Live

Submitted by nonesuch on
Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Colvin culled these 15 live tracks from two decades’ worth of material, including her Nonesuch debut, These Four Walls, and makes it all sound even more deeply insightful and compellingly up to date in these sets from three sold-out nights at Yoshi's San Francisco in July 2008.

Description

“I’ve been doing this a long time,” declared Shawn Colvin upon the release of her 2006 Nonesuch debut, These Four Walls, “and it’s great to feel like I’m doing my best work now.”

This new live solo set reconfirms that feeling. The three-time Grammy Award–winning singer-songwriter combines material from two decades’ worth of recordings and makes it all sound even more deeply insightful and compellingly up to date, recent songs like “Fill Me Up,” the yearning opening track of These Four Walls, and the tougher, bleaker “I’m Gone,” seem as much like old favorites now as “Sunny Came Home,” Colvin’s career-making Top 40 success, and “Shotgun Down the Avalanche,” from her 1989 major-label debut, Steady On. Along with original songs from five studio albums, Colvin performs covers of Robbie Robertson’s “Twilight” and Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.” With the latter, she transforms what was a funky, sing-along smash into something dark, brooding and bluesy—and she performs it with utter conviction to a rapt audience. She ends on a sweeter, more hopefully romantic note with a version of Talking Heads’ “This Must Be the Place,” which she made her own years ago on the 1994 Cover Girl collection.

Colvin culled these 15 tracks from three sold-out nights at the new San Francisco location of famed Oakland jazz club Yoshi’s in July 2008. The simplicity of Colvin’s performance makes for an engrossing, intimate experience. Her deft acoustic-guitar playing is as eloquent in this unadorned setting as her vocals and her lyrics, which are stripped of sentimentality but stocked with hard-earned wisdom. Aside from the occasional “thank you,” Colvin avoids between-songs patter—though she manages a funny, memorable retort to an audience member’s joking request for “Free Bird” at encore time.

Since joining Nonesuch, Colvin has racked up the accolades. Reviewing These Four Walls, the Washington Post said, “The emotions fueling the lyrics are more complex and more mature than anything she’s offered previously. The image of a middle-aged woman laid bare in These Four Walls isn’t one for the industry. It’s one for the ages.”

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Shawn Colvin and John Leventhal
Mixed by Rick Depofi and John Leventhal at New York Noise, NYC
Live recording by Eric Moffat, Obie O’Brien, and Keith Yansurak at Yoshi’s, San Francisco

Songs written by Shawn Colvin (1, 11, 12); Shawn Colvin & John Leventhal (2, 3, 6-10, 13); Shawn Colvin, John Leventhal, Tom Littlefield (5); Jaime Robbie Robertson (4); Brian Joseph Burton, Thomas Decarlo Callaway, Gian Piero Reverbi, Gianfranco Reverberi (14); David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison (15)

Photography by Rodney Bursiel
Design by Jeri Heiden for SMOG, Los Angeles

Nonesuch Selection Number

310140

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
Album Status
Artist Name
Shawn Colvin
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Shawn Colvin, guitar, vocals

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597996685BUN
Label
MP3
Price
11.00
UPC
075597996678
  • 310140

News & Reviews

  • Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Shawn Colvin, and Billy Bragg are among the artists who will perform at the 15th annual Americana Honors & Awards ceremony, taking place at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Wednesday, September 21, 2016. NPR.org will present a live video stream from the ceremony. A live audio simulcast of the Honors & Awards show will also be available via SiriusXM's Outlaw Country. The PBS series Austin City Limits will broadcast a special featuring performance highlights from the event on November 19. Shawn Colvin and Billy Bragg will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards; Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell are up for Duo/Group of the Year, as are Lake Street Dive.

  • Congratulations to Shawn Colvin, who will receive the Lifetime Achievement Trailblazer Award at the 2016 Americana Honors & Awards ceremony at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on September 21. Also among the six Lifetime Achievement Award honorees are Billy Bragg, this year's recipient of the Spirit of Americana Free Speech Award, and Woody Guthrie, the posthumous recipient of this year's President's Award. It was announced earlier this year that the Duo/Group of the Year nominees include both Lake Stree Dive and Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell.

Buy Now

  • About This Album

    “I’ve been doing this a long time,” declared Shawn Colvin upon the release of her 2006 Nonesuch debut, These Four Walls, “and it’s great to feel like I’m doing my best work now.”

    This new live solo set reconfirms that feeling. The three-time Grammy Award–winning singer-songwriter combines material from two decades’ worth of recordings and makes it all sound even more deeply insightful and compellingly up to date, recent songs like “Fill Me Up,” the yearning opening track of These Four Walls, and the tougher, bleaker “I’m Gone,” seem as much like old favorites now as “Sunny Came Home,” Colvin’s career-making Top 40 success, and “Shotgun Down the Avalanche,” from her 1989 major-label debut, Steady On. Along with original songs from five studio albums, Colvin performs covers of Robbie Robertson’s “Twilight” and Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.” With the latter, she transforms what was a funky, sing-along smash into something dark, brooding and bluesy—and she performs it with utter conviction to a rapt audience. She ends on a sweeter, more hopefully romantic note with a version of Talking Heads’ “This Must Be the Place,” which she made her own years ago on the 1994 Cover Girl collection.

    Colvin culled these 15 tracks from three sold-out nights at the new San Francisco location of famed Oakland jazz club Yoshi’s in July 2008. The simplicity of Colvin’s performance makes for an engrossing, intimate experience. Her deft acoustic-guitar playing is as eloquent in this unadorned setting as her vocals and her lyrics, which are stripped of sentimentality but stocked with hard-earned wisdom. Aside from the occasional “thank you,” Colvin avoids between-songs patter—though she manages a funny, memorable retort to an audience member’s joking request for “Free Bird” at encore time.

    Since joining Nonesuch, Colvin has racked up the accolades. Reviewing These Four Walls, the Washington Post said, “The emotions fueling the lyrics are more complex and more mature than anything she’s offered previously. The image of a middle-aged woman laid bare in These Four Walls isn’t one for the industry. It’s one for the ages.”

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Shawn Colvin, guitar, vocals

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Shawn Colvin and John Leventhal
    Mixed by Rick Depofi and John Leventhal at New York Noise, NYC
    Live recording by Eric Moffat, Obie O’Brien, and Keith Yansurak at Yoshi’s, San Francisco

    Songs written by Shawn Colvin (1, 11, 12); Shawn Colvin & John Leventhal (2, 3, 6-10, 13); Shawn Colvin, John Leventhal, Tom Littlefield (5); Jaime Robbie Robertson (4); Brian Joseph Burton, Thomas Decarlo Callaway, Gian Piero Reverbi, Gianfranco Reverberi (14); David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison (15)

    Photography by Rodney Bursiel
    Design by Jeri Heiden for SMOG, Los Angeles