The Story

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.com
Enhanced UK pressing of the American singer/songwriter's 2007 album features unique artwork and four bonus tracks: live versions of 'Downpour' and 'Josephine' plus enhanced videos of 'Turpentine' and 'The Story'. On The Story, Brandi Carlile opens up her heart, soul, and psyche in a series of memorable songs that invite you into her world. The intensity and authenticity of her music brought her to the attention of the Grammy Award-winning producer T Bone Burnett (Counting Crows, Roy Orbison) who came on-board to produce The Story.

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Amazon.com
The Brandi Carlile story so far is fairly short: fresh-faced singer-song writer from rural Ravensdale, Washington, quietly releases a 2005 debut that has critics and fans reaching for their thesauruses searching for appropriate adjectives to describe her voice. Patsy Cline, Jeff Buckley, kd lang, Beth Orton, Linda Ronstadt, and Aimee Mann get name-checked as Carlile and her guitar-and-bass-playing Hanseroth twins-led band criss-cross the country for two years, first as openers, then as headliners. Cue the overproduced, disappointing follow-up album? Not so fast. On The Story, Carlile teams up with veteran roots producer T Bone Burnett, who brings in vintage equipment and strips down her sound. Instead of using overdubs, the new songs--most of which were already road-tested--are recorded live, giving the ballads and midtempo rockers a tough, uncompromising edge and a fuller, more aggressive attack. Echoes of country and folk color the bucolic "Have You Ever" and the unadorned acoustic "Cannonball," but it's the sweeping drama of the more epic-sounding "Until I Die," "Late Morning Lullaby," and the U2-styled "My Song" that leave the greatest lasting impressions. Carlile and Burnett make a perfect team: he allows her malleable voice room to soar in the mix while she brings sharp original songs that exude confidence, pride, and emotion. It's a combustive combination and one that results in a sophomore release every bit as good, and in many respects better, than her first. Stay tuned as the story continues. --Hal Horowitz

Brandi Pics

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From Amazon.ca
Brandi Carlile has a rare voice, consistently spilling over with honesty, purity, and passion. Her dynamic and tonal range is truly exceptional and on par with the likes of k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, and Patsy Cline--at times soft, swooping, and clear as a bell ("Turpentine," "Josephine," "Cannonball"), and then ferocious to the point of breaking ("The Story," "My Song"). A voice like Carlile's when paired with the right material is a winning combination, and The Story's country-meets-Radiohead ballads and rockers do not disappoint. While the songs on are not as consistently stellar as those on her self-titled debut album, they are more often than not solid, and show off her talents and confidence as both an artist and performer, which have fully bloomed since her debut. This, coupled with T Bone Burnett's light, live production style, creates an album that is ultimately more rewarding than her first. The high points on The Story have raised the bar considerably for Carlile, and they are frequent. Her choice to record the album in a live setting inside the studio lends it a raw intimacy and authenticity noticeably absent from most studio recordings, and leaves us with not only an album, but a work of art. Carlile is a career artist still defining her sound, but her maturity as a vocalist cannot be questioned--this is an immensely talented singer laying herself bare before us, and one of the strongest releases of 2007. --Alan Wiley

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-11-02 rating:
Sweet, gritty, honest
Brandi Carlile has an awesome sound. Some songs start out sounding soft and heartwarming but then tear into something guttural and more open than any artist I can think of. Folk rock is definitely what comes to my mind. I can't stand albums that repeat the same style over and over again. Brandi's style is varied, refreshing, and something I listen over and over again at work without being worn out.

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review by: dreamer date: 2008-10-25 rating:
Amazing voice, expression, and songwriting...
Wow! What a voice! I was driving along in the car when I first heard "The Story" on the local radio station. Wow. Like with so many other great voices or great songs I have heard for the first time- "Yellow", "Creep", "Linger", "Constant Craving", "Somersault", "What I Am", "White Flag", and "Finally Woken" to name a few- I cranked up the radio, turned the car around, and headed for the nearest record store, and bought every copy of "The Story" for my friends. From the gut-wrenching knowing passion of "Story", I was really expecting to see some worn-out, chain-smoking, Joplinesque, "gin-soaked bar-room queen" on the album cover. What a surprise to see a very attractive young woman, with such a powerful and expressive voice, with tremendous untapped potential just waiting in reserve.

Brandi Carlile has a quality in her melodic voice, sweetly nimble fingers, and catchy songwriting that conveys the sense of real life experiences, with a purity and honesty not heard often enough. I have read descriptions of her voice in the last measures of "The Story" as crackling or edgy, but to me her voice is freely expressive, like a great guitar solo, or a Kurt Cobain message, pushed to the limits. No apologies. What matters so much more than a perfect performance is what we feel inside when we hear the notes. She has something to say, and you will know without a doubt her message comes straight from her gut. She can belt it out, and she can melt your heart in the same song.

Every song on this record is truly wonderful in their own way, and the first three tracks are priceless, thanks to this powerhouse team of songwriters. I played this record over and over, until the break of dawn. "Turpentine" gave me the same shivers I felt when I first heard "Teen Spirit"- a raw anthem to each of our realities. "Shadow on the Wall" is another beautiful hidden gem, where she accepts the situation, and does not try to change the world or anyone in it. She simply creates her own solution to the problem. This song is anything but "sad", as I have heard it described. In fact, I find it refreshing. I believe this talented and gifted artist has a long and successful career ahead of her, and I am looking forward to hearing more great music from her and the band.

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review by: date: 2008-10-05 rating:
nice, melodic
I am 45 years old and maybe too old fashioned. My best kind of modern musics ( as opposed to classical musics) are those of the 50's, 60's, and early 70's. I have most musics of the 80's superficial, and those afterwards just not memorable, including U2. But I must say I like all of the songs of this disks. Both the lyrics and the melodies are nice. The titled song, The Story, though is the least well performed. Brandi's diction is terrible. The songs overall are not well crafted as those good oldies. Yet, I have found listened to these many times. This is my first introduction to Brandi Carlile, and I intend to buy another disc to find our more about her and her band.

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review by: peace matters date: 2008-09-29 rating:
Brandi Carlisle
I picked up this CD because I heard a song from it on a Chevrolet commercial. I found the rest of the songs to be equally wonderful. Great artist.


review by: Rich date: 2008-09-23 rating:
Brandi Carlile
My interest in "The Story" started during the Summer Olympics with a haunting voice, for a very institutional General Motors commercial. The same voice could be heard on a few re-runs of Grey's Anatomy. The GM website was very accomodating in providing a web jump to "The Story". The music written and performed by Brandi Carlile brings an appreciation for her range and skills as a singer. A type of CD that you'll play over and over again, because so many of the tracks are wonderful.

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