Live albums can be rote. Camper van Beethoven nailed it when they titled their own concert disc “Greatest Hits Played Faster.” In pop history, there have been way too many live “products” designed to sell yet another version of “Start Me Up” or “Bennie and the Jets” or “Maybe I’m Amazed” to fill the bins between new studio albums.
This isn’t one of those.
For one thing, Neko Case has loads of indie cred, a spot in the Canadian pop supergroup New Pornographers (BTW, the single most frustrating band to search for on net search engines), and a huge, pure voice, but she hasn’t got any greatest hits. And she and her band on these nights, the Sadies, mostly take their time.
Neko’s studio albums have always struck me as not having struck me quite enough. Her voice is unforgettable, and I LOVE the New Pornos, especially the Neko songs, but her solo albums have been too full of hookless songs and mid-tempo stuff that doesn’t show off her expressive pipes.
“Tigers,” on the other hand, is a mishmash of covers, a couple of new songs, and just a couple of old tunes. It is glorious, and maybe career-making, full of high-lonesome twang and chugging, unabashed country rock.
Neko’s beautiful, gutsy singing is from heaven, and the songs are, for once, perfectly chosen. “If You Knew” and “Favorite” are two of the best tunes she’s ever penned — “Favorite” has a vocal performance that is just stunning — and Buffy Sainte Marie’s “Soulful Shade of Blue” is a flat-out terrific song that I can’t believe no one else has covered over the years. The other treasures, including Loretta Lynn’s “X-Rated” and the breathtaking group vocals (the excellent Kelly Hogan and Carolyn Mark are in the Sadies), especially on “Hex,” I will leave for you to discover. This is really great, great stuff.
Article comments
1 - Temple A. Stark
Gotcha again CC.
I put this up on Advance.net, too.
Your review can be found at this link.