CD Odyssey Disc 1566: Brandi Carlile

For the second time in a row I’m reviewing a record from 2009 that I overlooked when it was first released. For readers who think no one is making good music anymore, it may be that you are just missing it. Open your ears and open your hearts – you’ll find what’s right for you.

Disc 1566 is…. Give Up the Ghost

Artist: Brandi Carlile

Year of Release: 2009

What’s up with the Cover? A backlit Brandi rocks out on the guitar. I love the warmth of this album cover. Usually references to ghosts come with gloomy and dark album covers (or in the case of the band, “Ghost” a boatload o’ Satan). Here we have the bright light of day, as we give up the ghost, and turn to the light.

How I Came To Know It: I’m a late convert to Brandi Carlile. I only got into her in 2018 through her album, “By the Way, I Forgive You” (reviewed back at Disc 1135). Afterward I started digging through her back catalogue, but I wasn’t initially taken by her earliest three records, including this one. For some reason I revisited these records (encouraged by a cover album of “The Story”). I recently saw “Give Up the Ghost” used at a good price in my local record store and took a chance.

How It Stacks Up: I now have six Brandi Carlile albums. I have a hard time ranking them, partly because they are all so good, partly because they are all different, and partly because I’ve gotten to know them all in only four years, instead of the 15 year span over which they were released. However, since you don’t read this section for empty equivocations, I’ll say this record slightly edges out “Bear Creek” for #4.

Ratings: 4 stars

Back in 2018 I passed over “Give Up the Ghost” after one listen, but after four more consider me both converted and chastened that I ever passed it over in the first place.

“Give Up the Ghost” came out two years after Carlile’s breakthrough album “The Story” and despite charting higher than that record, it feels like it lives in the shadow of it when Carlile’s discography comes up in conversation. “The Story” may be slightly superior, but it is only slightly, and all the things that make Carlile great are on full display with “Ghost” as well.

We are treated to the fine songwriting that is borne from her longstanding collaboration with the Hanseroth twins, exceptional musicianship throughout, and above it all that one-in-a-generation voice. Carlile’s vocals cut through sunshine and darkness with equal power, delivering songs that are triumphant, tragic and always tell a story. It is hard to understand just what makes one voice draw you under a spell and another fade into the background, but Carlile is the former.

Fitting for an album titled “Give Up the Ghost” many of these songs are stories about letting the past go, although usually only after first coming to terms with its lessons. The standout “Pride and Joy” is a song of parting and forgiveness, I think about a departed parent. Lines like:

“That’s the problem with the days
They’re never long enough to say
What it is you never said
All the books you never read.”

Leave you with unresolved regret, and images like:

“All your mountains turn to rocks
All your oceans turn to drops”

Demonstrate how our strongest convictions can tumble down into the chaos of uncertainty. Both sections also show how great she is at the power of the rhyming couplet (and yes, I know that last one doesn’t rhyme. This is a song not Alexander Pope, people).

The song ends with soaring strings that add a lovely emotional flourish without crowding the production. The album has a full sound but with a lot of space in between elements. It was brilliantly balanced, and I was not at all surprised to discover it was produced by Rick Rubin.

Another standout is “That Year”, also a song combining forgiveness and reminiscence. Carlile belts out a lot of tunes, but “That Year” opts for a light sweet tone, that still cuts through the air in the room with easy power.

The record is not perfect. “Dreams” had a sort of manic showtune quality that didn’t appeal to me, and the old timey “Caroline” is marred by a jumpy “Old West barroom” piano style that felt hokey. I looked to see who was playing, and it turns out it was a guest spot for…Sir Elton John. Sorry, Elton, but I write ‘em like I hear ‘em.

Fortunately there is lots of good piano, notably Carlile’s own graceful playing on “Before It Breaks”. The tune rides right up to the edge of overwrought, but the vocals are so powerful they are like a centrifugal force that holds everything steady. In moments like this Carlile’s natural talent and phrasing pulls the song through hairpin emotional corners with the grace of a biker leaning close to the road and hitting the throttle.

The album ends with a light-hearted tune backed by a ukulele which is a bit too dear but by this point it was too late to ruin anything. I was hooked. I love this record, and my biggest criticism is leveled at myself; I should’ve bought it years ago.

Best tracks: Looking Out, Dying Day, Pride and Joy, That Year, Before It Breaks

CD Odyssey Disc 1556: Brandi Carlile

Apologies for my previous review where I mistakenly labeled Clem Snide as Dori Freeman. This error has been repaired, and the individual responsible has been sacked. He was then rehired, however, as he writes all the reviews.

Disc 1556 is…. In These Silent Days

Artist: Brandi Carlile

Year of Release: 2021

What’s up with the Cover? It’s Brandi sporting her new look, which features short hair and a suit and tie. I also wear a suit and tie to work every day, although unlike Carlile I rarely break into song. When I do, I close the office door. You’re welcome, office colleagues.

How I Came To Know It: I am already an avowed Brandi Carlile fan so this was just me buying her new album when it came out.

How It Stacks Up: I now have six Brandi Carlile albums (see ‘avowed fan’ comment above). Competition is tough, and “In These Silent Days” can only manage to land at #5.

Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4

Every now and then some indie artist captures the mainstream attention and becomes a critical darling. When you listen to as many obscure folk singers as I do, the achievement can seem arbitrary, but trust me when I say Brandi Carlile is more than deserving of all the positive attention she’s getting.

“In These Silent Days” is Carlile’s seventh studio album and is yet another solid entry from an artist who seems incapable of taking a bad step. This record has a bit more of an ornate, refined production than some of her efforts, but the core qualities that make her great are all here.

It all starts with her voice. I just watched a documentary on the invention of Autotune, and it has made me generally distrustful of studio vocals. How real are they in this new world of digitized excellence? In the case of Carlile, the answer is “real as a heart attack.” Carlile has one of those perfectly pitched vocals that fills every corner of the room and saturates you with feeling.

She’s a gifted storyteller, and while I found the stories on “In These Silent Days” less compelling than some of her earlier work, that vocal is the secret weapon that makes everything she sings seem Very Important. Listening to Carlile sing infuses me with the elation usually reserved for moments like reaching the top of a mountain peak just in time to witness the clouds part beneath you.

“In These Silent Days” has plenty of these moments. “Letter to the Past” finds Carlile belting out advice to her younger self. Even lines that on the page read a bit hackneyed (“You’re a stone wall in a world full of rubber bands”) ring with majesty when she sings them.

This record is Carlile’s usual mix of folk, country, and pop, and although it is the least folksy of her records, it’s still pretty folksy. The rough guitar strum on “You and Me On the Rock” reminded me of the Indigo Girls, but it was that later, more pop-flavoured incarnation of the band. Fortunately, I like that incarnation of the Indigo Girls just as much.

Fueled by the talented writing of the Hanseroth twins, Carlile backs up her vocals with exceptional song construction. “This Time Tomorrow” is particularly powerful, with lyrics like:

“But our holy dreams of yesterday aren’t gone
They still haunt us like the ghosts of Babylon
And the breaking of the day might bring you sorrow
You know I may not be around this time tomorrow
But I’ll always be with you.”

These lines are powered with a melody that falls at the end of each line except the last, which starts down there and lifts up again, with an overall effect that is half sad, half reassuring. Matching tune with words in this way seems obvious, but there is a subtle art to it that Carlile and the Hanseroths have mastered like few others.

I don’t love every aspect of this record. While the lyrics are often great, there are moments, like the “world of rubber bands” line above, which feel forced. Equally, the old timey “Stay Gentle” is supposed to feel like a throwback to a simpler era, but it is a bit saccharine. Only Carlile’s incredible voice keeping it upright. “Sinners, Saints and Fools” wants to be a deep metaphor, but it feels a bit overwrought, as if infected with a Broadway musical. Or maybe it is great, and it is just my dislike of musicals.

The final song on the record, “Good After Bad” is one of Carlile’s finest vocal performances. A single piano sets the only backdrop she needs to paint a song that is sad, sweet and perfect. Some of the high notes she hits in this song are angelic and had me forgiving any minor issues I’d had here and there earlier on the record.

While I only put this record #5 out of 6, I still like it a lot, and it will receive plenty of paying time in the years to come.

Best tracks: This Time Tomorrow, Letter to the Past, Mama Werewolf, Throwing Good After Bad

CD Odyssey Disc 1185: Brandi Carlile

I’m starting my second four day weekend in a row and it feels pretty good. The key to a good long weekend is to have fun with friends, try something new, and plan for some quiet time to recharge the batteries. If you can sneak in an Oxford comma along the way then all the better.

Disc 1185 is… The Story

Artist: Brandi Carlile

Year of Release: 2007

What’s up with the Cover? It’s a book. Please do not assume from the frayed edge on the left that I have mistreated this album. I take care of my CDs and my books. That effect was put there by the original artist.

How I Came To Know It: I had heard about this album a few times but it didn’t grab me the first time I played it. Then I got into Brandi Carlile through her latest release, “By the Way I Forgive You” (reviewed back at Disc 1135) and dug through her collection in reverse. This time “The Story” not only stuck, I was deeply impressed. I bought it that weekend.

How It Stacks Up:  I have four of Brandi Carlile’s six studio albums. Of those four, I put “The Story” in at third. I wish it could be higher, but competition is fierce.

Ratings: 4 stars

Brandi Carlile’s “The Story” is a critical darling and as a result it started off on the wrong side of my iconoclastic nature. It didn’t take long to win me over, however.

Most successful artists are lucky to have either great songwriting ability or superb vocals. Carlile has the rare gift of both. Her vocals have the ability to be both evocative and powerful. So many powerhouse singers just belt it out but lose the emotional content in the quest for landing a perfect 10 at the vocal gymnastics. Carlile never seems strained or insincere, even when she is cutting loose.

Her style is a mix of indie folk and power pop. On her folksier side she reminded me of Patty Griffin and her pop voice has a thunderous warble similar to Sia. Either way it feels like your hair is being blown back when she opens up.

On the songwriting front she is not alone; longtime bandmates and collaborators the Hanseroth twins are part of that success. That said, my favourite songs were just as likely to be written by just Carlile as to be a collaborative effort. In this way she reminded me of Emmylou Harris, fully able to do it all herself but naturally drawn to work with others. Based on the results on “The Story” she has this mixed approach just right.

On my first listen I found myself approaching “The Story” as a concept album, likely influenced by the promise of the title. While “concept album” would be a stretch, the album is heavily themed to the ending relationships. “Breakup Album” is probably a better moniker although I have no idea if Carlile was going through one at the time of writing the record. I could have looked into that, but great art should stand on its own merits, not rely on biographical crutches.

“The Story” meets this test and then some and regardless of Carlile’s personal life I expect a lot of people have wallowed away in grief listening to this record on a rainy afternoon and having a cry. I hope it helped process some things for those folks. Great art does that too.

I had no need to wallow, but I was still affected by these songs and their relentless heartbreak. The grief and loss of the subject matter juxtaposed with Carlile’s confident vocal performance is a perfect match. It is like she is pulling herself through by pure strength of will, and taking you along with her.

The lyrics on “The Story” weren’t quite as compelling for me as more recent Carlile albums (“By the Way, I Forgive You”, “The Firewatcher’s Daughter”) but that’s more a signal about how much I love those records than anything missing here. While the title track is solid, my favourite bit of storytelling is found on “Turpentine” which begins:

“I watch you grow away from me in photographs

And memories like spies

And salt betrays my eyes again

I started losing sleep and gaining weight

And wishing I was ten again

So I could be your friend again

These days we go to waste like wine

That’s turned to turpentine

It’s six AM and I’m all messed up

I didn’t mean to waste your time.”

There is a great building of longing here, with the heart pining and the head firmly on the hamster wheel until – inevitably – a drunken phone call gets made. Both the music and Carlile’s delivery climb and fall through the reverie, excess and regret in perfect waves with the words. Drunken phone calls are a mainstay of music, but it is nice to see a sympathetic explanation of how people get there. That said, don’t let this song influence you unduly – don’t make that call until the morning! By then you’ll have sobered up and won’t want to do it anymore, and that’s a good thing. But I digress…

There are many other standouts on the record but space – and the attention span of the modern reader – being limited, I will refrain from waxing poetic over them. Instead, you can read about them below in “Best Tracks”. The internet loves its lists.

There are times when this record strays a bit too far into power pop for my liking, but those times are rare and even then I must yield grudging respect to Carlile’s chops. My only other criticism is Carlile’s decision to put a “hidden” track at the end of the record. This has the effect of making the record’s final song “Again Today” 10:38 long, with over two minutes of infuriating silence before the very lovely “Hiding My Heart” comes on. So lovely, in fact, it deserves its own track.

Apart from this, “The Story” is a must have if you love well-written music, and don’t mind a little pop mixed in your folk. Don’t be afraid; a little sugar helps the grief go down easier.

Best tracks: Late Morning Lullaby, The Story, Turpentine, Wasted, Have You Ever, Josephine, Cannonball

CD Odyssey Disc 1135: Brandi Carlile

I really wanted to get to the music store for a few new releases this weekend, but fate is conspiring against me. I might make a foray on Sunday, or I might just wait until next weekend. CDs won’t be totally phased out by then…although it might be close.

Disc 1135 is… By the Way, I Forgive You

Artist: Brandi Carlile

Year of Release: 2018

What’s up with the Cover? It’s a Giant Head cover! In this case it is in the form of a painting titled “BTW Brandi” by Scott Avett, of the Avett Brothers. I’ve got a couple of Avett Brothers albums and am on the lookout for a third, but I’ll talk about them when I roll ‘em.

How I Came To Know It: I read a review of this album, checked out a few singles on YouTube and decided I’d it a shot.

How It Stacks Up:  I have four Brandi Carlile albums and I like them all, but as I noted when I reviewed “Bear Creek” back at Disc 1114, I’m still getting to know them. “By the Way, I Forgive You” is in a dead heat with “The Firewatcher’s Daughter” at #1. “Firewatcher’s Daughter” is a bit more rock and roll flavoured, and this record is folksier so they’re hard to compare. For now, I’ll give “By The Way, I Forgive You” the edge, while reserving the right to change my mind later.

Ratings: 4 stars

Brandi Carlile’s songs demand your attention. So much so that there was a gap of about 20 minutes from when I sat down to write this review, and when the first words hit the page. I had things to say, but once Carlile started singing I just wanted to hear what she had to say instead.

Carlile sings with a mix of world weariness and hope but whether she is feeling uplifted or downtrodden (and this record features plenty of both) she delivers her message with a depth of conviction that makes her impossible to ignore.

Purists will call this country music, and from a song construction perspective they’d be right, but Carlile has the soul of a folk singer. She tells stories about herself, about others, and blurs the lines sufficiently that you are rarely sure which is which. Carlile’s songs don’t worm their way into your heart so much as they pierce their way in like an arrow: sharp, fast and not without a little pain.

The production is a clever mix of guitar, piano and the flourish of a violin section that is 90% divine (it goes on a bit too long on the record’s final song…but I quibble). Ten years into her career, Carlile’s vocals are as powerful as ever.

The record beings with “Every Time I Hear That Song” a soft confessional about a failed love affair that was wrong from the start. Carlile’s raspy voice tells the story with a mix of hurt and forgiveness. She explores the complicated feelings when you’ve held onto something too long, knowing that you’re better off letting it go while recognizing doing that is closing the door on a part of yourself. As Carlile puts it:

“Without you around I’ve been doing just fine…

Except for anytime I hear that song.”

Some doors are harder to close than others.

“By the Way, I Forgive You” features many lost souls. On “Fulton County Jane Doe” Carlile tells the story of a woman found murdered that has never been identified, infusing that person’s life with meaning, and exploring the darkness of knowing that bad things happen to people for no reason. Carlile can’t offer this murdered stranger much, but she makes a vow nonetheless:

“And when my heart has no rest
And a thousand things are on my mind
I'll always save some room for you
I won't let you get left behind”

“Sugartooth” is a song about addiction and the slow degrading of the human spirit into drugs and loss. Carlile defends these lost souls, calling out those who would dismiss their stories, or judge them without knowing their story. Whatever else, Carlile makes a promise that these people will not be forgotten, and through these songs that promise is kept.

That’s a lot of depressing stuff, but the record is equal parts uplifting. When Carlile sings about family and connection through generations she is at her most inspiring. On “Most of All” she gives a shout out to her parents for the values they gave her. When she sings about her mom and how:

“...most of all

She taught me how to fight

How to move across the line

Between the wrong and the right"

I can’t help but thing of all the strength my mom gave me growing up. Thanks, mom.

Speaking of mothers, “The Mother” is one of the finest songs about motherhood I’ve ever heard. I don’t want kids and don’t typically even like them (although once they’re teenagers they’re alright) but for those three and a quarter minutes I listen to “The Mother” I get it.

The best part is Carlile doesn’t pretend that she isn’t giving something up through motherhood. Instead she absorbs those choices, and explains why this is the right choice for her. She sums it up right near the end of the song (delivering the punch line right after the bridge, ensuring your ears are tuned in even closer):

"All my rowdy friends are out accomplishing their dreams

But I am the mother of Evangeline

"And they've still got their morning paper and their coffee and their time

And they still enjoy their evenings with the skeptics and the wine

Oh, but all the wonders I have seen, I will see a second time

From inside of the ages through your eye"

Yeah, I’m still out there enjoying my evenings with the skeptics and the wine with no regrets, but great music makes you see the other side. Sometimes that’s a murdered Jane Doe, sometimes that’s an addict and sometimes that’s the joy of motherhood. Well done, Brandi.

Best tracks: Every Time I Hear That Song, The Joke, The Mother, Whatever You Do, Fulton County Jane, Sugartooth,   

CD Odyssey Disc 1114: Brandi Carlile

Sometimes the randomness gives me an album I’ve owned for decades and sometimes it gives me something I just bought. It was the latter this time, which is why I took so long getting to reviewing it – I had to get to know it first.

Disc 1114 is… Bear Creek

Artist: Brandi Carlile

Year of Release: 2012

What’s up with the Cover? A pretty little creek that reminds of British Columbia’s interior. It’s been a while since I’ve been there but the beauty sticks with you, even if this particular Bear Creek is somewhere else.

How I Came To Know It: I read a review of Brandi Carlile’s most recent album, “By the Way, I Forgive You” and then I heard a few songs a liked them. This led me down the back path through her previous albums, many of which I liked. “Bear Creek” was one of those.

How It Stacks Up:  I have no idea. I went a little nuts after discovering Brandi Carlile and bought four of her albums in the space of a week. I’ve been busy since then and I’ve only listened to the other three once or twice, making comparisons difficult. I guess I’ll just act like a figure skating judge watching the first flight of skaters and say “Bear Creek” is third or fourth best, because it gives me maximum wiggle room. Sure it lands the triple Salchow, but how do I know if other Brandi Carlile albums will land it better?

Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4

In writing, the specific is terrific. This is one of the reasons I love folk music so much; it tells a story and grounds that story in tangible sights, sounds, smells and memories. In pop music – particularly the mass-produced kind – the opposite is often true. Songs are grounded in very generic concepts of love, loneliness or joy designed to reach a maximum audience by essentially leaving the details vague, and letting the listener insert their own. I prefer the folk approach.

“Bear Creek” falls somewhere in between. Sometimes Carlile’s narratives drew me into her world, and other times I was left wishing there were more details. Having a record full of catchy melodies and Carlile’s powerhouse vocals made up for a lot, but not for everything.

Carlile’s voice sounds like a cross between Patty Griffin and Bonnie Raitt; big and bold with a bit of rasp around the edges. There are even times (such as on “That Wasn’t Me”) that she channels a bit of Adele, with a low power and anthemic delivery.

Carlile always sounds pitch perfect and she has an honest delivery that draws you in and makes you believe. She’s backed up by twins Phil and Tim Hanseroth, and like Carlile, they are both multi-instrumentalists. At this point the band is so new to me that I don’t know who is playing guitar, piano or anything else at any given moment, but it is played with excellence so I’m happy.

The arrangement knows just when to drop in strings, piano and banjo and the production is crisp and clear with great sound separation. For this kind of music the production is almost too crisp, and at times the polish gets in the way of the spit, particularly on the sadder stuff. This is partly the purity of Carlile’s voice, which makes everything seem a bit clearer than usual. Vocalists that let their voice trail off at the end of lines or mumble their way through sections because they mistakenly believe it emotes better could learn a lot here.

The pop influences are strong, and upbeat little love songs like “Heart’s Content” could be radio hits if, you know, radio was fair to people who put songwriting above stardom. That’s OK with Carlile, who also works in good old fashioned foot-stomping indie folk. “Hard Way Home” tells yet another version of taking the path less travelled. Funny how many songs there are about taking an uncommon path…In the case of “Hard Way Home” the upbeat rhythm makes it clear Carlile is not only at peace with her decision, but sees it as cause for celebration. There are even gospel and blues hints, particularly on “Raise Hell” a great song for driving if you want to drive fast.

You’ll note that I didn’t quote any lyrics in this review, and that speaks a bit to my disappointment with the amount of specificity there. The most specific song is “Keep Your Heart Young” where Carlile channels Guy Clark’s ‘aw-shucks, remember when we were kids’ thing. Unfortunately I found the song a bit hackneyed. Also, one of the way Carlile advocates keeping your heart young is to put a rock in the middle of a snowball which is just not OK. That wouldn’t fly in Canada, Brandi.

I discovered Brandi Clark only two weeks ago and I was a bit nervous that I wouldn’t know her well enough to do the record justice. Now that I’ve had a few days with “Bear Creek” I’m glad the Dice Gods gave me this doorway into her sound, and I’m looking forward to exploring more of her catalogue soon.

Best tracks: Hard Way Home, Raise Hell, Save Part of Yourself, What Did I Ever Come Here For?, In the Morrow