Fretplay.com Kasey Chambers CD reviews Kasey Chambers guitar tabs Kasey Chambers CD reviews Kasey Chambers tabs Carnival


Kasey Chambers - Carnival Audio CD

A fair review of the Kasey Chambers "Carnival" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Kasey Chambers reviews here, or go back to the Kasey Chambers tabs.

Kasey Chambers Band: Kasey Chambers
Title: Carnival
Rating:
Release Date: 2006-08-22
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Colour of a Carnival 2: Sign on the Door 3: Rain 4: Light Up a Candle 5: Hard Road 6: Nothing at All 7: Railroad 8: I Got You Now 9: Dangerous 10: Surrender 11: You Make Me Sing 12: Don't Look So Sad

Disappointment
She seemed so humble and truly in awe of being in the spotlight. I saw Kasey Chambers play at SXSW in 2001 and couldn't help rooting for her. Her album, The Captain, was nice and catchy, but nothing monumental. All in all, I thought a decent folk pop artist was about to hit the big time. After being a fan of that album and Barricades and Brickwalls, I was excited for Carnival. Unfortunately, it is a huge stinker. It is hard to write a review because I have only listened to the album a couple of times - that is all that I can take. The music is, as others said, very bland. It sounds like mid nineties radio rock - third stage Lilith Fair schlock. Chambers overdoes the "Betty Boop" voice on this one, too. Light a Candle is a sad Fever imitation, not a sleak new direction. I hope Kasey reverts back to her old ways on future albums or at least sounds good if she takes off in a new direction. The only reason I am giving this album two stars is because I am still rooting for Kasey. However, if you are thinking about buying this album, make sure to listen to it first!.


Different album for Kasey...very good
A lot of variety, which makes it enjoyable. THere are some unique songs on this album. Another great album from Kasey Chambers.


I'm through with you now
Chambers, a unique betty boop squeak of a voice, was a lustrous presence in rootsy contexts, and the best moments of those records were snarky updates on an old form, but the worst moments were forgettable alt-country duldrums of patched together cliches. It was about time the spell Kasey Chambers originally cast on me wore off - I'd become a huge fan of The Captain and Barricades & Brickwalls, but there was all something a little nagging about even those two very good records. Wayward Angel, Chambers' third album, had some great songs on it, but its pop and country predictability overtook a good half of the album. Carnival shows Chambers at her weakest - sad girl anthems of generic empowerment about the rain, bad girl anthems of doin-wrong that sound about as risky as songs on The Disney channel's afternoon lineup. "Light Up A Candle" fakes its slinkiness and turns dull, "Surrender" adds a Dido production of drum machines and computer bleeps that don't mask the song's epic ordinariness, ballads like "Dangerous" limp along to their own generic lethargy. Chambers isn't without charm - "Sign On The Door" and "I Got You Now" are impossible to not find fun - yet Chambers worst instincts as a song writer threaten to take over even the good songs - "Hard Road," a sad and moving movie-ready duet, borders on self-parody - lines like "There's a heavy jacket/ there's a heavy load/ there's a weight on my shoulders/ it's a hard road" read like a laundry list of related lines from every sad and moving movie-ready song you've ever heard.


Over the line
But I didn't warm to this one much. I own no fewer than 24 Kasey releases (including most of the singles, some promos and EPs, and all the Dead Ringer CDs), some of which I count among my favorite albums. Partly it's the move away from roots to sometimes boring and ugly sounds--about a third of the tracks I can barely listen to at all--; partly it's the increasing opacity of the lyrics that don't even make an effort to make sense (aka singer-songwriter syndrome); and partly it's a new prominence to her streak of calculated offensiveness. 'Edginess' is what they call it, I guess. It's still Kasey (which is why it still gets three stars), and she's very much in control of every song, but I fear where she's going.

"Sign on the Door" is the most infectiously upbeat tune, but it is also the one that for me crosses the line to unacceptable. Julie Miller (for example) can get away with comparing her God and her man ("I need somebody more than a lover / in my bed / I need somebody here with me in my head") because we know her heart is in the right place; but Kasey's sly blend of blasphemy and gratuitous anti-Americanism--'God might be king in the Land of the Free / But *you're* the Blessed Saviour, *you're* the one I need'--comes across as just nasty, and gives the whole album a sour taste. She's entering Madonna territory here and (speaking as a friend) that's not where I want to find her.


Utter Disappointment
I understand that an artist must follow his or her vision, but in this case I found the end result to be boring and bland. I can't help but feel like I've been let down in some way. Not only that, but this album doesn't rock, as some reviews have indicated. It felt like a misconstrued hodgepodge of music, almost as if Casey can't figure out what the heck she wants to do. I felt like I had been trapped in easy listening hell. After being in love with The Captain and Barricades & Brick Walls for years, this honestly is a tremendous let-down.


You can see a complete list of all Kasey Chambers discography, or go back to the Kasey Chambers tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

Search guitar tabs

#ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
[ Search tabs | Guitar tabs | Bass tabs |
Easy guitar tabs | Guitar solo tabs |
Acoustic guitar tabs | Guitar chords |
How to read guitar tabs ]
Forum topics
Music forums
- Bands and artists - Songwriting and lyrics - Tablature talk - Promote your band
Instrument forums
- Guitar basics - Gear & accessories - Bass guitar
Community
- The pit - Site Feedback - Reviews
[ User survey | About us | Privacy statement ]