Holy toledo, a lot has happened in the last 3 weeks. An amazing rhubarb tour, Television pushing us into the public eye, affirmations from famous people who like our stuff... and for me, guitars, guitars, guitars. It started at Kate Wolf festival, spun away by Bruce Cockburn and his beautiful solo set. Made me want to practice and practice, discover these joys I was hearing with my own fingers. Then we went on tour with A Prairie Home Companion, and Pat Donahue was so encouraging and generous, I got a bag of tricks to practice from him and inspiration to boot. He is so revered in guitar circles, such a calm yet passionate artist, and I am one lucky little aspirant. Then we got to Winnipeg Folk Festival, and Bruce Cockburn was back, beautiful again and giving us such a boost of joy with his presence, his direct appreciation of our music. Blew our minds. Watching him a second time sealed it. Guitar, I love it. It is an endless fountain of discovery. I sat watching his final set, so moved, as the huge moon rose over the stage. Art Turner sat beside me. He is our photographer, and the most knowledgeable finger-style guitar player I can call friend. His enjoyment and ideas brought home the depth of what we witnessed. And finally I also got to see our studio guitar dude extraordinaire, Kevin Breit, live. He played all over our album, but as it goes when life is busy, I'd never even met him. A strange sensation indeed, considering the intimacy of a song. As I headed home from the festival, I ran into him talking to Jack our manager, just past the security gates of the airport. Seeing him jam out madly on a workshop stage, and meeting him in person supported for me the profound nature of his involvement in our recording, and the potential evolution of our own playing as a result of it. He is raw guitar power, and as we seek to refine our live presentation, just the three of us, I have this incredible resource to dive into, his free form flight on the fretboard. So I'm home for three short days, guitar in hand, discovering. Firecrackers are going off inside me. We head back to California on friday, and then on to merry old England.~ Ruth
The Wailin' Jennys - Firecracker
Regardless of their clever name, The Wailin’ Jennys don’t wail at all Regardless of their clever name, The Wailin’ Jennys don’t wail at all. Their vocals’ country element calls to mind The Cox Family or Alison Krauss more than The Outlaws.
Cara Luft’s departure and replacement by Annabelle Chvostek has, if anything, left the Canadian trio more sophisticated while still rustic. Longing of the human spirit permeates their compositionsǃ
The Wailin' Jennys - Firecracker
Firecracker is the third record from Winnipeg songbird trio The Wailin’ Jennys. To their credit, they avoid the shiny commercial trappings of the Dixie Chicks and instead present honest, lyrically solid songs that are given a lightly-buffed roots-music treatment Firecracker is the third record from Winnipeg songbird trio The Wailin’ Jennys. To their credit, they avoid the shiny commercial trappings of the Dixie Chicks and instead present honest, lyrically solid songs that are given a lightly-buffed roots-music treatment. All the necessary ingredients required to make the cash registers sing are there though. They can definitely sing, the tunes have a low-key hooky charm to them and the musicianship is excellent. Of particular note are the contributions of stringmeister Kevin Breit. The only drawback to this CD being all it could have been is the tendency towards medium-tempo material, however repeated listening reveal many fine touches in the background. Requires listener participation but yields its rewards in return. B+
The Wailin' Jennys - Firecracker
Take the polished pop safety pins out of the Dixie Chicks shtick and you're left with something more organic like Canadian songbirds, The Wailin' Jennys Take the polished pop safety pins out of the Dixie Chicks shtick and you're left with something more organic like Canadian songbirds, The Wailin' Jennys. Their sophomore set carries the same torch as the first, but David Travers-Smith's tidy production fleshes out the earthy arrangements with distinctive modern edges. The ear candy is subtle, which goes a long way to preserving their prairie-girl authenticity, and each Jenny sings her own songs. Cara Luft's replacement, Annabelle Chvostek, comes equipped with a supportive lower register, thus further balancing the harmonies and avoiding any annoying, treble-heavy tweet. With her handy mandolin and fiddle playing, a few of these thirteen originals could easily pass for traditional, most notably "Glory Bound," and "Starlight."
Hi everyone,
Thank you so much for all of your kind comments regarding the Tanglewood show. We had a wonderful time and your feedback makes the experience sweeter still. Just to let everyone know, "Calling All Angels" is a Jane Siberry song and we have not yet recorded it though we are looking into that at the moment. We will keep you posted. In the meantime, you can check out her version on her album "When I Was A Boy" (it features kd lang, another great Canadian singer-songwriter). "Bring Me L'il Water, Silvy" is available on our self-titled EP and "One Voice" is on our first full-length title "40 Days". Both can be purchased on our merchandise page.
Thanks again for your interest and enthusiasm. We are blown away by your comments and we are excited to be travelling to many of your home towns in the next few months.
The Jennys
Firecracker - The Wailin' Jennys
Heavenly vocals from sublime female singer-songwriting team. This Canadian trio of Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta and Annabelle Chvostek are almost too good to be true. Heavenly vocals from sublime female singer-songwriting.
This Canadian trio of Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta and Annabelle Chvostek are almost too good to be true. All are lead singers of angelic purity, while together their exquisite three part-harmonies make them sound like a heavenly choir. All write memorably melodic songs in a timeless folk/country vein and between them they play guitar, banjo, mandolin, accordion, fiddle and harmonica.
Firecracker, their second album and first since Chvostek joined the line-up, is an exquisite gem, featuring 13 songs that burn and ache with almost unbearable emotion. Moody’s “Prairie Town” is probably the most heartbreaking song you will hear this year, though Mehta’s “Begin” runs it close. “Apocalypse Lullaby,” from the pen of Chvostek, is a lovely, gentle acoustic wonder, while “Some Good Thing” finds them rocking with carefree, rootsy abandon.
Imagine Alison Krauss fronting a down-home Dixie Chicks with the Be Good Tanyas providing the backing vocals and you get somewhere close. Yes, improbable as it may sound, The Wailin’ Jennys really are that good.
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The Wailin' Jennys on PBS
Award-winning folk trio The Wailin’ Jennys will make its American television debut this weekend performing in a special Independence Day edition of Garrison Keillor’s famed A Prairie Home Companion along with the regular cast and guest star, Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep Award-winning folk trio The Wailin’ Jennys will make its American television debut this weekend performing in a special Independence Day edition of Garrison Keillor’s famed A Prairie Home Companion along with the regular cast and guest star, Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep. The show, which has been broadcast on National Public Radio since 1974, will be telecast across the U.S. and Canada on PBS’s popular Great Performances on July 2 and again on July 9, and to NPR’s radio audiences on July 1.
The Wailin’ Jennys, who took home the 2005 JUNO Award for Roots/Traditional Album of the Year for its full-length debut 40 Days, is in the midst of a five-month North American tour that will also have the band return to the U.K. for the third time. The trio has spent the latter part of June as part of the A Prairie Home Companion tour with dates in the American northeast, having recently returned from a successful tour of Australia. Over the past year, The Wailin’ Jennys have made several appearances on A Prairie Home Companion, winning over legions of new fans south of the border.
”It's a very exciting opportunity and because we've had some experience already with Garrison and the cast and crew, we know we're in good hands so that takes away a little part of the nervousness,” says band member Nicky Mehta of the telecast. “It's always an honour to appear on the show and the idea of being on Great Performances is particularly humbling.”
"A televised event like this has the potential to bring the Jennys' music to a much broader audience, and this is not only great for the band, but also great for everyone who will discover this exceptionally talented trio," says Sam Baardman, Executive Director of the Manitoba Audio Recording Industry Assocation (MARIA). "Manitobans should be extremely proud that the Jennys have established such a strong and successful reputation in international markets."
Featuring three established singer/songwriters ǃ
The Wailin' Jennys - Firecracker
Catch lightning in a bottle once you're lucky. Catch it twice and magic comes into play. The Wailin' Jennys new album is a case in point Catch lightning in a bottle once you're lucky. Catch it twice and magic comes into play. The Wailin' Jennys new album is a case in point. Original singer Cara Luft left after the band's first release. Disaster? Hardly. Local gal about town Annabelle Chvostek stepped in and the harmony trio didn't miss a beat. Their new release is a wonder of three-part harmonies, musicianship and songcraft. Chvostek, Nicky Mehta and Ruth Moody all contribute tunes that mesh seamlessly with the lone traditional number, “Long Time Traveler”. In full vocal flight, the Jennys fall into formation like geese on the wing, effortlessly, intuitively. It's a thing of beauty.
Rating: 4