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Catie Curtis: Catie Curtis

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s

Artist: Catie Curtis
Title: Catie Curtis
Released: 1997.10.07
Label: Rykodisc
Time: 46:11
Producer(s): Roy Bittan
Appears with:
Category: Pop/Rock
Rating: ********.. (8/10)
Media type: CD
Purchase date:  2002.11.14
Price in €: 11,99
Web address: www.catiecurtis.com

 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Soulfully (C.Curtis) - 4:33
[2] I Don't Cry Anymore (C.Curtis) - 5:11
[3] River Winding (C.Curtis) - 3:50
[4] Falling Silent in the Dark (C.Curtis) - 3:42
[5] Heros (C.Curtis) - 3:36
[6] Forgiveness (C.Curtis) - 2:59
[7] I Still Want To (C.Curtis) - 3:46
[8] Memphis (C.Curtis) - 3:36
[9] The Truth Is (C.Curtis) - 3:09
[10] Do Unto Others (C.Curtis) - 3:58
[11] Larry (C.Curtis) - 4:43
[12] Come to Me (C.Curtis) - 3:07

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


CATIE CURTIS - Acoustic & Electric Guitar, Percussion, Vocals, Shaker, Box

ROY BITTAN - Organ, Synthesizer, Accordion, Electric Piano, Background Vocals
MICHAEL THOMPSON - Electric Guitar
KENNY ARONOFF - Drums, Snare Drums
GEORGE BLACK - Drum Programming
DAVID CAMPBELL - String Arrangements
SHARON CELANI - Background Vocals
STEVE CHURCHYARD - Engineer
GIA CIAMBOTTI - Background Vocals
LARRY CORBETT - Cello
JOEL DEROUIN - Violin
CHARLES EVERETT - Violin
ARMEN GARABEDIAN - Violin
BERJ GARABEDIAN - Violin
LILI HAYDN - Fiddle
PETER KENT - Violin
JENNIFER KIMBALL - Harmony Vocals, Rhythm Vocals
DARRELL LEONARD - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
TONY LEVIN - Bass Guitar, Upright Bass
TIM PIERCE - Electric Guitar
EVE SPRECHER - Violin
JOE SUBLETT - Alto & Tenor Saxophone
JIM RYAN - Mandolin
JULIE WOLF - Piano
SUZIE KATAYAMA - Cello
LELAND SKLAR - Bass
DAVID CAMPBELL - String Arrangements
DOUG PETTIBONE - Electric, Gut String & Nylon String Guitars
GIA GAIMBOTTI - Background Vocals
BOB BECKER - Viola

ED THACKER - Engineer
CHRIS FOGEL - Mixing
JOHN HENDRICKSON - Assistant Engineer
TOM RICHARDS - Assistant Engineer
ERIC GREEDY - Assistant Engineer
SCOTT ROBERTSON - Assistant Engineer
KENNY YBARRA - Assistant Engineer
MON EGRANAT - Assistant Engineer
JOHN HENDERICKSON - Assistant Engineer
CHRIS BELLMAN - Mastering
VALERIE PACK - Production Coordination
NANCY ROOF - Production Coordination
VARERIE PACK - Project Coordinator
ROBERT ABRIOLA - Art Direction
BLAKE LITTLE - Photography

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1997 CD Capitol 57209
1997 CS Capitol 57209B
2000 CD Rykodisc RCD 10602



The self-titled album has a very different, dare I say, "commercial" feel, as opposed to Truth from Lies. The sound is different; more complex, with the acoustic instrumentation less prominent; it's less "folky." In fact, at first it seems nearly more of a pop disc than a folk outing. But!! It's deserving of no less praise than her previous release; it's simply different, evolved: Where the previous disc was intimate, this one's adventurous. Where the previous disc was a bit naive, this one is worldly. Where the previous disc's focus was primarily word pictures, this one shows more concern with letting the music produce a mood-setting parchment to house the lyrics. Much of this pop flavor can be attributed to producer Roy Bittan, who plays keyboards on the disc as he did for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. But the disc's players have much to do with that feel also. Kenny Aronoff, who has spent time with both John Mellencamp and Melissa Ethridge, plays drums. Tony Levin, known for work with Peter Gabriel, plays bass. But a strong acoustic connection's maintained by the use of Jimmy Ryan on mandolin, he of Blood Oranges and Wooden Leg fame. Incidentally, the arrangement for the strong section on "Falling Silent in the Dark" was written by David Campbell, Beck's dad. In the end, the heart of Catie's work remains mostly unchanged, with the focus still on the writing and the singing.



Catie Curtis looses none of her emotional impact or subtle songcraft on her eponymous major-label debut. Working with a full band featuring Roy Bittan and Lee Sklar, as well as a host of horns, synths and drum machines, Curtis nevertheless is able to keep the music sound honest and direct, matching its impact with the emotional tone of the lyrics. Some longtime fans may find the production to be a little too smooth, but it helps put Curtis' talent in sharp relief.

Thom Owens - All-Music Guide, © 1992 - 2002 AEC One Stop Group, Inc.



Originally released in 1997 on the defunct Guardian label, Catie Curtis's second album marked her arrival as one of the most tuneful and perceptive songwriters of the Lilith generation. Matched with producer Roy Bittan of Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band, Curtis's songs of emotional and spiritual recovery drew on her background as a social worker and, of all things, a drummer. The beat-savvy layers may be handled by session pro Kenny Aronoff and drum programmer George Black--Curtis does supply pizza box percussion on "I Don't Cry Anymore"--but they blend sympathetically with Curtis's percussive guitar work and Bittan's spacious piano- and mandolin-rich production. Along with Triple-A radio hit "Soulfully" (featured in Dawson's Creek), songs like "River Winding" and "Memphis" suggest a witty and wistful narrative ambition that separates her from her acoustic-aimed peers.

Roy Kasten - Amazon.com



Catie Curtis ist das 1997 entstandene, zweite Album der aus dem Neuenglandstaat Maine kommenden amerikanischen Songwriterin Catie Curtis, die mit ihrem dritten Werk "A Crash Course In Roses" auch das breite Publikum erreicht hat. Nach dessen Erfolg sind 2000 die ersten beiden, vergriffenen Alben der Musikerin -- "Truth From Lies" (1995) heisst das Debüt -- wiederveröffentlicht worden. Sehr elegant pendelt Catie Curtis auch auf diesem Album zwischen Rock, Pop, Folk und ein wenig Country. Schon der Opener, das herrliche "Soulfully" mit seinem dezenten Dancebeat ist ein echter Hit. Kein Wunder, hatte "Soulfully" damals gleich Aufnahme in zwei populäre TV-Serien gefunden: "Dawson's Creek" und "Chicgao Hope". Doch auch der Rest, den die "Folk Rock Goddess", so die renommierte amerikanische Wochenzeitung "New Yorker" über die Songwriterin, hier aus dem Ärmel schüttelt, ist bezaubernd. Anspruchsvolle Lovesongs stehen Kindheitserinnerungen gegenüber, die Catie Curtis mit ihrer hohen, sehr angenehmen Stimme singt. Musikalisch bildet die Musikerin in etwa die Schnittmenge zwischen K.D.Lang und Emmylou Harris, Sherryl Crow und Alannis Morrissette. Gleichwohl kommt das Album nicht ganz an die Klasse des späteren Werkes, "A Crash Course In Roses", heran. Das ist das ideale Einstiegswerk in die Welt der Catie Curtis.

Thomas Bohnet - Amazon.de



Why, one wonders, have Catie Curtis' first two, formerly out-of-print albums been re-released by her new record label, which only just put out her third album, A Crash Course in Roses? Whilst the reissue of her debut, Truth From Lies, is an enhanced version (with a bonus video track, "Radical"), Curtis' 1997 self-titled sophomore work is left as is. And that's just fine, as Curtis' capitalizes on all she learned while making her debut and adds a keenly felt note of confidence in expressing these seemingly personal, yet universal homilies.

Strong and resounding both in sound and vision, without being segregated, Catie Curtis takes a strong female perspective. However, this set is neither wistful nor ultrafeminist; nor is it edgy or dressed with any of the stylistic hankerings of much '90s-era pop-flavored girl-folk.

A clear thinker and a straight talker, Curtis sounds off about relationships and all the usual stuff that litters daily lives. Gracefully, she spins a catchy hook into the chorus of "Falling Silent in the Dark" and creates a mantra. She purposefully opens "Heroes" with a resounding guitar passage, instantly creating a populist anthem. Though her delivery and the fulsome instrumentation (courtesy of a notable backing band) adds charm to such love-worn daydreams as "I Still Want To" and forgiving life stories, including the dusty, R&B-colored "Memphis," these non-melodramatic tales are themselves compelling.

Yet lyrics and performance are easily brushed aside by Curtis' vocal powers. Her seductive, velvet swoon with breathy, haunting undertones is immediately embracing on the dance-beat-sprinkled opening track, "Soulfully." That the grip holds fast till the last tale is told is exactly why Catie Curtis is dusted off once more. Obviously this is simply too good to languish unheard.

Linda Laban - March 13, 2000
Copyright © 1994-2002 CDnow Online, Inc. All rights reserved.



Catie Curtis's fans know her as one of folk music's most promising voices. Her new self-titled album (her second for Guardian) hardly leaves her folk roots behind, but the opening track and first single, "Soulfully," goes out of its way to incorporate lush, pop-leaning production and a decidedly non-folk hip-hop rhythm. Some tasteful production decisions made by former E-Street Band pianist Roy Bittan contribute to Curtis's hip sound here, but even stripped bare, her latest songs are marked by clear pop hooks. "River Winding" gets my vote for second single, its loping groove accented by crisp tape loops and an eerie melody that cuts straight to the heart. "River" details the struggle of life in a former mill town that's quickly becoming a ghost town. The gripping "Falling Silent In The Dark" is the album's ballad, featuring backing vocals by former member of the Story, Jennifer Kimball. Kimball is just one of several stellar guests appearing here: Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel and King Crimson bassist), Kenny Aronoff (John Cougar and Melissa Etheridge drummer), Jimmy Ryan (Blood Oranges and Wooden Leg mandolinist) and Bittan back-up Curtis's vocals, which sit comfortably between those of Joni Mitchell and Laura Nyro. Also don't miss the humorous "Memphis," a song about being lonely in a Southern motel while an undiscovered soulmate waits in New Jersey.

D.M. Avery - CMJ New Music Report Issue: 543 - Oct 27, 1997
© 1978-2002 College Media, Inc., Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 

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