Shawn Colvin's Live, featuring 15 live tracks from two decades’ worth of material, was released on Nonesuch earlier this summer. No Depression sees the new collection as "a terrific career overview," confirming that "Colvin is a solo-acoustic performer of stratospheric skill." The album serves as "a gorgeous and satisfying reminder of what is so special about this great American artist." Country Chart calls it "the best concert recording of the year."
Shawn Colvin's Live, featuring 15 live tracks from two decades’ worth of material, was released on Nonesuch earlier this summer. No Depression, billed as "the roots music authority," describes the Colvin catalog, from which those songs were chosen, as "smart, emotional modern folk" and sees the new collection as "a terrific career overview."
The album was recorded live over Shawn's three-night solo residency at Yoshi's in San Francisco last summer, and, says No Depression's Steve Leftridge, that setting showcased the singer-songwriter at her finest. "Shawn Colvin is a solo-acoustic performer of stratospheric skill," he writes, performing songs "infused with a direct clarity and beauty." In the pared-down environment of guitar—he calls it her "long-overdue guitar album"—and vocals, that skill shines through: "Colvin is simply an amazing singer, and there's no document that proves it more than Live. The clean pliancy of her voice is a marvel ..."
Live, the reviewer concludes, is "a gorgeous and satisfying reminder of what is so special about this great American artist."
Read the complete album review at nodepression.com.
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Country Chart says the new album "provides proof positive that Shawn Colvin is still at the very top of her profession. In fact, Shawn Colvin's Live is the best concert recording of the year."
It's evident from the album's start, with the review praising the "lovely quiet but confident vocals, an exceptional guitar performance and piercing lyrics" on the opening track, "Polaroids." Country Chart cites as the album's "biggest surprise" Shawn's "brilliant cover" of the Talking Heads tune "This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)." Says the review: "The brilliance of Shawn Colvin's interpretation cannot be overstated. Colvin truly makes the Talking Heads classic her own and provides a new cultural resonance for the track's terrific lyrics." It's something she does as well with Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy," a song she turns into "a compelling folk tour de force."
For much more, visit countrychart.com.
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