vegas, now married to Edwards, and also the producer on this record), whose expansive, ringing tones and innovative parts add immensely to Edwards' palette. Like Jon Brion, Cripps has a knack for playing unusual yet perfectly comfortable parts within simple songs,...Read more
27 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Out of the Shadow,
June 9, 2005 Richard Nelson (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Back to Me (Audio CD)
At first I thought this album sounded too "same"--too much of one sound and not enough variety to carry an entire CD. Over time, though, this record has grown on me; if not Failer's equal, it's close, and Kathleen has definitely stepped out of the shadow of Lucinda Williams and into a place her unique voice makes possible for her and few others.
The album starts very strong with back to back rockers, then suffers its only missteps with "Pink Emerson Radio" and the too-precious "Independent Thief." Press on, listener! The weary tales of "Old Time Sake" and the hopeful "Summerlong" get things moving again, "What Are You Waiting For?" is a rollicking taunt, and "Away" is a beauty of a ballad.
This album features an incredibly strong closing trifecta. Leading off with the only non-Edwards song on the album, "Somewhere Else," we move to the record's standout, "Copied Keys," which finds Kathleen musing on the pain of moving to a new place for love and feeling like a...Read more
22 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Back To Me has me back for MORE!,
March 1, 2005 This review is from: Back to Me (Audio CD)
Kathleen Edwards is releasing here a fantastic new CD with many deeply felt honest and explored feelings, well sung and drawn out as if it were a collage of raw and candid emotion on a canvass that results in an awesome and exquisite new album! People point out that Kathleen uses combinations of folk music, country and rock to do all this-and they are right.
The CD starts off strong with the track entitled "In State." This is then followed by the very self-assured title track "Back To Me." Wow, this title track is powerful! I love these great lyrics: "I've got ways to make you sing my songs/Ones I ain't written yet/I've got lights you've never seen/I've got moves I've never used/I've got ways to make you come/Back to me." The musical arrangement here is strong to support her statement and it is equally well written. At the other end of the spectrum are two songs, "Independent Thief," and "Away" deal with incredible heartache and deeply wounded feelings.
Edwards...Read more
