| Joan As Police Woman — The Classic [2014] |
![Joan As Police Woman — The Classic [March 10, 2014]](/obrazek/3/folder-jpg-727/ "Joan As Police Woman — The Classic [March 10, 2014]")
Joan As Police Woman — The Classic
Ξ Sought–after multi–instrumentalist strikes out with her own, semi–eponymous pop/folk project.
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Album release: 10 March 2014
Record Label: Play It Again Sam
Duration: 52:17
Tracks:
01. Witness 4:44
02. Holy City 4:45
03. The Classic 3:27
04. Good Together 7:03
05. Get Direct 6:44
06. What Would You Do 5:43
07. New Year's Day 6:34
08. Shame 4:38
09. Stay 4:41
10. Ask Me 3:58
11. Your Song 3:54
© 2014 Play It Again Sam
CREDITS:
♦ Joseph Arthur Vocals (Background)
♦ Steven Bernstein Horn (Alto), Slide Trumpet, Trumpet
♦ Oren Bloedow Guitar
♦ TJ Doherty Track Engineer
♦ Joan as Police Woman Primary Artist
♦ Parker Kindred Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
♦ Briggan Krauss Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone)
♦ Nathan Larson Vocals (Background)
♦ Stephanie McKay Vocals (Background)
♦ Jack McKeever Assistant Engineer
♦ Dan Monick Cover Photo
♦ Toshi Reagon Vocals (Background)
♦ Adam Sachs Horn Engineer, Mixing, Overdub Engineer, Vocal Engineer
♦ Dan Shatzky Assistant Engineer
♦ Stephanie Sidjakov Graphics, Layout, Photography
♦ Murray Trider Engineer, Vocal Engineer
♦ Lance Scott Walker Graphics, Layout
♦ Joan Wasser Clavinet, Composer, Guitar, Juno, Percussion, Producer, Strings, Vocals (+Backgr.), Wurlitzer
♦ Reggie Watts Beat Box, Vocals
♦ Doug Wieselman Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor)
♦ Tyler Wood Clavinet, Engineer, Juno, Melodica, Mixing, Moog Bass, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Producer, Programming, Trumpet, Vocals (Background), Wurlitzer
♦ Michele Zayla Vocals (Background)
Review by Heather Phares • Score: ****
Ξ Songwriters and musicians have long used emotional turmoil as a source of inspiration, but on The Classic — which nods to ’60s and ’70s soul with its sound and title — Joan Wasser proves that happiness can make for smart, relatable songs too. Even though this is easily her most joyous album, it isn’t completely new territory.
Ξ Joan as Police Woman‘s previous albums showed that Wasser can set loss, grief, and acceptance to song like few others and also had uplifting moments that broke through like sunbeams. And while plenty of singers — most notably Amy Winehouse‘s mod neo–soul and Chan Marshall in her Memphis–flavored era — have revisited this kind of sound, Wasser puts her own stamp on it. The Classic is full of smoky vocals and slinky melodies that are unmistakably hers; they’re just lit up. The results are some of her most accessible music yet, such as the radiant closing track, “Ask Me.” At times, the instrumentation borders on clichéd instead of classic; after half a century of peppy brass and wah–wah guitars signifying “happy” and “empowered,” it’s hard to wring anything new out of those sounds. More often than not, Wasser manages to do just that by playing against the expectations of upbeat soul music as much as she plays into them: the title track mixes beatboxing and doo wop vocals as it sings the praises of being innocent enough to fall in love and mature enough to move on from the past, while “Shame” uses its brassy choruses to banish a “dirty space invader.” The mix of clarity and sensuality in Wasser‘s songwriting makes The Classic‘s message — that happiness is an active choice rather than a passive state — all the more dynamic. The album’s best songs aren’t about being happy, but what it takes to be ready for happiness. On the bold opener, “Witness,” Wasser depicts her self–defeating thoughts as “a tape that’s played forever”; “Good Together” dispels the nostalgia around an old flame with a massive, cobweb-clearing beat; and “What Would You Do” underscores her impatience with people and situations that don’t work. Joan as Police Woman takes almost as many musical risks as emotional ones on The Classic, particularly on lengthy tracks like “Get Direct” and “New Year’s Day,” but this bravery is usually rewarded, and rewarding. While the album’s brightness may take some getting used to, listeners who love her music for how well she expresses feelings that are universal yet hard to articulate will appreciate how vividly The Classic captures joy and what it takes to get it.
In french:
Ξ Nouvel album pour Joan Wasser qui cette fois cherche l'inspiration dans la soul des années 60 et 70. A découvrir.
Website: http://www.joanaspolicewoman.com/
_____________________________________________________________
Artist Biography by Heather Phares
Ξ Described by Joan Wasser as "punk rock R&B" and "American soul music," Joan as Police Woman combine two of the biggest influences on her music: classic soul such as Al Green and Nina Simone and the rougher experimental sounds of Sonic Youth and Bad Brains. The mix never sounds contrived, thanks to the intuitive interplay of Wasser's vocals, violins, and guitar, Rainy Orteca's bass, and Ben Perowsky's percussion in the first version of the group. Later, Wasser employed a varied cast of collaborators.
Ξ Wasser, who has played with everyone from the Scissor Sisters to Lou Reed, began playing violin at age eight while attending grade school in Norwalk, Connecticut. At Boston University, she studied violin with Yuri Mazurkevich and also played with the Boston University Symphony Orchestra, and expanded her horizons to rock with local acts including Hot Trix (which featured Autoclave member and Helium founder Mary Timony) and the Dambuilders, which went on to national success. Wasser also played with Timony and Shudder to Think's Nathan Larson in Mind Science of the Mind, which released their self-titled album in 1996. The following year, the Dambuilders disbanded and Wasser's boyfriend, Jeff Buckley, accidentally drowned in Memphis, Tennessee. Wasser kept on making music, collaborating with the Grifters' Dave Shouse and Buckley's former guitarist Michael Tighe in Those Bastard Souls in the late '90s, and then with Tighe in Black Beetle, which folded in the early 2000s.
Ξ Along with working as a violinist for hire with artists as diverse as Sheryl Crow, Hal Willner, Rufus Wainwright, and Antony and the Johnsons, Wasser developed her own songwriting, and formed Joan as Police Woman in 2002. The band released its first single, My Gurl, early in 2003, and self-released the Joan as Police Woman EP in 2004. Ξ Joan as Police Woman signed to the British label Reveal, which issued their full-length debut, Real Life, in summer 2006, along with the Eternal Flame, Christobel, and The Ride singles. Real Life was released in the U.S. in summer 2007. To Survive, which featured a cameo by Rufus Wainwright, followed in 2008. For 2011's The Deep Field, Wasser reteamed with Bryce Goggin, co-producer of Real Life, and took a happier, more upbeat approach. This uplifting feeling continued on 2014's The Classic, which channeled the feel of vintage soul albums in its often-joyous songs.
_____________________________________________________________
Lyrics from The Classic:
1. WITNESS
There’s a story that’s been in my life
And I’ve taken it as gospel sure as the day
But now I’m starting to see that it’s just an invention
That really wasn’t about me
And I’d like to kick it to the corner
But it’s hard to eject a tape that’s played forever so
I need to be the witness to stop this crime
Cause the criminal inside me has lost her mind
All the things she tells me well they’re all lies
So I gotta be the witness to cut this evil vine
I’ve been playing the part of a prisoner
In a fable created by none other than me
And my mind, well she’s more than just dirty
She’s a rascal who’s set on setting fire to all
That I’ve learned
I’ve earned the wisdom of this story
Too many times
I’m starting to get angry so
I need to be the witness to stop this crime
Cause the criminal inside me has lost her mind
All the things she tells me well they’re all lies
So I gotta be the witness to cut this evil vine
The war is over
There is nothing left to say
The pile driver’s got to quit
and it’s gonna happen today
I will crack the motor
Jam my stiletto into that machine
Yeah I took the power
Got to kick myself out of the dream
I need to be the witness to stop this crime
Cause the criminal inside me has lost her mind
All the things she tells me well they’re all lies
So I gotta be the witness gotta be the witness
To stop this evil
Need to be the witness to stop this crime
Cause the criminal inside me has lost her mind
All the things she tells me well they’re all lies
So I gotta be the witness gotta be the witness
To cut this evil vine
2. HOLY CITY
I didn’t say anything that I wanted to say to ya
I got to talking and your eyes well they blew me away yeah
Oh this is how I start
My love letter
But I may have missed my mark
My best seller
Here it goes my friend
I need to see you again and then
I’ll show you what you do to me
You’re like finding the Holy City
Right there in front of my eyes
Setting me free, Yeah I’m ready
To get up on your wailing wall.
After my confession well I,
I’m feeling freer than the wind
But then I start to shut it down fearing,
I’m wondering what it would have been if I had only
Only I have no command
Over tomorrow
So I may as well be grand
And shoot my arrow
Cause the ocean’s wide
But I can swim it
The tide is high
Want to get in it
I feel the fire
C’mon let’s fan it
You ask me why
Cause every minute with you
Is like finding the Holy City
Right there in front of my eyes
Waiting for me, Yeah I’m ready
Oh oh oh Get Up
You’re like finding the Holy City
Right there in from of my eyes
Waiting for me, Yeah I’m ready
To get up on your wailing wall.
I can’t feel it
I can’t feel it anymore
I can’t feel it anymore
You’re like finding the Holy City
Right there in front of my eyes
Setting me free, Yeah I’m ready
Oh oh oh
You’re like finding the Holy City
Right there in from of my eyes
Waiting for me, Yeah I’m ready
To get up on your wailing,
up on your wailing,
up on your wailing wall.
3. THE CLASSIC
I am home in your arms
And I feel like this is living
It’s been a long
Rocky road I have run
Could it be
That you’re all
All I need to get by
And I love how it feels
To be so high without sinnin’
It’s been an almighty
Drop into your heart
And it feels
Like I made it
Made out with all I was hoping for
Could it be that you
You are the one
And we blow through the air
Like we’re floating on a feather
Rock and roll is for sure
Here to stay
And this song
We’ve been singing
Feels like it’s always been sung
Do you know what that’s called?
Archetypal, you’re the classic
Yes, you hummed me the tune
That enraptured my heart
And you threw out
All my devils
To make room
For monumental love
Could it be that you
You are the one
No I never felt the sun
Warm my heart in the way you do
No I never felt the rain
Fill my tears with joy like you do
No I never felt the earth
Fluster the butterflies like you do
No I never felt anything like you
I am home in your arms
And i feel like this is living
It’s been a long
Rocky road I have run
And it feels
Like I made it
Made out with all I was hoping for
Could it be that you
You are the one?
_____________________________________________________________
| Joan As Police Woman — The Classic [2014] |
Ξ Sought–after multi–instrumentalist strikes out with her own, semi–eponymous pop/folk project.
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Album release: 10 March 2014
Record Label: Play It Again Sam
Duration: 52:17
Tracks:
01. Witness 4:44
02. Holy City 4:45
03. The Classic 3:27
04. Good Together 7:03
05. Get Direct 6:44
06. What Would You Do 5:43
07. New Year's Day 6:34
08. Shame 4:38
09. Stay 4:41
10. Ask Me 3:58
11. Your Song 3:54
© 2014 Play It Again Sam
CREDITS:
♦ Joseph Arthur Vocals (Background)
♦ Steven Bernstein Horn (Alto), Slide Trumpet, Trumpet
♦ Oren Bloedow Guitar
♦ TJ Doherty Track Engineer
♦ Joan as Police Woman Primary Artist
♦ Parker Kindred Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
♦ Briggan Krauss Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone)
♦ Nathan Larson Vocals (Background)
♦ Stephanie McKay Vocals (Background)
♦ Jack McKeever Assistant Engineer
♦ Dan Monick Cover Photo
♦ Toshi Reagon Vocals (Background)
♦ Adam Sachs Horn Engineer, Mixing, Overdub Engineer, Vocal Engineer
♦ Dan Shatzky Assistant Engineer
♦ Stephanie Sidjakov Graphics, Layout, Photography
♦ Murray Trider Engineer, Vocal Engineer
♦ Lance Scott Walker Graphics, Layout
♦ Joan Wasser Clavinet, Composer, Guitar, Juno, Percussion, Producer, Strings, Vocals (+Backgr.), Wurlitzer
♦ Reggie Watts Beat Box, Vocals
♦ Doug Wieselman Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor)
♦ Tyler Wood Clavinet, Engineer, Juno, Melodica, Mixing, Moog Bass, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Producer, Programming, Trumpet, Vocals (Background), Wurlitzer
♦ Michele Zayla Vocals (Background)
Review by Heather Phares • Score: ****
Ξ Songwriters and musicians have long used emotional turmoil as a source of inspiration, but on The Classic — which nods to ’60s and ’70s soul with its sound and title — Joan Wasser proves that happiness can make for smart, relatable songs too. Even though this is easily her most joyous album, it isn’t completely new territory.
Ξ Joan as Police Woman‘s previous albums showed that Wasser can set loss, grief, and acceptance to song like few others and also had uplifting moments that broke through like sunbeams. And while plenty of singers — most notably Amy Winehouse‘s mod neo–soul and Chan Marshall in her Memphis–flavored era — have revisited this kind of sound, Wasser puts her own stamp on it. The Classic is full of smoky vocals and slinky melodies that are unmistakably hers; they’re just lit up. The results are some of her most accessible music yet, such as the radiant closing track, “Ask Me.” At times, the instrumentation borders on clichéd instead of classic; after half a century of peppy brass and wah–wah guitars signifying “happy” and “empowered,” it’s hard to wring anything new out of those sounds. More often than not, Wasser manages to do just that by playing against the expectations of upbeat soul music as much as she plays into them: the title track mixes beatboxing and doo wop vocals as it sings the praises of being innocent enough to fall in love and mature enough to move on from the past, while “Shame” uses its brassy choruses to banish a “dirty space invader.” The mix of clarity and sensuality in Wasser‘s songwriting makes The Classic‘s message — that happiness is an active choice rather than a passive state — all the more dynamic. The album’s best songs aren’t about being happy, but what it takes to be ready for happiness. On the bold opener, “Witness,” Wasser depicts her self–defeating thoughts as “a tape that’s played forever”; “Good Together” dispels the nostalgia around an old flame with a massive, cobweb-clearing beat; and “What Would You Do” underscores her impatience with people and situations that don’t work. Joan as Police Woman takes almost as many musical risks as emotional ones on The Classic, particularly on lengthy tracks like “Get Direct” and “New Year’s Day,” but this bravery is usually rewarded, and rewarding. While the album’s brightness may take some getting used to, listeners who love her music for how well she expresses feelings that are universal yet hard to articulate will appreciate how vividly The Classic captures joy and what it takes to get it.
In french:
Ξ Nouvel album pour Joan Wasser qui cette fois cherche l'inspiration dans la soul des années 60 et 70. A découvrir.
Website: http://www.joanaspolicewoman.com/
_____________________________________________________________
Artist Biography by Heather Phares
Ξ Described by Joan Wasser as "punk rock R&B" and "American soul music," Joan as Police Woman combine two of the biggest influences on her music: classic soul such as Al Green and Nina Simone and the rougher experimental sounds of Sonic Youth and Bad Brains. The mix never sounds contrived, thanks to the intuitive interplay of Wasser's vocals, violins, and guitar, Rainy Orteca's bass, and Ben Perowsky's percussion in the first version of the group. Later, Wasser employed a varied cast of collaborators.
Ξ Wasser, who has played with everyone from the Scissor Sisters to Lou Reed, began playing violin at age eight while attending grade school in Norwalk, Connecticut. At Boston University, she studied violin with Yuri Mazurkevich and also played with the Boston University Symphony Orchestra, and expanded her horizons to rock with local acts including Hot Trix (which featured Autoclave member and Helium founder Mary Timony) and the Dambuilders, which went on to national success. Wasser also played with Timony and Shudder to Think's Nathan Larson in Mind Science of the Mind, which released their self-titled album in 1996. The following year, the Dambuilders disbanded and Wasser's boyfriend, Jeff Buckley, accidentally drowned in Memphis, Tennessee. Wasser kept on making music, collaborating with the Grifters' Dave Shouse and Buckley's former guitarist Michael Tighe in Those Bastard Souls in the late '90s, and then with Tighe in Black Beetle, which folded in the early 2000s.
Ξ Along with working as a violinist for hire with artists as diverse as Sheryl Crow, Hal Willner, Rufus Wainwright, and Antony and the Johnsons, Wasser developed her own songwriting, and formed Joan as Police Woman in 2002. The band released its first single, My Gurl, early in 2003, and self-released the Joan as Police Woman EP in 2004. Ξ Joan as Police Woman signed to the British label Reveal, which issued their full-length debut, Real Life, in summer 2006, along with the Eternal Flame, Christobel, and The Ride singles. Real Life was released in the U.S. in summer 2007. To Survive, which featured a cameo by Rufus Wainwright, followed in 2008. For 2011's The Deep Field, Wasser reteamed with Bryce Goggin, co-producer of Real Life, and took a happier, more upbeat approach. This uplifting feeling continued on 2014's The Classic, which channeled the feel of vintage soul albums in its often-joyous songs.
_____________________________________________________________
Lyrics from The Classic:
1. WITNESS
There’s a story that’s been in my life
And I’ve taken it as gospel sure as the day
But now I’m starting to see that it’s just an invention
That really wasn’t about me
And I’d like to kick it to the corner
But it’s hard to eject a tape that’s played forever so
I need to be the witness to stop this crime
Cause the criminal inside me has lost her mind
All the things she tells me well they’re all lies
So I gotta be the witness to cut this evil vine
I’ve been playing the part of a prisoner
In a fable created by none other than me
And my mind, well she’s more than just dirty
She’s a rascal who’s set on setting fire to all
That I’ve learned
I’ve earned the wisdom of this story
Too many times
I’m starting to get angry so
I need to be the witness to stop this crime
Cause the criminal inside me has lost her mind
All the things she tells me well they’re all lies
So I gotta be the witness to cut this evil vine
The war is over
There is nothing left to say
The pile driver’s got to quit
and it’s gonna happen today
I will crack the motor
Jam my stiletto into that machine
Yeah I took the power
Got to kick myself out of the dream
I need to be the witness to stop this crime
Cause the criminal inside me has lost her mind
All the things she tells me well they’re all lies
So I gotta be the witness gotta be the witness
To stop this evil
Need to be the witness to stop this crime
Cause the criminal inside me has lost her mind
All the things she tells me well they’re all lies
So I gotta be the witness gotta be the witness
To cut this evil vine
2. HOLY CITY
I didn’t say anything that I wanted to say to ya
I got to talking and your eyes well they blew me away yeah
Oh this is how I start
My love letter
But I may have missed my mark
My best seller
Here it goes my friend
I need to see you again and then
I’ll show you what you do to me
You’re like finding the Holy City
Right there in front of my eyes
Setting me free, Yeah I’m ready
To get up on your wailing wall.
After my confession well I,
I’m feeling freer than the wind
But then I start to shut it down fearing,
I’m wondering what it would have been if I had only
Only I have no command
Over tomorrow
So I may as well be grand
And shoot my arrow
Cause the ocean’s wide
But I can swim it
The tide is high
Want to get in it
I feel the fire
C’mon let’s fan it
You ask me why
Cause every minute with you
Is like finding the Holy City
Right there in front of my eyes
Waiting for me, Yeah I’m ready
Oh oh oh Get Up
You’re like finding the Holy City
Right there in from of my eyes
Waiting for me, Yeah I’m ready
To get up on your wailing wall.
I can’t feel it
I can’t feel it anymore
I can’t feel it anymore
You’re like finding the Holy City
Right there in front of my eyes
Setting me free, Yeah I’m ready
Oh oh oh
You’re like finding the Holy City
Right there in from of my eyes
Waiting for me, Yeah I’m ready
To get up on your wailing,
up on your wailing,
up on your wailing wall.
3. THE CLASSIC
I am home in your arms
And I feel like this is living
It’s been a long
Rocky road I have run
Could it be
That you’re all
All I need to get by
And I love how it feels
To be so high without sinnin’
It’s been an almighty
Drop into your heart
And it feels
Like I made it
Made out with all I was hoping for
Could it be that you
You are the one
And we blow through the air
Like we’re floating on a feather
Rock and roll is for sure
Here to stay
And this song
We’ve been singing
Feels like it’s always been sung
Do you know what that’s called?
Archetypal, you’re the classic
Yes, you hummed me the tune
That enraptured my heart
And you threw out
All my devils
To make room
For monumental love
Could it be that you
You are the one
No I never felt the sun
Warm my heart in the way you do
No I never felt the rain
Fill my tears with joy like you do
No I never felt the earth
Fluster the butterflies like you do
No I never felt anything like you
I am home in your arms
And i feel like this is living
It’s been a long
Rocky road I have run
And it feels
Like I made it
Made out with all I was hoping for
Could it be that you
You are the one?
_____________________________________________________________