Karen Dalton - It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best
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CD Details
Artist: Karen DaltonEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 1997-08-19
Music Label: Koch Records
Soundtracks:
- Little Bit Of Rain
- Sweet Substitute
- Ribbon Bow
- I Love You More Than Words Can Say
- In The Evening (It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best)
- Blues On The Ceiling
- It Hurts Me Too
- How Did The Feeling Feel To You
- Right, Wrong Or Ready
- Down On The Street (Don't You Follow Me Down)
Music reviews of It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best
Music Review: What a great voice . . .
Rating: 4 Stars
As legend has it, it took quite a bit of convincing to get Karen Dalton into the studio to record this album, and it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Consequently, the arrangements are loose and the accompaniment is not varied much--Dalton's 12-string (don't hear any banjo, despite what the liner notes say), a guitar or two playing lead, spare percussion, and some bass are mostly the extent of the backing instruments. Fortunately, the focus is on Karen's voice, which is a real pearl. No one else really sounded like her before or since, and although this album isn't very polished, it's invaluable as one of the only two studio recordings of Karen ever made.
Although Karen played a whole lot of folk, most of these songs are blues, and some of the writing is great. Two Fred Neil cuts are highlights--"Little Bit of Rain" and "Blues on the Ceiling." "Ribbon Bow" is a great brooding traditional tune. The title track and "Right Wrong or Ready" are also highlights. Really what ties the set together is Karen's voice--if you haven't heard it, it's pretty tough to describe it. It's so complex, involving a strained breath at the beginning of words, a kind of southern-accent nasal pronunciation of sounds, and a really guttural, emotive undertone. Some people are annoyed by her voice, but I recommend giving it a chance--it's a shame to write off such a complex gem of originality for sounding a bit uncommon. With her unique vocal tools, Dalton wrings the emotion, pain and life out of these songs. Even though she didn't write them, with such impressive readings, it doesn't really matter.
Of the two albums Karen Dalton recorded, this is far and away the lesser jewel. Its faults are rooted in the off-the-cuff way it was recorded: most of the backing instrument parts don't add very much to the songs, and since it was essentially a jam session, the playing is almost frustratingly tentative--the guitars sound like they're just playing to fill the space and end up just noodling. For me, this makes the overall feel of the album downbeat and more mellow than it may have sounded with better arrangements and preparation, or if it was just Dalton and her guitar. As it is, the songs kind of float by and all sound very similar.
I recommend this album, but I recommend you buy Dalton's second, recently reissued album In My Own Time. Its production is polar opposite--much slicker (but not overly so), much more interesting and impressive accompaniment, and everything sounds better-prepared. Additionally, the song choice is much more varied--blues and folk are accompanied by R&B, rock, jazzier numbers and more pop/rock sounding numbers. I think it may be easier to fall in love with Karen's voice starting with her second album, and once you've gotten into it is the time to check this one out. It's a fine document and showcase for her voice and it supplements the better thought-out In My Own Time. I hope you enjoy both albums!
Description of It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best
Vinyl LP pressing. After re-releasing vaunted Folk singer Karen Dalton's sophomore LP In My Own Time in 2006, Light In The Attic Records are proud to announce a much needed official vinyl reissue of her 1969 Capitol debut. It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best is a heart wrenching and bluesy introduction to the intoxicating world of Dalton and her deep well of musical secrets. Take a load off and pull up a chair. 2009.Karen Dalton was one of the ultimate free spirits. Arriving in New York from her native Oklahoma in 1960, she immediately became a part of the rising folk scene there, a hippie before they had a name, someone who lived life completely on her own terms. She was also, as this records shows, a superbly talented singer, eerily reminiscent of Billie Holliday. The only problem was that she disliked performing, and, in fact, had to be coaxed to make this album in the late '60s. Fortunately, the recording went very smoothly, with most of the vocals being first takes. Dalton (who died in the early '90s) had a natural feel for the blues. She could take songs by her contemporaries, even old folk songs, and find the blues inherent in them. It remains a mystery, really, why a record this good was lost among the releases of the time; its power might have been simple, but it was undeniable. Dalton did record again, making one other album. Now that we have the joy of It's So Hard to Tell, perhaps someone will see fit to issue that, too, and make our legacy complete. It's just a shame we've come to them so late. This is the real folk blues. --Chris Nickson
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