Carrie Rodriguez - Love and Circumstance
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| Pastemagazine |
| Trekking on others’ musical property is a risky maneuver. Carrie Rodriguez thinks otherwise. On her third solo release the Texan singer-songwriter/fiddler boldly takes on timeless folk-country grit—the likes of the Williams’ (Hank Jr. and Lucinda), Merle Haggard (“Today I Started Loving You Again”) and Townes Van Zandt (“Rex’s Blues”)— with a suave back-country elegance. Each track sees small-batch wisdom intertwine with Rodriguez’ earthy vocals that slather themselves, oftentimes too gently, over simple acoustic plucking. The arrangements, while occasionally tedious, still impress with their affable charm....full text |
| Popdose |
| I’ve really pretty much had it with covers records — those of you who follow me on Twitter may have recently experienced my raging disdain for Marc Cohn’s upcoming exercise in laziness — but even I have to admit that not all of them are created equal, and very, very few of them boast pedigrees as stellar as Carrie Rodriguez’s Love and Circumstance. Rodriguez herself is no slouch, and I happen to think she actually excels when she’s interpreting others’ material — and here, she’s not only joined by an ace band that includes Bill Frisell and Greg Leisz, but she cherry-picks from some spectacular songbooks, including John Hiatt (the Little Village cut “Big Love”), Lucinda Williams (“Steal Your Love”), and Townes Van Zandt (“Rex’s Blues”). The result is a collection that, while it certainly doesn’t break any artistic ground, does a wonderful job of paying tribute to some of roots rock’s leading lights. The band is marvelous, as you’d expect, and Rodriguez’s vocals have the sweetness and fine texture of dark honey. In fact, she damn near makes these songs her own; if you aren’t familiar with the originals, you’d never suspect their disparate origins, and even if you loved these songs the first time around, you’ll be hard-pressed to deny that Rodriguez does right by them. Looking at the album artwork, you might be tempted to dismiss her as purely a pretty face, but don’t be fooled — the ever-so-slightly burred edges of her voice hint at a spiritual depth beyond her 32 years, and musically, Love and Circumstance has more to offer than your typical covers project. Just listen to the tangled knots of guitar that unspool in “Punalada Trapera,” and you’ll understand that this is a labor of love, not a lazy holding pattern between “real” albums...full text |
| Twangville |
| Lots of people have covered the Hank classics. The Carrie Rodriguez version of I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry, on her latest record Love and Circumstance, ranks right up there with the best of them. With Carrie on mandolin and Bill Frisell on guitar, there’s a richness to the instrumental that complements Carrie’s vocals and puts a clear stamp on the song as a new arrangement while maintaining the sadness of the original. And her version of the Merle Haggard composition I Started Loving You Again, well, Merle, listen and weep. As you might have guessed by now, Love and Circumstance is a covers album. The record starts off on a high note with her version of the Little Village classic, Big Love. Along with the M.Ward tune, Eyes On the Prize, these two cuts have the potential for a lot of radio airplay. If anyone listens to radio anymore…. There are also good versions of Lucinda Williams’ Steal Your Love and the Townes Van Zandt classic, Rex’s Blues. Just like her willingness to go out on the road as a fiddle player for Alejandro Escovado after having a couple of successful records on her own, the choice and success of the variety of covers points to Carrie being very much her own compass. Where this album really hits its stride, though, is in the slower, sadder songs that dominate the selection list. Take the Richard Thompson piece, Waltzing’s For Dreamers, where “waltzing’s for dreamers and losers in love”. Listening to the song it just slowly crawls into your soul with a melancholy spirit that takes control. There’s the aforementioned I Started Loving You Again. And the album finishes with La Punalada Trapera that, even without understanding Spanish, tells a tale of heartbreak so big words can barely convey its dimension....full text |
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