Three-Disc Monstrosity

Rather than complicate things for me on this head weary day, I’m going to discuss Joanna Newsom how I perceive her.  She is a very good young artist that takes a while to appreciate.  Her songs tend to be wordy, long, and at times tiresome, but to her credit she can keep things interesting most of the time.  Have One on Me developed during a challenging time for her.  During the sessions she damaged her voice, causing her to modify her singing style that was stronger during Ys.  She was also evolving her style, expanding her music’s sound to include an orchestra, drums, and other instruments that had not been included in previous records.

Have One on Me to me is a mind-boggling achievement for someone that was 28 when the record was released.  As the title indicates, the record is three discs and two hours full of stories—some fictional, some biographical, some personal.  This record is the highest rated of her albums on the list.

# 157 – Joanna Newsom, Have One on Me (Metascore = 85)

Having heard the record at least once before, I can say that this set is more accessible than Ys.  Also unlike Ys, this record is more diverse in sound.  Newsom’s sound has evolved as she has matured, and the way she presents her songs varies from the original folk of her earlier records (with her almost exclusively on the harp) to more soulful, Carole King-type rock to jazz to classical.  In many ways this record sounds like something Sufjan Stevens would create.  This variability in sound keeps me as a listener interested in what she has to play.

The first disc in particular demonstrates this diversity musically.  “Easy”, “Have One on Me” and “No Provenance” all reflect the original folk sound typical of her earlier records.  “’81” and “Good Intentions Paving Co.” feature a more soft rock sound.  “Baby Birch” builds up from a traditional folk tune to a hand-clapping, folk rock sound in its last 3 minutes.  “You and Me, Bess” (on disc 2) blends her folk pop with soul through the use of backup singers in an a capella R&B rhythm.

Lyrically, this record feels a lot more personal than Ys.  She still weaves the stories in the ways she always has, but on this one there is more introspection.  Her story songs tend to be long-winded (“Have One on Me”), but her personal songs I found to be more satisfying.  With a three-disc set, she probably had an easy time adding introspective songs, and I am glad she did.  Some of my favorite tunes here are “Easy”, “No Provenance”, “Baby Birch”, and “Jackrabbits”, all of which she presents in a dreamy context, musing over loves and life in a sometimes literal and sometimes fictionalized story.  I enjoyed her lyrics on this record.

Overall I take away a much more positive response to this record than I did initially.  I used to treat listening to the tracks as a chore because of their length.  Now, having taken a moment to think about the songs, listen to the music, and put the parts together, I see how this record achieved strong reviews.  Newsom has done a great job in maturing as a songwriter and singer and seems to have an endless palette for creativity.