It does, however, show up on a CD called 'Windows to the World,' which appears to be a greatest hits compilation of sorts, but I honestly can't find any more information about it beyond that.Īlso included in this download are two covers. However, this is one track doesn't show up on any of Colvin's studio albums, which is a bit of a mystery to me since it's a good song. 'Knowing What I Know Now' is another Colvin/Leventhal composition. I wasn't overly fond of the studio version of 'Something to Believe In,' but this live version is just fantastic, made all the more fantastic by Colvin's interweaving of 'I Got the Sun in the Morning' from the Broadway musical Annie Get Your Gun. It's a perfect wrapping for the lyrics in all of the songs, whether they they were written by Colvin and her usual co-writer, John Leventhal, or other people. Backed by only her guitar, Colvin's voice rings true, and her musical phrasing is both effective and dramatic. What's so striking about this album is that you realize her studio CDs don't really do justice to her talents, in large part because the orchestration sometimes distracts from her clear, sweet, strong voice. As a result, Live '88 consists of a mix of cover songs and songs that show up on Steady On and Fat City. That means that even though Live '88 was released the year before 1996's A Few Small Repairs, it's older than her 1989 debut Columbia release Steady On. This was recorded in Somerville, MA, during 1988. How I Got This CD: Bought new God knows where.Įasily the best CD Colvin has ever produced, but then again, I do have a weakness for Live CDs. Now I'll just let you get to the reviews and the downloads. 1, which includes live performances from Shawn Colvin and others.Īnyway, I've nattered on enough. The fact that Colvin did well with the rough-and-tumble Providence crowd (even if she was only armed with her guitar and a mic stand), says quite a lot about her.Īside from providing a full overview of all the CDs I own of Colvin's, I've also included a bonus CD, The Columbia Records Radio Hour, Vol. How intimate? The locals have a habit of not just shouting their requests up to the stage, but pulling the performing artist into full-blown conversations. I was lucky to see Colvin when she performed at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel & Met Café, one of the diviest dives that has ever dived, but a fantastic place to see live performers thanks to its intimate (some might say overly intimate) setting. Like all artists I truly adore, Colvin is a great live artist, as you can see from her Live '88 CD. The keynote in all of Colvin's music is a sense of restlessness, heartbreak, and rebuilding after the fall, whether it is in her studio CD debut for Columbia, 1989's Steady On, or in her latest CD (her first studio CD in 5 years), These Four Walls, her debut release for the extraordinary Nonesuch Records, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers. I find it somewhat funny that Colvin first tried to break into the music biz by fronting a hard rock band (truly one of those things that make you go, "Bwah?" followed by, "I so need to hear this."), before moving on to Western swing (makes more sense), and then settling down and finding her own voice. What makes me feel even older is that Colvin has been working her unique blend of pop-new folk-light country-light blues-y music since long before she signed with Columbia. Aside from her own Grammy Award-nominated and -winning recordings, she sang back-up on Suzanne Vega's 1987 hit, 'Luka,' has appeared singing back-up for musical pal Mary Chapin Carpenter, provided the theme song to Brooke Shields's sitcom, Suddenly Susan, sung some commercial jingles for Disney Theme Parks, and has had a few walk-on parts on primetime U.S. Has Shawn Colvin really been recording for 17 years? Gah! I feel old.Ĭolvin is another one of those voices that you've probably heard more of than you realized. So dive on in, with 24 sample MP3 downloads from Shawn Colvin and 4 sample MP3 downloads of live performances from Bruce Cockburn, Rosanne Cash, Shawn Colvin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Darden Smith. Here, for everyone to enjoy, is my early Winter Solstice present: the lovely voice and song-writing artistry of Shawn Colvin, with a bonus review of a live CD highlighting Columbia recording artists. So Happy Holidays - whatever holiday you happen to be celebrating - to one and all of you.Īs for me, I've decided to go with the scientifically accurate Winter Solstice.
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