Kathryn Williams - Relations

Styles: Vocal, Folk
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:33
Size: 102,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:37)  1. In A Broken Dream
(2:26)  2. Birds
(2:56)  3. Thirteen
(5:09)  4. Hallelujah
(2:49)  5. The Ballad Of Easy Rider
(2:58)  6. A Guy What Takes His Time
(3:33)  7. Candy Says
(2:34)  8. How Can We Hang On To A Dream
(3:07)  9. I Started A Joke
(2:46) 10. Easy And Me
(3:23) 11. Spit On A Stranger
(3:34) 12. All Apologies
(1:31) 13. Beautiful Cosmos
(4:02) 14. These Days

Originally released during her major-label stint and given a reissue some years later after she found her independent feet all the more strongly, Relations is that sometimes revelatory, sometimes time-killing impulse brought to life the covers album, paying homage to past inspirations old and young. Some of the choices seem obvious more by default and time due to shifting contexts mittedly Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" had already seemed plenty familiar again thanks to Jeff Buckley's cover at the time of the first release of Relations, but in 2010 one almost wants to beg for any other Cohen song just for a bit of contrast, however much her version, recorded live, ends on a sharp, strong note. Similarly, "All Apologies" seems like an almost too pat choice of Nirvana cover, not helped by a high-pitched string part that spills into the melodramatic from the start. Williams' takes are at the least enjoyable in a sweetly formal way, though, leaving the more unexpected choices, at least in song if not in composer, to take the lion's share of the praise. Having Neil Young's After the Gold Rush represented by "Birds" is a nice touch, Williams giving it a beautiful performance slightly touched by string parts, while picking the late Pavement single "Spit on a Stranger" is both an inspired touch and also results in a lovely remake all around. Versions of "Thirteen" by Big Star and the Velvet Underground's "Candy Says" successfully showcase Williams' particular ear for studio-shaped folk very well in turn -- the latter, in a fun touch, is actually more energetic than the original, peppier without losing its overall fragility. Perhaps the most inspired touch comes courtesy of Ivor Cutler's "Beautiful Cosmos," with the Scottish artist's sharp wit given a winning makeover. ~ Ned Raggett http://www.allmusic.com/album/relations-mw0000468331

Personnel:  Kathryn Williams - vocals, guitar, electric guitar, glockenspiel, sampler, theramin, backing vocals & percussion;  Laura Reid - cello, bass guitar, organ & backing vocals;  David Scott - guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar & backing vocals;  Johnny Bridgwood - double bass;  Alex Tustin – drums;  Joe Montgomery - violin

Relations

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Kathryn Williams - Crown Electric

Styles: Vocal, Folk
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:57
Size: 114,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:38)  1. Underground
(3:19)  2. Gave It Away
(3:35)  3. Heart Shaped Stone
(3:29)  4. Count
(3:31)  5. Out Of Time
(3:35)  6. Monday Morning
(3:38)  7. Darkness Light
(4:49)  8. Picture Book
(4:50)  9. Morning Twilight
(3:16) 10. Arwen
(3:35) 11. Tequila
(4:56) 12. Sequins
(3:40) 13. The Known

Before Elvis Presley was crowned the King of Rock N Roll and basically changed the music world forever, he worked as a truck driver and delivery man for a company called Crown Electric. It’s that company which gives Kathryn Williams‘ 10th album its title, and although it’s unlikely to eventually power her to Presley-style success, her most accessible album yet should win her a fair proportion of new fans. So often dismissed as a ‘folkie’, with all the niche interest that implies, Williams in fact sounds nothing less than a contemporary singer/songwriter, and it’s a sound that’s been refined and perfected on Crown Electric. There isn’t a track that wouldn’t sound out of place on the radio without turning overtly poppy or dumbing down, it typifies the kind of quiet, pretty songs she’s specialised in since 1999. As ever, beneath the beauty of Williams’ melodies lies a darkness. Opening track Underground skips along irresistibly, but concerns the mundane existence of commuters “I see the same people on the train, I don’t say hello, I don’t even wave” muses Williams, before deciding “I don’t want to live like this till I’m underground”. As with her best work, it’s like having your hair stroked before being punched in the gut.

There’s certainly an existential theme running through Crown Electric, with several songs concerning the passing of time as Count explicitly states “I’ve got to make these hours count, these seconds count”. It’s a subject revisited in the gentle jazz swing of Out Of Time, with the heart-rendering line “when you’re supposed to know you’re in your prime, until it’s behind you”, while the gently lilting Monday Morning is a plea to stop wishing the days away. Williams’ long-term producer Neill MacColl sprinkles his usual magic on the album, with the lovely, string-accompanied Heart Shaped Stone already sounding like a hit in waiting, and the second half of the record sees a couple of collaborations with Ed Harcourt which give Williams’ music an added depth. The swirling torch ballad Darkness Rises is probably the best of these, but Sequins (apparently written by Williams in Harcourt’s bath) is a definite highlight, if only for the line “If I walked the afterlife with no make-up on, I’d  be frightening the angels for good”. It’s little lyrical gems like that which make Crown Electric such a joy to listen to. The title track cleverly compares the life of tragic icons like Presley, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston to the travails of the ordinary singer/songwriter (“well, stones can feel just as heavy as gold”) while Tequila contains probably the album’s key line, “Be brave enough to be yourself”. It’s been Williams’ ability to be herself that’s let her quietly grow into being an immensely talented songwriter. Crown Electric is not so much a case of ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ but rather ‘it ain’t broke, but let’s make it even better’. ~ John Murphy https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/kathryn-williams-crown-electric

Crown Electric

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