The Tigers Have Spoken [Digipak]

Performer: Neko Case
Artist: The Sadies
Engineer: Darryl Neudorf; Doug McClement; Sean Richards; Doug McClement
Producer: Neko Case; Darryl Neudorf; Neko Case; Darryl Neudorf
Distributor: Alternative Dis. Alliance

Notes: Personnel: Neko Case (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, tambourine); Neko Case (6-string guitar, tenor guitar); Jim Krewson (vocals, acoustic guitar); Kelly Hogan (vocals, whistle, tambourine); Mark Downing (vocals); Brian Connelly (acoustic guitar); Jon Rauhouse (pedal steel guitar, banjo); Sean Dean (double bass, upright bass); Travis Good (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, fiddle); Dallas Good (vocals, electric guitar); Jennie Benford (vocals, mandolin); Carolyn Mark (vocals); Brad Hutchison (banjo); Mike Belitsky (drums). Audio Mixers: Neko Case; Darryl Neudorf; Mike Hagler. Recording information: Isabel Bader Theatre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (03/2004-04/2004); Lee's Palace, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (03/2004-04/2004); Schubas, Chicago, IL (03/2004-04/2004); The Matador, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (03/2004-04/2004). Photographers: Warren Butterfield; Jim Krewson. For 2004's THE TIGERS HAVE SPOKEN, her debut on the prestigious Anti label, alt-country singer/songwriter Neko Case forgoes a studio album in favor of a live outing. Those looking for the upbeat pop of Case's work with the New Pornographers won't find it here--this is straight-up twangy country rock that sticks closely to the sound of her previous records (BLACKLISTED and FURNACE ROOM LULLABY), and makes the most of the concert setting. The focus here, as always, is on Case's powerful voice, which channels Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn while remaining undeniably individual. Aided by the Sadies, vocalist Kelly Hogan, and pedal steel/banjo player Jon Rauhouse, Case unveils new originals (the bold "If You Knew," the dreamy title track) and a handful of covers (Buffy Saint-Marie's "Soulful Shade of Blue," Lynn's "Rated X"), among others. Throughout the set, Case and Hogan harmonize gorgeously, while Rauhouse's crying pedal steel lifts the music to a higher plane. Although this is a teasingly short record (barely clocking in at 34 minutes), THE TIGERS HAVE SPOKEN proved more than enough to tide fans over until Case's next full-length album.

Rolling Stone (No. 966, p.61) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[S]hows off the Chicago indie country girl's endearing bag of sounds...[the originals] sound beamed in from some long-lost AM radio station." Spin (p.123) - "[L]ike her hero Loretta Lynn, she's the good girl who done got complex." - Grade: B Entertainment Weekly (pp.122-25) - "Part torched twang, part blue-eyed soul, Case's voice vaults impressively over pedal steel, banjo, and assorted countrified six-strings..." - Grade: A Uncut (p.150) - 4 stars out of 5 - "TIGERS is a leave-them-gagging-for-more whirlwind, and confirmation that, at 34 and with three albums behind her, Case still has tantalizingly wide-open game plan for her future." Alternative Press (p.108) - "[D]elivered with the intensity of a blast furnace....Packing a punch as sweet and warm as a shot of whiskey." - 4 out of 5 CMJ (p.4) - "Live CDs this honest grow harder to find by the day...it's rare that tigers speak so eloquently." Mojo (Publisher) (p.114) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[O]ne of Americana's most exquisite singers..."

Armed with one of the most lush and disarming voices in pop music, Neko Case brought the DIY approach of her punk past to bear on the country singer-songwriter tradition. Releasing her first album in 1997 under the moniker Neko Case & Her Boyfriends, Case has proven herself to be both an adventurous interpreter (with unlikely renditions of Queen and Scott Walker songs) as well as a skilled songwriter. By faithfully covering standards by Loretta Lynn and Ernest Tubb, Case declared her allegiance to country's proud heritage, but collaborations with the likes of Giant Sand and indie-popsters The New Pornographers point to a restless creative spirit.

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