[rating=8.00]
In the ten or so years since her second LP and seminal effort The Story, Brandi Carlile has risen to the upper tier of young up and coming singer/songwriters. And for good reason as well. Known for her insightful, intuitive material and for her dynamic and compelling live performances, she’s clearly a force to be reckoned with and a powerful presence at that.
Appropriately then, this tribute to her breakthrough album gets the all-star treatment, courtesy of a remarkable list of A-list talent who effectively reinvent the album through their own interpretations. Shovels & Rope effectively translate “Late Morning Lullaby” into a weary rumination that gives it a tattered, well-worn facade. Likewise, Kris Kristofferson’s take on “Turpentine” sounds so dry, dusty and tattered due to his parched delivery it could literally be the long lost companion piece to his own “Sunday Morning Coming Down.” Anderson East follows the same tack with their anguished version of “Josephine.” Adding other unexpected contributors like Pearl Jam, Avett Brothers and Jim James further raises the validity of this tribute.
As ravaged as this new revision appears, and with all the new interpretations that transform these tunes, Carlile herself seems relegated to the role of an observer in these proceedings. Even so, hearing such distinctive personalities as Dolly Parton and her pals the Indigo Girls tackle “The Story” and “Cannonball” Carlile’s original imprint still shines through. Still, it’s a credit to the durability of the material that it resonates with the emotion and insistence with which it was intended. Given the worthy cause attached to its reclamation — the War Child foundation specifically — the reason for rediscovery is all the more pertinent. Carlile herself can claim credit for not only making a masterpiece that stands in the time, but helps humanity as well.
