JennJoy's Full Review: The Tigers Have Spoken [Digipak] by Neko Case
Neko Case is one of those singers who just has the voice. You know, vocals so sublime that she could sign nursery rhymes and still sound like a goddess. Neko has proven herself to be an extremely versatile singer over the course of three studio albums which have run the gamut from alt.country and blues to rock and straight-up americana. She has even lent her powerful pipes to the New Pornographers, a decidedly pop oriented band. After playing drums in various groups throughout her twenties Neko finally picked up a guitar and began writing her own tunes. She's grown tremendously as a songwriter from album to album and finds critical acclaim at every turn.
So I was more than surprised to be fairly disappointed when I finally had the opportunity to see her perform. I found her live show littered with moody artist hiccups regarding improperly working amps and vocals which sounded good to everyone in the room but the person providing them. I got the sense that Neko wasn't very comfortable playing for an audience and it nearly ruined the show for me. In addition, Neko - a solo performer - was unexpectedly backed by a Canadian band called the Sadies who nearly stole the show right out from under Ms. Case. During this show Neko mentioned she was in the process of recording a live album with the Sadies and I decided to check it out largely because I really, really like her music and hoped her releases would continue to be spectacular despite the concert debacle.
The Tigers Have Spoken is the live disc Neko spoke of and fortunately it is on-par with her previous efforts. Recorded over three gigs in seven days between Toronto and Chicago this is a perfect specimen of what a live album should be. While most musicians pull from their back catalog of crowd favorites Neko takes a different approach by choosing only a few originals and a variety of cover songs which have made their way into her live show over the years. This method could go either way for existing fans hoping for new material as The Tigers Have Spoken only contains two entirely new tracks, but the songs included here are not run of the mill.
Neko's two new songs, written with the Sadies, are the title track and "If You Only Knew." Both are lovely understated alt.country numbers that perfectly highlight Case's vocals and clever songwriting. The backing of the Sadies gives the songs a much fuller feel than some of Neko's solo work, so it's nice to get a different slant to her style. The other Neko Case tunes are "Blacklisted" (the only noticeable time she dips into her back catalog) and "Favorite" a previously hard-to-find track which was the first song Neko ever wrote by herself from start to finish.
Neko shines the most on the cover songs which comprise the meat of The Tigers Have Spoken. She chooses each piece with careful aplomb and therefore every song suits her vocals flawlessly. Two traditionals are included here, "This Little Light" and "Wayfaring Stranger." The former gives the Sadies plenty of freedom to flex their juke joint skills not found on the slower songs while the latter tones it down a notch and is more in tune with Neko's normal style.
A few of the covers, like Shangri-La's "Train From Kansas City," the Nervous Eaters' "Loretta," and Freakwater's "Hex" are obscure enough for the average listener that they will likely be entirely new listening experiences. The remaining two tracks, Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Soulful Shade of Blue" and Loretta Lynn's "Rated X" are the icing on the cake. The Sainte-Marie song is so stunningly executed that I actually prefer this version to the original.
While The Tigers Have Spoken is quite a good album it is somewhat disappointing that it took Ms. Case nearly two years to release new material and we only get two new tracks and a little over thirty minutes of total play time. This effort might have been better situated after her next studio album, which I believe fans will have to wait another six months to hear. Still, this is unquestionably a solid collection of tunes that at least sates all of us who have been waiting for month after month for something new from Neko. Anyone who appreciates beautiful vocals should check out Neko Case as her voice is nearly unparalleled in today's music scene.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
![The Tigers Have Spoken [Digipak] by Neko Case](http://di1.shopping.com/images1/pi/c5/b2/e1/2002467222-177x150-0-0.jpg)
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.