Joan Osborne - Pretty Little Stranger

Though Joan Osborne has referred to this as "my version of a country record," the music is likely to find more favor in coffee shops and on NPR than with honky-tonks and the Grand Ole Opry. It conjures comparisons with Rosanne Cash's artistry after her country hitmaking days, as if Osborne came to Nashville to make the sort of music that Cash left Nashville to make. While it may not achieve the commercial success that Osborne enjoyed with her popular breakthrough, "One of Us," it's the most consistently compelling album of her career. Produced by Steve Buckingham (Dolly Parton), with harmony support from Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, and Rodney Crowell, Osborne mixes six strong originals with six choice covers, rarely overpowering the material through displays of vocal technique, as she occasionally has in the past. Much of the material deals with the aftermath of relationships (including one with a woman on "After Jane"), with results ranging from a mixture of resilience and vulnerability on the title track through the insistent groove of "Who Divided" and the eternal optimism of "Till I Get It Right." There's also a folkish rendition of the Grateful Dead's "Brokedown Palace" that Osborne makes her own, and some live-wire slide guitar from Sonny Landreth on "Dead Roses." The closest she comes to classic country is a bittersweet reading of Kris Kristofferson's "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends," while the closing balladry of "When the Blue Hour Comes" (with co-writer Rodney Crowell on harmonies) is pure heartbreak. --Don McLeese Amazon.com

My favorite Joan

I just have to say that this album is a wonderful piece. I have often just replayed the songs again and again. She has really found the soul of some of these songs. February 23, 2008

Equal Parts Emmylou And Patsy

It sucks to be me, because I just now came across this CD at a country radio station I work at. Why in God's name none of these songs aren't on the air, I don't know. I suppose the masses want the effervescent bubblegum pop of a Taylor Swift, all pitch-correct and pseudosexy on an album cover, than this collection of prime country. On second thought, I guess it sucks to be the masses.

On this disc, Joan has quite capably channeled Patsy Cline and Emmylou Harris and come up with a stunning take on what could be called 'classic country.' Help from people like Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminsky of Union Station, and Vince Gill certainly don't hurt. The interesting thing is, listen to this album and try to tell which of the songs were written by Kris Kristofferson and Jerry Garcia and Rodney Crowell and which ones are the tunes that Joan wrote herself. You probably won't be able to do it.

Joan's voice has always been fantastic, and it's so refreshing to hear it put to yet another use on this CD. It's one of those discs that grabs you within the first ten seconds and won't let go until you've listened to the whole thing at least twice.

Sad thing is, with the current state of the music industry focusing less and less on actual talent, Joan is probably destined to be one of those "B-list" singers who are popular with quite a few people but never achieve huge mainstream success (again). In the event that winds up being true, then I guess it sucks to be all of us.

January 7, 2008

Awesome!

Joan is so versatile, here again a wonderful collection of songs sung beautifully. A must in any music library!!! November 12, 2007

A bit too country

I am a big fan of Joan Osborne, but this CD is a bit too much country for my taste. It is only for die-hard Joan Osborne fans. I myself probably wouldn't have bought it if it would have been by another artist. It is beautifully played and sung, but the style just is'nt for me. I like her other stuff, but this one I probably won't play as much as her other CD's. October 4, 2007

I've Been a Bad Joan Osborne Fan

"Pretty Little Stranger" is Osborne's best effort since "Righteous Love" and pulls together all the elements that make most of her previous albums great. The album features many of her original songs as well as some fantastic covers that make up for "How Sweet It Is," a previous collection of lackluster covers.

For me the album brings forth a combination of musical deity that I haven't experienced since Osborne toured with The Dead back in 2003 for the Summer Getaway Tour. Her heartfelt rendition of "Brokedown Palace" is no doubt a product of that union. What makes it even better is "What You Are" by Patty Griffin, who replaced Joan on my heavy rotation list. There's also a Kris Kristofferson song thrown in for good measure.

Although the album is honest and heartfelt, what's missing is the brassy, belting and sexy tone that characterized her first three recordings and electrified her live shows. I miss the sheer power of "Early Recordings" and the crunchy guitar from the title song of "Righteous Love."

Much of the buzz concerning the CD seems to be that it's country. Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that. It's slower than some of her previous albums, but otherwise not much different. I don't care what you call her stuff, it's just great to hear a new Joan album in any form.

August 12, 2007

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