Tigerlily

Tigerlily Artist: Natalie Merchant
Label: Elektra / Wea
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 075596174527
EAN: 0075596174527
ASIN: B000002HHB


Release Date: 1995-06-20

Tigerlily


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Tracks:

  1. San Andreas Fault
  2. Wonder
  3. Beloved Wife
  4. River
  5. Carnival
  6. I May Know The Word
  7. The Letter
  8. Cowboy Romance
  9. Jealousy
  10. Where I Go
  11. Seven Years

Similar Items:

  1. Ophelia
  2. MTV Unplugged
  3. Motherland
  4. Our Time in Eden
  5. In My Tribe

Amazon.com essential recording

Though the minor hits "Wonder" and "Jealousy" bore a reasonable resemblance to Merchant's work with 10,000 Maniacs, most of <I>Tigerlily</I> clearly established her as a solo artist apart from her former band. The record's first single, "Carnival," drove that point home, with a hook based more on rhythm than melody and the haunting voice of Katell Keineg adding an intriguing dimension to the chorus. Elsewhere, much of <I>Tigerlily</I> is remarkably solemn and subtle, from the low-key opener "San Andreas Fault" to the widower's lament "My Beloved Wife" to the eight-minute opus "I May Know the Word." Also of note is "River," an emotional ode to friend and fallen star River Phoenix. <I>--Peter Blackstock</I>

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Natalie Merchant At Her Best..........2007-05-10

TigerLily (1995) used to be my favorite Natalie Merchant CD -- that is until she released The House Carpenter's Daughter. These records are polar opposites; there's a mellow West Coast pop sensibility underpinning TigerLily, but unmistakable countrified folk frames out The House Carpenter's Daughter. Merchant should try pop music again.

In my opinion, San Andreas Fault (Track One) is TigerLily's strongest cut. Miss Merchant's plaintive wail kicks off this languid track -- suggesting steam train whistles of bygone years -- and her glossy voice is backed by percussion, a vibraphone, and dueling guitars (John Holbrook & Matt Henderson.)

Gorgeous accompaniment from Barrie Maguire, Jennifer Turner, and Peter Yanowitz infuses Wonder (Track Two) with emotion. If any track here resembles Merchant's work on In My Tribe, I suppose Wonder fills the bill. Natalie warbles about faith, love, and patience, instilling belief in these desired timeless qualities.

Emotional songs like River (Track Four) will get to you. This song is about River Phoenix, the young actor who died from a drug overdose on October 31st, 1993. I briefly knew Joaquin Phoenix and River Phoenix in 1980, so I thank Miss Merchant for recording this tribute.

River is followed by Carnival (Track Five), which is the single that achieved dominant radio airplay. I loved Adrian Lopez Guevarra's percussion here; I likewise admired Katell Keineg's backing vocals. But I'm still ambivalent about that last snippet of ambient street noise that Natalie's voice recedes into.

Lyrically speaking, Cowboy Romance (Track Eight) does the best job of telling a connection story. Maguire, Turner, and Yanowitz enhance Miss Merchant's sensitively lilting and wavering voice, and Jay Unger's maudlin violin is a deftly added touch; this song is primarily about deception, promises made, and promises abandoned.

I adore Jealousy (Track Nine), which (in addition to Maguire, Turner, and Yanowitz) includes John Holbrook's noodling on the Electric Guitar and Organ, and Eric Schenkman's adroit strumming. This is Merchant's strongest vocal on TigerLily; I could listen to it repeatedly, savoring the last six words for hours.

Lovely numbers like Where I Go (Track Ten) never achieved heavy radio airplay, but it's certainly the most endearing of Merchant's `water as metaphor' efforts. Again, Adrian Lopez Guevarra adds distinct percussion that is perfectly matched to Merchant's gift for verbal phrasing, and Jennifer Turner's plucky Spanish-tinged guitar.

You'll also be blown away by Natalie Merchant's sanguine confessional Seven Years (Track Eleven), which calmly mimics Sinead O'Connor's piercing Nothing Compares 2 U. In this song the chanteuse speaks of devotion, and of being unable to see past a lover, while Michelle Kinney's low-pitched cello labors away dirge like.


Personal Aside: "Who ever thought the quiet girl in sixth grade would become a stunning singer known around the globe? What a blissful record too!"

1 out of 5 stars Very poor sonic quality. A joke!!.......2006-12-02

The music N Merchant plays is beautiful! But that I knew before I bought this DVD-Audio.

The sound is dull, not transparent or detailed nor portrays a wide image. To make matters worse, the 5.1 mix adds nothing to the listening. Most of the mix is geared at the front central speaker. Shame on the engineer who called this an audiophile recording!

5 out of 5 stars Beauty and Wisdom.......2006-04-20

River - If I lost this ablbum every day, I would buy it again every day if only for this one song. It slows down in the middle a bit and this loses many of the other critics, but if you stay to the finish, you will be glad it slows down, every time you listen to it again. A perfect song with perfect percussion and Marchants unique vocal flattened tops carry the message as few others can.

I May Know the Word - Like the other critics I wish it hadn't gone on so long, but by the time you get there, you are also knowing the word and wishing her to waste it.

My Beloved Wife - Like River, and many songs on this album, you have to stay to the finish for the payoff. This album is about moments both lyrical and musical.

Letter - Marchant takes many risks in this song. Her voice can be fragile. But this is her poem, well set in melody.

All in all a pleasant to very beautiful voice, lyrics to savor, and some magic.

5 out of 5 stars This cd should be in your collection.......2006-02-27

This cd should be in your collection....
a masterpiece

5 out of 5 stars

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