Comments on: Decade :: Kathleen Edwards, Failer (2003)

By: A Free Man

A Free Man — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:55:54 +0000

Agreed. Loved this album the first time I heard it. Made me a fan for life. Her subsequent records haven’t lived up to the debut, though.

By: j. neas

j. neas — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:34:09 +0000

That you have every right to say. Sorry she’s not your cup of tea – she’s been one of the highlights of the decade (obviously) for me.

By: bob

bob — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:39:57 +0000

okay, but i can still say it bores me, right?

By: Satisfied '75

Satisfied '75 — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:26:12 +0000

the Lucinda comparisons are what I like to call “looks good on paper.” but they end as soon as you press play.

By: j. neas

j. neas — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:43:04 +0000

The “sounds like Lucinda” barbs were all over the place when this album came out, but Kathleen’s a very different writer from Williams and their phrasing and tones are different as well. That particular criticism always seemed lazy to me, Bob. I can understand surface comparisons – female, alt-country, dusky voices – but that’s about it.

By: bob

bob — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:46:28 +0000

yawn. very middle of the road, safe/predictable and she sounds like lucinda williams. yawn.

By: last year's girl

last year's girl — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:21:48 +0000

I went for Back to Me on my list, but really, it could have been any of the three. What a writer. What a singer.

By: Evan Beazley

Evan Beazley — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:05:20 +0000

Thank you for writing on one of Kathleen’s excellent albums. Was afraid we would see her outstanding contributions to this decade of music overlooked on most charts (and she has been overlooked), so seeing this entry really pleased me.

Personally, “Asking For Flowers” is my favourite of hers. But, as you said, this one marked her emergence as a songwriting force to reckoned with. “Mercury”came up during a random playing of my library yesterday and I remembered why I love her work as much as I do.

By: j.crosby

j.crosby — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:53:25 +0000

An excellent choice and write-up, Josh. When we were compiling our decade lists months ago, I had somehow forgotten about this. I remember looking at your pick then and thinking, “Faaaack, the lucky bastard.” Just such a pleasing record top to bottom.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:30:16 +0000

Yes, all of the above. I was running the Country section at HMV in London when this was out, I had it on a staff recommends at the end of the year and shifted a lot of copies to interested customers in the run up to Christmas. One customer bought two copies, on which I commented he had good taste, it turned out it was Kathleen’s Dad.
Still a favourite record of mine, no contest.

By: CM Porterfield

CM Porterfield — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:35:46 +0000

Thank you for highlighting a brilliant, underappreciated album. This one got inside me from the beginning, and I still am blown away by her economical lyrics that pack serious heat, and THAT.VOICE.

By: j. neas

j. neas — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:02:06 +0000

@Justin – I’m a huge fan of Back to Me and the bit that I wrote at the end about choosing between the two doesn’t really get at the angst I went through in deciding. I ended up going with Failer due to a conversation I had with AD head, Justin, about some of our similarly decided picks. I realized that I was going to be going the same route with a future pick in the series – the really awesome album that caught everyone’s attention, not necessarily the one I listen to more. And while that seemed at first dishonest to the spirit of the series, at the same time I found myself thinking about how I watched (and listened) to Failer completely blow people away. The anecdote above about the listeners on my radio show is not exaggerated in the least. If anything I recieved multiple calls when I played her by people too impatient to wait for me to read back the playlist. Something about this record really moved people – myself included – no matter how I feel about her subsequent albums. That’s what made me select it.

That said, “Summerlong” from Back to Me about kills me every time I listen to it. She really might be my personal artist of the decade.

By: Justin Steiner

Justin Steiner — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:17:44 +0000

I love Kathleen Edwards and I love Failer but I think I’d pick either Back To Me or Asking For Flowers as my favorite record of hers.

By: Pierre

Pierre — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:02:24 +0000

Definitely on my favourite albums of the decade list. She’s a knockout in every sense of the word. Happy to see her headline Canada Day here in London!