Reviewed by: Josh Love
Reviewed on: 2006-03-10

Posted 03/10/2006 - 09:13:16 AM by wmdavidson:
	Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell fading into the background? What bizarro-world version of Electric Ladyland have you been listening to?
Posted 03/10/2006 - 09:49:41 AM by inabillity:
	So you\'re faulting this album for its musicianship (sadies, howe gelb, calexico et al) and not Neko\'s lyrics-over-tunes approach? As if Neko didn\'t dictate who she wanted on her record and wasn\'t specifically looking for any county noir sound? It\'s certainly an interesting opinion, but I don\'t quite follow your argument. You\'d prefer a more traditionally country-inclined band over her finely honed atmospherics, and this fits her music better, how?
Posted 03/10/2006 - 10:11:58 AM by knockturn:
	I was going to give a structured, articulate response to your review highlighting and explaining why I disagreed with your review, but then thought fuck it, you\'re wrong. normally I think horses for courses, whatever floats your boat etc. but no, truth is, you\'re wrong. I can\'t even be arsed to tell you why, because, for you to be so wrong, makes any argument pointless. you\'d never understand. you\'re just wrong.
Posted 03/10/2006 - 10:26:03 AM by beepdopweeb:
	Simply put, you are trying too hard to show your widespread knowledge of culture. Pacino? James Brown? What a fake review. You\'re striving to say something \"critical\" about a very solid album from a voice more unique than 90% of her contemporaries. Go read your Derrida, you poseur.
Posted 03/10/2006 - 10:46:20 AM by theokcomputer:
	I agree with wmdavidson; you can\'t write off Mitch Mitchell.
Posted 03/10/2006 - 10:57:34 AM by carlamudpie:
	regardless of the mitch mitchell argument, i\'m happy that (some) reviewers are finally calling neko case on her ways... she IS a great talent who can use some friction. her voice is compelling but the songs often are not. i\'ve kept buying the records, but she\'s going to have to PROVE she deserves my money next time around (& that is taking into consideration that, yes, i will enjoy this one. i just want to start loving, or at least be very excited by, the whole).
Posted 03/10/2006 - 12:51:20 PM by garlad1:
	Yeah, you really blew it on the Hendrix comparison. I have to agree with the Neko Rating though. I was listening to one her new songs on the drive home last night and alternately thinking, \'this is brilliant\' and \'what a meandering mess\'. She needs a better songwriter/producer/partner. Just don\'t call the Matrix, please...
Posted 03/10/2006 - 12:53:25 PM by andrewi31:
	Yeah man, like, how can you write off Kevin Ollie?
Posted 03/10/2006 - 01:09:39 PM by cosmokane31:
	This review makes its point, but the red herring comparisons are unwarranted. \"Are You Experienced?\"? \"Axis: Bold as Love\"? \"Electric Ladyland\"? Those don\'t \"hold up\" as well as... name three James Brown albums that do? JB had better singles, but damned if Noel and Mitch didn\'t hold down the rhythm section nicely on Jimi\'s studio albums. Band of Gypsies rocked harder and deeper, but Jimi\'s recordings with them are mostly jams, not songs.
Posted 03/10/2006 - 02:31:13 PM by AKMoose:
	When you open and close a review by knocking Hendrix, you\'re going to immediately blow your credibility for a great deal of your readers, including myself. But, even granting you that, sometimes music is based around one person or element. Granted, Hendrix might have been the draw, but that doesn\'t mean Redding and Mitchell were slouching, and it would be insane to expect Jimi to have found one of the most innovative and influential bassists and one of the most compelling drummers in the history of rock and roll just for balance. While I wouldn\'t put Neko Case at quite that level, it\'s her solo album, and it\'s going to be about her voice. I kind of see what you were getting at with the review, and to an extent I agree, but I feel like you took it too far.
Posted 03/10/2006 - 03:13:00 PM by mpatton:
	I take it that you don\'t live in Philadelphia --- Iverson is the most selfish player in the NBA. Unless you\'re trying to say that Case wanted/demanded to take all the \'shot attempts\' on this record so that no one would even have the chance to overshadow her; then you\'d be right on. Though, I\'ve never seen A.I. referred to as \"Alley I.\"
Posted 03/10/2006 - 03:38:11 PM by watery:
	review structure aside, this is one of the few reviews i\'ve read that gets it right. she\'s a great voice and not much else, and after a while that makes the great voice pretty grating. andre igoudala took 3 shots last nite. iverson took 32. there ya go.
Posted 03/10/2006 - 04:21:50 PM by badgerfan:
	A C+ coming from the guy who gave Kelly Fucking Clarkson an A-. The biggest issue this guy seems to take with the album is that it doesn\'t fit neatly into a verse/chorus/verse pattern. And enough already with the Patsy Cline comparisons. She didn\'t write any of her own music. It\'s tiresome, lazy journalism. I think Mr. Love chose this album to give a poor review to for the attention it\'ll get him.
Posted 03/10/2006 - 06:06:12 PM by inabillity:
	\"her voice is compelling but the songs often are not.\" I may agree with that statement, but Josh seems to think (as far as I can tell) that this is more because of the musicians\' performances rather than a result of Neko\'s writing. Josh praises her songs, but criticizes the arrangements. Read the last three sentences.
Posted 03/10/2006 - 07:52:18 PM by mvdu76:
	Absolutely nuts review. I guess Stylus magazine hasn\'t improved much after all. This will be on my best of 2006 list.
Posted 03/10/2006 - 09:27:29 PM by cut_dead:
	You gave that Darkness album a B. Enough said.
Posted 03/11/2006 - 08:11:40 PM by MonsterKids:
	You fry my cheese, mister! Good gawd.
Posted 05/28/2006 - 08:06:31 PM by pearce:
	Eek! Pretension galore in this review. I challenge the reviewer to name one James Brown album from Brown's entire career that is better than any album released by the Jimi Hendrix Experience during Hendrix's lifetime. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood is choice, too.
Posted 08/13/2006 - 01:44:03 AM by loureed1000:
	Holy Cow, that is the worst writing - let alone review - I have ever seen in my life. When I saw the grade I almost choked to death. You really need to consider revising this review if you care about credibility. A "C+" is pure insanity. The song structure is completely innovative on most of these beautiful songs. She throws out unnecessary repeat choruses intentionally, and it works like nothing I have ever heard. There is no question that she is growing as a songwriter. Her voice alone would give her a "C" if she just burped for an hour. The band, which the reviewer criticizes, is actually the best part of the recording. They add amazing moments of noise and dissonance in key places while refraining from going "overboard" about it. Individually, they have impeccable credentials as well. The reviewer has everything wrong. Neko must have passed him after a concert and not said "Hello" to him or something and broke his heart. That is the only scenario under which a "C+" is reasonable.