Track Listing

1. 14th Street
2. What You Said
3. And Still
4. Khaki & Corduroy
5. Letters
6. California Rose
7. Wishful Thinking
8. Poor Ellen Smith
9. Bees
10. Old Downtown

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #101748 in Music
• Released on: 2005-06-21
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .16 pounds

Album Description
The follow-up to 2002's "When The Roses Bloom Again" is nothing less than masterful. Produced by JD Foster (Richard Buckner, Marc Ribot), the album features such stellar musicians as John Convertino and Paul Niehaus of Calexico, Amy Helm and Fiona McBain of Ollabelle, Jon Graboff, Mark Spencer, Dave Schramm, Jeremy Chatzky, and many more. Sad and sweet in all the right doses, Cantrell is one of the unique voices and minds in American music, and this third album shows the sort of poise and invention that we associate with the all-time greats, regardless of genre.

Amazon.com
Laura Cantrell has exceptional taste. One listen to her celebrated radio show "Radio Thrift Shop"on WFMU and you will know this instantly, as she mixes old school country and bluegrass with the best contemporary singer-songwriters. The cover art to this, her third album, is by the superlative artist Fred Tomaselli, and her choice of arcane, literate, and lovely cover songs is exquisite: a previously unreleased Lucinda Williams song ("Letters"), an obscure Appalachian murder ballad originally collected by her great-great aunt ("Poor Ellen Smith"), and a fabulous tune by singer-songwriter Emily Spray ("14th Street"). Of course, if good taste were all it took to be a great artist, we'd all be great artsists, right? Laura's not a crooner per se, but she has become an amazing singer, with delightful control over her voice. In fact, Cantrell sounds a lot like the long-lost, Tennessee-born sister to Linda Thompson, especially on the Dave Schramm-penned "And Still," and her own "Old Downtown." This is cosmic, American music, sung with subtlety and produced perfectly by JD Foster. –Mike McGonigal.

From Amazon.co.uk
Laura Cantrell's third album, Humming by the Flowered Vine, emerges into daunting company. Her debut, 2000's Not the Tremblin' Kind, was famously acclaimed by John Peel--who'd probably listened to more albums than anybody else--as "my favourite record of the last ten years, and possibly my life." The follow-up, 2002's When the Roses Bloom Again, was also widely, and rightly, hailed a classic. Humming by the Flowered Vine finds Cantrell understandably reluctant to tinker overmuch with a winning formula. Like its distinguished predecessors, it's a mix of Cantrell's own compositions and obscure cover versions which would only have appeared on the radar of a serious country enthusiast--Emily Spray's "14th Street," Jenifer Jackson's "What You Said," Dave Schramm's "And Still." If Cantrell does borrow from a big name, it's a previously unreleased song--in this case, a sublime version of Lucinda Williams's "Letters."

Humming by the Flowered Vine is a little more opulently arranged than previous albums. However, Cantrell's deceptively offhand, conversational voice remains an instantly recognisable and still treasurable idiosyncrasy, and her third album is a worthy addition to her canon. --Andrew Mueller

Customer Reviews

Sweetly sung melodies
Laura Cantrell has a gorgeous voice.

I downloaded her song "14th Street" as it had the New York appeal. By the end of the week I had found her CD "Humming by the Flowered Vine" and it was well worth the import price. The fact that she is a New York based performer appeals even more as I love songs that are about New York or can be sung southerly about The City in the right note.

Laura does not disappoint or fail at any attempt. There are guest musicians that appear on the making of this record and just add an added bonus to the rotation of the music that spins in the player.

As the entire CD is outstanding, here are the A++ tracks:

-My number 1 favourite track is "Old Down Town," stunning at 6 minutes & never once gets mundane; many artists can not pull of a song for this length of time without losing the plot and heading in the wrong direction. This finds Laura singing about home and the complications of modern day city lifestyle.

-2nd Favourite is the downloadable MP3 "14th Street" which is exactly how I discovered upon this great very under-rated talent.

-The 3rd brilliant tune for me is "Letters."

Laura, all those times you played & sang in coffee houses surely paid off. I as a music lover feel the passion in the songs. This is fact not fiction as she was hand picked by Elvis Costello to open for his U.S. tour.

The New York times sums up the brilliance of Laura Cantrell best when they said:

"As Laura Cantrell performed 'Khaki and Corduroy,' her sleepy-sad reflection on being a Southerner transplanted to New York City . . . the auditorium [Jazz at Lincoln Center] was awash with the kind of cosmic wistfulness that the best country and folk music can conjure when it dreams of the past."
- Stephen Holden, The New York Times

I agree with Stephen Holden & I think many will agree with me when I simply say that Laura Cantrell is an artist with a STUNNING VOICE who produces songs in sweetest of melodies
- A.N.

A successful one, if a departure
It's true this album is a bit of a departure from the 'updated' Kitty Wells
sound of her first two albums-- but I think successful. The only slight
overreach IMO is Lucinda Williams's "Letters," which even approaches
rock slightly, but isn't that distinguished a song (apologies to LW fans).
I like the somewhat new mix of instruments and those ballady songs like
"Khaki & Corduroy" (great stuff!!) & "Bees." I think her writing is finding
a more individualistic voice & this album is a positive step forward-- & I like the trad. ones too, including cool yet semi old timey vibe on "Poor Ellen Smith" (upbeat sad story approach!!??). Graceful & singular talent.

Not sold on this one, but it might grow on me...
Having adored Ms. Cantrell's first two outings, especially 'Not the Trembling Kind' (which I played obsessively, even non-stop, for three days or so after I bought it), I picked this one up the day it came out and popped it right into my portable CD player (yes, I'm one of those dinosaurs without an iPod)... and I have to say that I was a bit disappointed. She seems to have abandoned the largely traditional and stripped-down sound that made for so much of the charm of her first two CDs in favour of a ambitious palette... but one which I don't think suits her. I understand that L.C. wants to grow as an artist and not just keep cranking out what her fans expect of her over and over again, but I don't think she's playing to her strengths here...
...but then again, some of the music I love the most today I hated ay first hearing, so I'm willing to stick with this one - I'll get back to you if and when the penny drops!...