Have One On Me [Box set]

This is a truly, truly great album: a masterpiece. Combining elements of the sparklingly fresh and original debut ( The Milk-Eyed Mender) with the more lavish, ornate follow-up (Ys), this is nevertheless another leap forwards for Joanna Newsom.

Her singing has become more assured and powerful. The harp playing is as beautiful as ever, but the songs often blossom unexpectedly with other instrumentation. Some of the album's most affecting moments are piano-based. The song structures are also very impressive - sometimes complex but never 'obscure' for the sake of it - and overflowing with intricate melodies.

It IS reminiscent of Kate Bush in places (no bad thing), but still unmistakably Joanna Newsom.

Over three discs it takes time to appreciate what a subtle and far-reaching song cycle this is, but the album really rewards repeat plays. It's a sumptuous feast that will keep this listener enthralled for years to come.

Who else is putting out material of this quality in 2010?

I was introduced to Joanna Newsom by a friend with a late night play of 'Peach, Pear, Plum' a good few years ago because, and I quote, "I think you'll get this". It reminded me of a strange little girl squawking a nursery rhyme (not a bad thing) and intrigued me enough to buy the album it came from 'Milk Eyed Mender' and her other release at the time 'Ys'. I listened to a few tracks from the former album for a while, but didn't connect to 'Ys' at all. I am shamed to admit that, but I suppose it was a little "unconventional" for my taste at that point in my life. Too enigmatic? Too archiac? Too epic? Who can say?

I recently rediscovered 'Ys' and the experience was an almost religious one. To finally "get" and appreciate the beauty of what had once been an undecipherable mystery was truly an epiphany. An epiphany which prompted me to buy the new album.

Was I disappointed after such a profound reawakening? No.

'Have One On Me' is an utterly stunning piece. Newsom has reigned in her previously wild, unabandoned vocal and sometimes overly opulent musical landscape, to absolute perfection. There is a sense (and sound) of control and purpose here that makes the three disc/two hour journey a joy rather than past pilgrimages (pleasurable as they ultimately were) to the shrine of Newsom.

There are shades of Kate Bush, touches of Joni Mitchell, however, despite some similarities to these greats, this is really all about Joanna.

Lyrically, musically and vocally a masterpiece. Newsom is undoubtably one of the greatest artists of our age.

Genius.

I could quite legitimately be described as a Newsom fanboy. I have loved everything she has done from the helium voiced early Ep's to the intricate fables of Ys. I have seen her live 10 times, and would quite like to marry her. So I am biased, I admit it. At the same time, I think I have a sufficiently independent mind to judge each album on its own merits, and am able to hold my swoon long enough to engage my brain (this is not true at her concerts - she could sing me Uzbeki nursery rhymes backwards and I would be spellbound).

My initial reaction to 'Have One On Me' ( as with most of her output) was slightly puzzled and cautiously hopeful. I know from experience that the structure, punctuation and resonances of her work take time to settle and form, so I have let the music slosh through me and wash over me, holding back any critical judgement. And all of a sudden, as I hoped it would, the shape took form. While I have been familiar with some of these songs for a while now, it was a new new one, Go Long that seeded the crystal. The novelty of this album is a typically much longer melodic line, accompanied by a softer voice (brought about by a throat infection last year). The spacier, ringing arrangement of Go Long illustrates this change - gone are sharp points and counterpoints of The Book of Right On et al, or even the rush and tumble of Emily - instead she holds her voice, fluctuating or slowly descending around a slow, deliberate harp.

These songs are given much more musical space than the more wordy Ys, and this, combined with more varied arrangements and drawn out phrases, creates an initial impression of a hazy, unfocussed album. Once you catch the idea though, and let the slow ebb and flow of her newly sanded down voice carry you, you get it. Be it singing of abortion on Baby Birch, or of her own conception on '81, this new 'romantic' sound chimes with a much more straightforwardly emotional approach to her subjects - love, in form and in content, fills these songs. There are a couple which have not made their mark with me yet, but the album as a whole, listened to seriously and in silence, is a great and humbling listen, and I did almost cry many times - the 'kindness prevails' close to Esme had me shivering uncontrollably, and the closing Does Not Suffice is desperately sad and dare I say it, moving.

I have not had the time or wit to trace the links between these songs, but it is clear that some phrases, both musical and lyrical, reappear in different guises throughout the album - their is half jaunty, half sad blues line that haunts both Baby Birch and Does Not Suffice. I am certain that, as with her previous works, listening and relistening will repay and repay. I am looking forward to the work.