Product Description

Making her Native Language recording debut, vocalist Erin Bode stakes a claim as one of her generations most imaginative and melodically inspired singer/songwriters with The Little Garden. St. Louis-based Bode has consistently won over audiences around the world with her sweet personality and small town charm. Her distinctive folk-jazz repertoire and crossover appeal have continued to build her fan base, and The Little Garden is a culmination of years on the road with her finely-tuned band.

Track Listing

1. New England Friends
2. Chasing After You
3. Sweater Song
4. Little Garden
5. Born at the Right Time
6. It's All Your Fault
7. Sydney Come Down
8. Two
9. Cold Water
10. Out of Time
11. Fences
12. Goodnight

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37942 in Music
• Released on: 2008-07-29
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .17 pounds

Review
Singer-songwriter Bode's sublime voice and unique phrasing slips beautifully into the band's jazz-folk vibe, creating a full sound that never comes off as overdone. --Glenn Jeffers, Chicago Tribune

Review
More than just a beautiful girl with a beautiful voice, the lyrics and tone of the songs embody the spirit of the American midwest. --Derek Lauer, Playback Magazine

Customer Reviews

Warmly seductive.
Erin Bode is in upbeat mode on her fourth album, her debut CD for Native Language.
She has brought an intriguing variety of direct or indirect influences to the table, ranging from Norah Jones, Eva Cassidy, Nancy Wilson and Joni Mitchell.
While she has previously covered classic artists from the Great American Songbook, she has reverted here to new original songs in the adult contemporary, jazz oriented music category.
In fact she splits her CD between jazz, folk and pop, also including some selections that could be considered jazzy pop or pop-oriented.
Her songs are intelligent and subtle, while the musicianship of the players is impeccable.
"These songs are the culmination of what we've been working on for the past two years" says Erin. "On Over and Over, there was a lot of music that we wrote at a particular time of our life. Both Adam Maness and I had just met the people we were going to marry, so there were a lot of love songs. The songs on "The Little Garden" have more life situations, things you go through daily, and so it's a natural progression".
Erin has produced the album, working closely with her band (drummer Derrick Phillips, bassist (and husband) Syd Rodway and songwriting partner Adam Maness on piano, guitar, Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer).
Special guest soloist John Ellis (tenor sax and flute) joins in.
Erin, apart from from having a distinctive, sultry voice, is aware of her capabilities and uses her voice like an instrument, which she blends perfectly with inventive work from long-time collaborators Maness and Rodway.
She does a superb job of co-producing -- from a delicate brush on the drums to the stabs of the brass, you can hear every precise detail in living stereo.
If at times a little knowing, this is a truly sophisticated (before that word was diluted through over-use) record of tenderness, humour and intelligence.

Just Keeps Getting Better
Those of us who live in the St. Louis area are lucky to be able to see Erin Bode and her talented band often. For those less fortunate, at least you can reap the benefits of their hard work. No doubt the superior renditions here are the result of these songs having been performed many, many times prior to recording.

Her first CD is very good, the second better. But this latest is the product of an artist who has definitely hit her stride, both as a performer and songwriter (credit and kudos also to pianist and guitarist Adam Maness who wrote or co-wrote all of the material excepting Paul Simon's "Born at the Right Time").

They may be singers better known, but none better. Treat yourself to this CD, then make your best effort to see Erin & Company live. You will not be disappointed by either.

Another Winner
The Erin Bode Band has done it again. At first I was not sure I prefered this album to their last one (both are superb), but I definitely heard a real maturation in the lyrics.

Bode's voice is as beautiful as ever and the band and album production are top-notch. It really is too bad not many people know of Erin Bode because they really are missing out on something special.

Bottom line is this one is well worth the money, and is the kind of CD you can just pop into your player and play from start to finish without worrying about any clunker tracks. My personal favorite on the album is the title track on the cover, but everything is good here.

Oh yes, after further review, this album *is* better than their last effort... and that is saying something. "The Little Garden" gets my highest recommendation.

Enjoy!