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An appreciation of Elizabeth Cook, and her album Welder
Without question Elizabeth Cook is one of the smartest musicians I've interviewed over the last 30 years.* Cook's fifth album, Welder, came out last week, produced by Don Was. I do not wish to play the critic's game -- I wish no longer to be a critic, and type quickly here so as to pretend to have won my amateur status back -- but it is clearly her best work, and it's all good, even the country album Hey Y'all that Atlantic reluctantly released in 2002, even the collection of demos she scraped together after that deal fell apart, called This Side of the Moon, on which my still-favorite song "Heather Are You With Me Tonight" appears (it's a war song, not a protest song, not directly).
I begin with Ms. Cook's intelligence because she sings with a giddy voice, and festoons her albums with clever songs that nudge up against novelty, like the title track to the Rodney Crowell-produced Balls. I lead with Ms. Cook's intellect because she is a beautiful woman who sings with a deep country twang (deep enough to have put her on the Grand Ole Opry several hundred times, and probably to have kept her off country radio). I start with her smarts because they undergird everything she does (including, I suspect, the persona who appears on satellite radio, but I've not heard her show, more's the pity).
And because Welder is the most difficult of things to pull off: a canny, multi-faceted album of country and rock and country-rock, 14 songs revolving around a closely-held theme of love in all the right and wrong ways. Giddy with joy, yes. And more, for her mother died and her sister's a heroin addict and she finally married her guitar-slinging collaborator, Tim Carroll. Giddy with life, then, and knowing.
So, yes, it's tempting to focus on "Yes To Booty" ("when you say no to beer/you say yes to booty"), or "Snake In The Bed" or "El Camino," with Cook's wryly hacked chords underpinning Cook's silly love song. Or, on the flip side, to comment on the bravery of "Heroin Addict Sister" or "Mama's Funeral." Or her homage to Carroll, "Rock N Roll Man."
Sing along, sure. The melodies ask for company. But take a moment to listen to how carefully the words are drawn, how certain the stories are told. How artfully she goes about sketching complicated life studies without ever losing her sense of humor, her innate kindness, nor her sense of a joyfully revealing detail. And, I think, without invading anybody's privacy, not an easy thing to do with what may be confessional songs.
The songs aren't all hers. "Not California" is a kind of power ballad, written by Don Messe & Gary Maurer. I tend not to like power ballads, and so suspect the hand of Don Was in this production because I'd rather not blame the artist, but no matter. She covers "Blackland Farmer," and follows "Mama's Funeral" with a song her mother wrote, "I'm Beginning To Forget." (Which, incidentally, isn't simply a kind gesture. It's a great song, pure and simple, like all great songs are.) And Tim Carroll gets a couple cuts on his own considerable merits. I had to read the credits a half-dozen times to be convinced "Girlfriend Tonight" wasn't a minor hit in the 1960s. Nope. Elizabeth Cook wrote it.
If, as we used to brag in the magazine days, you can judge an artist by the company she keeps, Cook's guest duet partners/backing vocalists include Buddy Miller (on the stunning opening track, "All The Time": listen to them hold those notes together), Rodney Crowell, and Dwight Yoakam. With the Opry's Carol Lee Singers on a couple track.
All of which adds up to...I dunno, if we're talking about the marketplace. She's still playing one-off dates travelling in a panel van, best I know. Nobody in Nashville is cutting her songs, nor pretending they can make her a star. And it does absolutely no good for me to bay at the moon wildly that she should be, there there's simply no reason at all she shouldn't be, not even a good character flaw (unless being smart counts) to explain it. Just magic, sometimes.
What it adds up to is this: She's good, and rewarding to listen to over and over again. Joy and pain play equal parts in her songs, in her voice, but it all comes from her heart without detouring into anything which might draw attention to the care with which the whole thing is pulled off.
And she keeps pulling the whole thing off, making records even though...even though it can't be easy. It can't be easy knowing exactly how good you are and having to struggle this much just to keep doing the work you're meant to do, even though I suspect, as struggles go, this one ain't bad. She's got a good mate for the battle in Mr. Carroll, and more than enough sense to live within whatever their means prove to be.
That's all the time I have. I can't get past the fear that my job is to make you go buy this record, and, like all the times before, I have failed. But the failure is mine, not Ms. Cook's. She's all aces.
*OK, here's the short list, assembled while driving around and not thinking too hard: Liz Phair, David Thomas, Chely Wright, Steve Earle, Allison Moorer (ah, young John Henry is so doomed to be an interesting and challenging child), maybe Chris Cornell, except he's closer to being athlete smart, and probably Thom Yorke, except we only spent 15 minutes in a hotel room with his minder, a bandmate, and a documentary filmmaker, so that's really no more than a guess.
I started a digression on the different ways female artists manifest their intelligence when being interviewed by male journalists, but there's no way to do it without coming across as a sexist asshole. But there is a difference.
I begin with Ms. Cook's intelligence because she sings with a giddy voice, and festoons her albums with clever songs that nudge up against novelty, like the title track to the Rodney Crowell-produced Balls. I lead with Ms. Cook's intellect because she is a beautiful woman who sings with a deep country twang (deep enough to have put her on the Grand Ole Opry several hundred times, and probably to have kept her off country radio). I start with her smarts because they undergird everything she does (including, I suspect, the persona who appears on satellite radio, but I've not heard her show, more's the pity).
And because Welder is the most difficult of things to pull off: a canny, multi-faceted album of country and rock and country-rock, 14 songs revolving around a closely-held theme of love in all the right and wrong ways. Giddy with joy, yes. And more, for her mother died and her sister's a heroin addict and she finally married her guitar-slinging collaborator, Tim Carroll. Giddy with life, then, and knowing.
So, yes, it's tempting to focus on "Yes To Booty" ("when you say no to beer/you say yes to booty"), or "Snake In The Bed" or "El Camino," with Cook's wryly hacked chords underpinning Cook's silly love song. Or, on the flip side, to comment on the bravery of "Heroin Addict Sister" or "Mama's Funeral." Or her homage to Carroll, "Rock N Roll Man."
Sing along, sure. The melodies ask for company. But take a moment to listen to how carefully the words are drawn, how certain the stories are told. How artfully she goes about sketching complicated life studies without ever losing her sense of humor, her innate kindness, nor her sense of a joyfully revealing detail. And, I think, without invading anybody's privacy, not an easy thing to do with what may be confessional songs.
The songs aren't all hers. "Not California" is a kind of power ballad, written by Don Messe & Gary Maurer. I tend not to like power ballads, and so suspect the hand of Don Was in this production because I'd rather not blame the artist, but no matter. She covers "Blackland Farmer," and follows "Mama's Funeral" with a song her mother wrote, "I'm Beginning To Forget." (Which, incidentally, isn't simply a kind gesture. It's a great song, pure and simple, like all great songs are.) And Tim Carroll gets a couple cuts on his own considerable merits. I had to read the credits a half-dozen times to be convinced "Girlfriend Tonight" wasn't a minor hit in the 1960s. Nope. Elizabeth Cook wrote it.
If, as we used to brag in the magazine days, you can judge an artist by the company she keeps, Cook's guest duet partners/backing vocalists include Buddy Miller (on the stunning opening track, "All The Time": listen to them hold those notes together), Rodney Crowell, and Dwight Yoakam. With the Opry's Carol Lee Singers on a couple track.
All of which adds up to...I dunno, if we're talking about the marketplace. She's still playing one-off dates travelling in a panel van, best I know. Nobody in Nashville is cutting her songs, nor pretending they can make her a star. And it does absolutely no good for me to bay at the moon wildly that she should be, there there's simply no reason at all she shouldn't be, not even a good character flaw (unless being smart counts) to explain it. Just magic, sometimes.
What it adds up to is this: She's good, and rewarding to listen to over and over again. Joy and pain play equal parts in her songs, in her voice, but it all comes from her heart without detouring into anything which might draw attention to the care with which the whole thing is pulled off.
And she keeps pulling the whole thing off, making records even though...even though it can't be easy. It can't be easy knowing exactly how good you are and having to struggle this much just to keep doing the work you're meant to do, even though I suspect, as struggles go, this one ain't bad. She's got a good mate for the battle in Mr. Carroll, and more than enough sense to live within whatever their means prove to be.
That's all the time I have. I can't get past the fear that my job is to make you go buy this record, and, like all the times before, I have failed. But the failure is mine, not Ms. Cook's. She's all aces.
*OK, here's the short list, assembled while driving around and not thinking too hard: Liz Phair, David Thomas, Chely Wright, Steve Earle, Allison Moorer (ah, young John Henry is so doomed to be an interesting and challenging child), maybe Chris Cornell, except he's closer to being athlete smart, and probably Thom Yorke, except we only spent 15 minutes in a hotel room with his minder, a bandmate, and a documentary filmmaker, so that's really no more than a guess.
I started a digression on the different ways female artists manifest their intelligence when being interviewed by male journalists, but there's no way to do it without coming across as a sexist asshole. But there is a difference.
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Comment by TwangNation.com on May 23, 2010 at 11:20pm -
I interviewed Cook last year on the eve of her inaugural San Francisco performance (opening for Jesse Winchester ) and I agree with you Grant. She's whip smart and assured of herself and what she has to offer and brings a great mix of the old and the new to her performance.
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Comment by Ron Frankl on May 24, 2010 at 8:03am -
Great piece. Elizabeth is the real deal, and also happens to be one of the nicest people in the world. I look forward to playing "Welder" often in coming months.
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Comment by Laurie Koster on May 25, 2010 at 4:00am -
Great article and I'm now duly intrigued. May I suggest, as I've come across this with other reviews, that the author or editor also add a link to the artist's website or MySpace page or anywhere there are song samples as well? I will go look for one now :-). Thanks!
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Comment by Rob Sheeley on May 25, 2010 at 5:16am -
Having listened to the album several times in a row, I am amazed at the swirl of styles she has crafted together on this record. It's kind of like a aural carnival where you hear bits and pieces of stories, melody and sin simmered together into one infectous groove of a record.
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Comment by Curtis Ray Barclift on May 25, 2010 at 6:16am -
My wife and I just saw Elizabeth in Easton, MD. at the Nightcat and yes, she and Tim and bassist Bones Hillman (ex-Midnight Oil) are traveling in a panel van. These are hard-working musicians, my favorite kind. The show was wonderful and intimate and she is so accessible and appreciative of her audience. And Tim's a great guy. When I told him that I had his first disc and was very familiar with his music in general his eyes lit up and we immediately hit it off, talking music for a good fifteen minutes. Welder is a fine release and I agree, she tops herself every time out. And I'm an Outlaw Country listener on XM so I start every morning with her show on the way to work. She truly is a little like family. You learn a lot about her from the show so when you meet her you can ask how her cats are doing (she misses them on the road) and how that cold she had was ("Now Tim has it") and if she's found a good cup of hotel coffee yet (No). She's not shy about expressing her opinions on the corporate country scene, she can cuss with the best of us on that subject. And even with a cold her voice is a true wonder in concert. Believe me, she's the genuine article, in every way I could see. Buy everything you can from her. And dig yourself up some Tim Carroll! You won't be sorry and they'll love you for it.
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Comment by PB on May 25, 2010 at 7:56am -
"May I suggest, as I've come across this with other reviews, that the author or editor also add a link to the artist's website or MySpace page or anywhere there are song samples as well?"
Apparently you're not real familiar with Mr. Alden....
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Comment by PB on May 25, 2010 at 8:06am
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But seriously...the "smartest musicians ever interviewed" bit made me think for a moment. Billy Bragg stands out, certainly.... Butch Hancock (mainly in a "philosopical" sense).... Bill Morrissey I recall being pretty sharp.... Ah, that guy from Disposable Heroes -- Michael Franti. Seriously smart fellow there.... I think Bill Frisell is really really smart but so self-effacing you'd almost not even notice. (He's smart because he listens, and absorbs everything around him.).... Chris Eckman is someone I've worked with and consider a good friend, but I've also interviewed him, and I'd have to say I've always felt he was a really intelligent fellow.... Hard not to put Gillian & David on any such list (though interesting to note that Grant did not).... Maybe Ira Kaplan belongs in here somewhere? .... And it goes without saying that Vic Chesnutt was a genius-level mind.
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Comment by Grant Alden on May 25, 2010 at 1:39pm -
As Peter notes...I think links are further evidence of the incipient laziness of modern society. I mean, really, how hard is it to find her music without me doing the work for you? And, anyway, I don't find my music online, so it's a pain in the neck and a waste of my time (imho) to do that legwork. Typed with a smile.
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Comment by Laurie Koster on May 25, 2010 at 2:11pm
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After such a glowing review, I'm sure the artists wouldn't mind an extra minute to direct potential fans to their music :-). I read many reviews and hear a lot of music every day. If I had to hunt down ALL of them...well..you get my point I'm sure. Smiling back.
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Comment by Hayseed on May 26, 2010 at 4:19pm
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I, too, think Elizabeth is very smart. And pretty. And sings good.
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