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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Joanna Newsom is one of the great indie musicians of our time -- just look at last year's "Ys," a sprawling masterpiece of freakfolk.
And after the solemnities of "Ys," apparently Newsom has decided to go a bit more lighthearted. "Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band" is an unpretentious little EP, with some new songs and new takes on older songs -- a fun little treat.
It opens with the strong folky chords of "Colleen," a slice of Celtic-flavoured balladry that trickles through an oddball melody. "I tell it as I best know how," croons Newsom in her crazy-fairy voice. "Pick me up and toss me round/I lost my shoes and tore my best gown..."
She then follows it up with new versions of two older songs: the gentle haunting reimagining of "Clam Crab Cockle Cowrie," and a full-band version of "Cosmia," which seems nicely fleshed-out and polished.
After to the legendary grandeur of "Ys," this little EP seems relaxed and laid-back, as if Newsom and her band had sauntered into a coffee shop and done an impromptu set. They're done with an ear for fun, but that doesn't take the delicate, appealing edge from the music.
Her twangly, delicate harp is matched up with some decent banjo tunes, and what sounds like some soft drums, all mingled together. In "Clam Crab Cockle Cowrie," we mostly just get gentle strums from the harp. And over it all is Newsom's creaky, meandering vocals, wandering through the melody like a sleepy fairy.
One new song and two reworkings, but "Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band" is stil worth getting for anyone who likes eerie, weird little folk songs.
And after the solemnities of "Ys," apparently Newsom has decided to go a bit more lighthearted. "Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band" is an unpretentious little EP, with some new songs and new takes on older songs -- a fun little treat.
It opens with the strong folky chords of "Colleen," a slice of Celtic-flavoured balladry that trickles through an oddball melody. "I tell it as I best know how," croons Newsom in her crazy-fairy voice. "Pick me up and toss me round/I lost my shoes and tore my best gown..."
She then follows it up with new versions of two older songs: the gentle haunting reimagining of "Clam Crab Cockle Cowrie," and a full-band version of "Cosmia," which seems nicely fleshed-out and polished.
After to the legendary grandeur of "Ys," this little EP seems relaxed and laid-back, as if Newsom and her band had sauntered into a coffee shop and done an impromptu set. They're done with an ear for fun, but that doesn't take the delicate, appealing edge from the music.
Her twangly, delicate harp is matched up with some decent banjo tunes, and what sounds like some soft drums, all mingled together. In "Clam Crab Cockle Cowrie," we mostly just get gentle strums from the harp. And over it all is Newsom's creaky, meandering vocals, wandering through the melody like a sleepy fairy.
One new song and two reworkings, but "Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band" is stil worth getting for anyone who likes eerie, weird little folk songs.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
An EP with only three tracks, only one of which being a new song. Doesn't sound particularly promising does it?
Well by way of an answer it should be pointed out that all the tracks are new recordings and the total runtime is just over 24 minutes.
The songs were recorded at the end of the U.S. tour (Autumn 2006 in California)after having to cancel three gigs due to a lost voice, and were recorded 'live' in the studio with her tour band with minimal tinkering.Her vocal troubles certainly aren't evident here, although her voice seems to get richer and less spikey with each new recording.
Anyone lucky enough to have caught her live shows earlier this year will be familiar with the new song here ("Colleen") and the new version of "Clam,Crab,Cockle,Cowrie"(from "The Milk Eyed Mender"album) but british fans will not have heard "Cosmia" in this form as they had the benefit of orchestral backing not available on the american tour.
"Colleen" starts the EP off with a frenetic energy and is typically untypical of anything else out there, it's kind of folky, kind of sea shanty and breaks the verses with a strange flamenco/belly dancing jig that should have you on your feet and dancing.
It's followed by a new recording of "Clam,Crab,Cockle,Cowrie" which is fully justified as it is very different from the album version and benefits from the addition of an accompanying voice, richer instrumentation and the more controlled vocal delivery already evident on the "Ys" album.
The final track("Cosmia") is in some ways the most exciting as it takes the original and expands it to double its previous lengh replacing the orchestration with a rich variety of sounds utilising the band to its full.The song feels slightly more gentle here than on the album but no less rich for it.
I would say that this is definitely one for the converts(newcomers should start with "Ys" and/or "The Milk-eyed Mender")but if you are already a fan then this is an essential purchase.
A final word on categorisation of music. I hate it! This need to pigeon-hole and fence music within little boundaries. If anything new or excitingly different comes along (like this), instead of celebrating its singular beauty, there is a rush to be the first to coin the term that will peg it back. If that weren't bad enough there are a million followers-on who have to prove how smart they are by using the terminology as if it were there own. Thus we have people describing this album as 'freak-folk' a category which, if it exists at all, has been used to describe acoustic driven performers with a hypnotic trippy rythmic feel. Joanna Newsom has actively denied the tag herself and her music is actually nothing like anything in the genre (if it even exists) in fact the only connection is that she has been on stage with some acts that hover on the fringes of the genre. It really comes down to lazy journalism and second-rate 'would-be-critics'who'd like to appear smart at the expense of artists who possess genuine talent.
For all those people who need a category for this music here is one: Joanna Newsom.
Well by way of an answer it should be pointed out that all the tracks are new recordings and the total runtime is just over 24 minutes.
The songs were recorded at the end of the U.S. tour (Autumn 2006 in California)after having to cancel three gigs due to a lost voice, and were recorded 'live' in the studio with her tour band with minimal tinkering.Her vocal troubles certainly aren't evident here, although her voice seems to get richer and less spikey with each new recording.
Anyone lucky enough to have caught her live shows earlier this year will be familiar with the new song here ("Colleen") and the new version of "Clam,Crab,Cockle,Cowrie"(from "The Milk Eyed Mender"album) but british fans will not have heard "Cosmia" in this form as they had the benefit of orchestral backing not available on the american tour.
"Colleen" starts the EP off with a frenetic energy and is typically untypical of anything else out there, it's kind of folky, kind of sea shanty and breaks the verses with a strange flamenco/belly dancing jig that should have you on your feet and dancing.
It's followed by a new recording of "Clam,Crab,Cockle,Cowrie" which is fully justified as it is very different from the album version and benefits from the addition of an accompanying voice, richer instrumentation and the more controlled vocal delivery already evident on the "Ys" album.
The final track("Cosmia") is in some ways the most exciting as it takes the original and expands it to double its previous lengh replacing the orchestration with a rich variety of sounds utilising the band to its full.The song feels slightly more gentle here than on the album but no less rich for it.
I would say that this is definitely one for the converts(newcomers should start with "Ys" and/or "The Milk-eyed Mender")but if you are already a fan then this is an essential purchase.
A final word on categorisation of music. I hate it! This need to pigeon-hole and fence music within little boundaries. If anything new or excitingly different comes along (like this), instead of celebrating its singular beauty, there is a rush to be the first to coin the term that will peg it back. If that weren't bad enough there are a million followers-on who have to prove how smart they are by using the terminology as if it were there own. Thus we have people describing this album as 'freak-folk' a category which, if it exists at all, has been used to describe acoustic driven performers with a hypnotic trippy rythmic feel. Joanna Newsom has actively denied the tag herself and her music is actually nothing like anything in the genre (if it even exists) in fact the only connection is that she has been on stage with some acts that hover on the fringes of the genre. It really comes down to lazy journalism and second-rate 'would-be-critics'who'd like to appear smart at the expense of artists who possess genuine talent.
For all those people who need a category for this music here is one: Joanna Newsom.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I don't suppose you need me to tell you that Miss Joanna Newsom is some kind of genius. What you might need me to tell you is that Y's is, it would seem just a taster of what she has to offer. Here on the ridiculously expensive but almost justifiable (if only due to the quality of music on offer here) 3 track Y's Street Band EP we see a taster of the first new material since the aforementioned Y's if only in the form of one new song and two reworkings.
New track Colleen as showcased at ATP is as beautiful and as remarkable as remembered. I remember on the night I had mixed expectations of something new, so often have a band I loved been picked up by the media and then delivered something ridiculously bad or at least lacking the ingenuity of their early work. Joanna it would seem has no such problem for now, Colleen is outstanding, a true work of genius, an instant classic, timeless and charming, a song that puts what was possibly the most outstanding opening track to an album in sometime, Emily from Y's, into the background, or at least out of the limelight. If anyone had a problem with her voice as on the Milk Eyed Mender then here is a more palatable, less shrill tone to sweep up those curious outsiders, those who take that little extra convincing, those who think more than two colours in an outfit is risky, how can you fail to love Colleen?
Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie from the Milk Eyed Mender & Cosmia from Y's are reworked in a more intimate setting, the latter given a lush new feel, this is a portable Cosmia, Cosmia as played by Joanna and her friends in a room full of friends. Intimate and inventive and more charming for it.
If expectations weren't high enough already for any possible follow up to the landmark Y's then they have just been raised considerably with this release.
New track Colleen as showcased at ATP is as beautiful and as remarkable as remembered. I remember on the night I had mixed expectations of something new, so often have a band I loved been picked up by the media and then delivered something ridiculously bad or at least lacking the ingenuity of their early work. Joanna it would seem has no such problem for now, Colleen is outstanding, a true work of genius, an instant classic, timeless and charming, a song that puts what was possibly the most outstanding opening track to an album in sometime, Emily from Y's, into the background, or at least out of the limelight. If anyone had a problem with her voice as on the Milk Eyed Mender then here is a more palatable, less shrill tone to sweep up those curious outsiders, those who take that little extra convincing, those who think more than two colours in an outfit is risky, how can you fail to love Colleen?
Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie from the Milk Eyed Mender & Cosmia from Y's are reworked in a more intimate setting, the latter given a lush new feel, this is a portable Cosmia, Cosmia as played by Joanna and her friends in a room full of friends. Intimate and inventive and more charming for it.
If expectations weren't high enough already for any possible follow up to the landmark Y's then they have just been raised considerably with this release.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Interesting Fantastic Delicious
This is a mysteriou and beguiling taster of her extradinary style not for everyone but for me yes
This EP can become frustrating as one hungers for more. Read more
This EP can become frustrating as one hungers for more. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2008 by Eye Can
another 5 star review
I see no need to write another long review...Just thought I'd give a quick 5 star review of this amazing album to confirm the other reviews... Read more
Published on 5 Jan 2008 by BradSurvive
Oh Joanna You Done It Again
I have to admit when I first heard of Joanna Newsom I really wasn't impressed my first impression was that she possessed a voice which was false and put on but on a whim I... Read more
Published on 23 Jun 2007 by Phill
More spellbinding stuff from Ys Newsom...
'Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band' e.p. might seem a luxury purchase, like the 'Sprout & the Bean' single it technically only includes one new track...but what a track! Read more
Published on 19 May 2007 by Jason Parkes
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