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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A timeless sophisticated masterpiece, 30 Mar 2002
Alot of music critics and listeners have seriously misjudged this album. The more discerning critic and listener has thrilled to this album's nuances, its sheer class and sophistication. This album is by some distance the finest achievement of Kurt Wagner's career to date. It makes Nixon look pretty ordinary. With the absence of the slightly irritating falsetto that Wagner displayed on that album, this is pure, hardcore Kurt - absolutely focused, delivering each phrase with a mastery befitting the finest jazz singers. Just the way he sings/speaks the final lines on the second track, The New Cobweb Summer - 'The hunter is asleep, at least that's what I call him, in the afternoon of the new cobweb summer' - is transcendentally beautiful and profound. Throughout, Kurt's vocals are so perfectly judged, the lyrics his most precise and illuminating and brilliantly idiosyncratic. He sings unfathomable lines as if they were the most direct and moving lyrics ever written. 'My Blue Wave' is so achingly sad; it goes on forever, but it doesn't matter, because its structure is so perfect. If Gershwin was around, he'd say - 'that's a great song!' - even if he was bemused by the ultra-ultra maudlin and dog-loving lyric. Some of the instrumentation is so softly played that one can barely hear it, and this is what discerning listeners have failed to pick up on; this album belongs to a previous age, when nuance and subtlety actually counted. The ears of contemporary listeners have to adapt, after all the in-your-face, full on nonsense that prevails these days. This is an album I listen to twice a day, every day, and it never fails to put me under its spell. Every second of this album is a fragment of beauty. Perhaps the most striking piece of all is 'Caterpillar', as Kurt intones like an all seeing poet before succumbing to panicky longing. The one track that falls slightly short of the unbelievable standard set, is D. Scott Parsley, which is more lighthearted than the other tracks, and works as a kind of perky interlude. But perhaps a mood-alterer is necessary, as for the most part, the album is like walking very slowly in a silent dream, solemn and satisfying and a completely bewitching experience. The album works as a complete vision, a dream captured in sound. A haunting meandering journey through the mind of a twenty first century visionary. As much a painting as a musical work. Ignore all negative reviews of this album, for it is a rarefied masterpiece that will prove as beguiling in a hundred years from now.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intimate, fragile, understated masterpiece, 13 Jun 2002
Another 'Nixon'? Certainly not. The band has deliberately set out to make this a "quiet" record, and have dispensed with the grandeur that 'Nixon' celebrates. No less magnificent, 'Is a Woman' refrains from its predecessor's orchestral splendour, and finds a new sumptuousness in Wagner's rich, gravelly tones, accompanied by complementary but unobtrusive piano and guitar harmonies. This is a side of Lambchop not heard as yet - there is no trace of their early country influence - it in places more closely follows the blues tradition. Imagine one man at a piano, singing idle reflections, in a dimly-lit bar, as you listen to Wagner tease and caress every word and syllable in his melancholic, yet strangely reassuring way.
The songs pay homage to life's poignant simplicities, with gentle witticisms and lovable self-deprecations. From the obscure to the discernable, this is largely an observational album, of the self and others (note the detectable reference to Vic Chesnutt in Autumn's Vicar), life and everything. Is Lambchop a woman? Some might say so, with this exploration of their more "delicate, sensitive" side. Particularly stunning tracks include the most charming My Blue Wave (when "the dog gives you the paw..."), the wonderfully humorous I Can Hardly Spell My Name, and the gorgeous title track, Is a Woman, with its uplifting reggae twist as climax.
Whether the magic lies in their rustic timbre, Wagner's resonant vocals, or the lyrical beauty of the music, this is a gem. Sit back, and let 'Is a Woman' work its spell on you.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best so far..., 17 Feb 2002
By A Customer
How do you follow up a perfect album like "Nixon"?. Lambchop have the answer with "Is A Woman", a stripped down, moody collection of meaningful songs. The opener "the daily growl" sets the tone for the rest of the album with it's resonant piano and moody rhythms. This is followed up with the best two tracks the "new cobweb summer" and "my blue wave" with the moving sentiments of bereavement.Other stand out tracks are "Autumn Vicar", "Bugs" and the title track. It's a real grower. If your in a sombre mood why opt for a happy pick me up collection when Kurt and the boys can make you feel that you're not alone. This really is a masterpiece and once again Lambchop prove that they are the kings of their ever changing genre. I recommend you to buy this record, it's my record of the year so far!
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