Neko Case
This week’s list is dedicated to MS. NEKO CASE. After watching her perform at the Keswick Theater a little over a week ago, I’ve been listening obsessively to her entire solo discography. Here are some of my favorite moments in the last dozen years of her career, all in chronological order.
Neko Case – The Virginian (Mint/Bloodshot)
Her debut solo album from 1997 is perhaps my least favorite of her solo records, but it’s still really good and if nothing else, makes a great preview of what was to come in the next decade plus. It’s the most explicitly “alt-country” of all of her albums, too. Of particular note is the ballad “Lonely Old Lies” and the cover of SCOTT WALKER’s “Duchess”, which already show off Case’s massive pipes and her strength with ballads. This is also the most cover-heavy album of her studio recordings, with “Duchess,” a great cover of THE EVERLY BROTHERS’ “Bowling Green” and an odd take on QUEEN’s “Misfire”.
The New Pornographers – “Letter from an Occupant”
I had to include this simply because hearing this song from the great debut record Mass Romantic, on which Case sings lead vocals, was the first time I heard both The New Pornographers as well as Case herself. On top of that, it’s one of the album’s highlights. Also of note is the almost-as-good title track, on which Case also sings lead vocals.
Neko Case – Furnace Room Lullaby (Bloodshot)
From 2000, this is her second album and her first masterpiece. From the first note of the opening track “Set Out Running”, this just grabs you and never lets you go throughout the course of its 36 minutes. “Porchlight,” “Thrice All American” (a tribute to her hometown of Tacoma, WA) and the rollicking “Mood to Burn Bridges” are just some of the highlights here.
Neko Case – Canadian Amp EP (Lady Pilot)
Originally a tour-only EP, this was eventually made more readily available and that’s a great thing because it’s no mere curiosity or fans-only item, but rather an absolute stunner of an EP. Consisting of mostly covers, this is also the place where you can find the live, uh, favorite (sorry) “Favorite”. Of the covers, NEIL YOUNG’s “Dreaming Man,” LISA MARR’s “In California” and HANK WILLIAMS’ “Alone and Forsaken” are of particular note.
Neko Case – Blacklisted (Bloodshot)
My favorite of all of her albums, this is also her career zenith. Perhaps I’m partial to it because the first song I ever heard from one of her solo records was her stunning version of the ARETHA FRANKLIN song “Running Out of Fools”.
Nevertheless, “Lady Pilot” and the live stalwarts “Deep Red Bells” and “I Wish I Was the Moon” represent the absolute peak of her amazing songwriting abilities. If a few of the other tracks feel a bit unfinished, the album actually benefits from the off-the-cuff feel. Elsewhere, her cover of “Look for Me (I’ll Be Around)” and the stunning “Pretty Girls” make up for any perceived defincies here.
This is an absolute masterpiece that recently has gone from one of my favorite albums of the decade to one of my all-time favorites.
New Pornographers – “All for Swinging You Around”
The only song on their second album Electric Version that Case sings lead vocals on, it is (as per usual) one of that album’s best songs. Though I considered Electric Version a disappointment at the time, I’ve grown to like it more over the years, though I still think it’s the weakest of their four albums.
Neko Case – The Tigers Have Spoken (Anti)
One of the rare live albums that isn’t just an inferior encapsulation of the studio versions that you only play a few times, this is arguably as essential as her studio albums. Part of the reason why is that it contains songs not found anywhere else. In fact, ten of the album’s twelve tracks aren’t available officially anywhere else (in any form) and as such, it feels like a brand new studio album! The highlights here are many, but try on the covers of LORETTA LYNN’s “Rated X” and especially THE SHANGRI-LAS’ “Train from Kansas City” (which bears a huge resemblance to BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN’s “Girls in Their Summer Clothes”) just to get a sample.
New Pornographers – “These are the Fables”
From their 2005 album Twin Cinema, this song (along with the similar “Bones of an Idol”) represents a new approach. Instead of New Pornographers’ main man CARL NEWMAN giving the catchiest, poppiest songs to Case, on this album (and the follow-up, 2007’s Challengers) Newman gave her the heartfelt ballads so that more people would pay attention to them. In this case, it worked as those are two of my favorite songs on the record.
Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Anti)
I have to be honest here. When I first heard this back when it came out in 2006, I was initially a bit disappointed with it. I didn’t think that she could possibly top Blacklisted and initially, the offerings here didn’t feel as immediate and as catchy.
And while I still don’t like it quite as much anything she recorded from 2000 to 2002, this is a slow burn that I’ve ended up liking almost as much. As always with Case’s albums, the highlights are many, but try “Hold On, Hold On” (the album’s best song, it was recently covered by MARIANNE FAITHFULL) and the equally incredible “That Teenage Feeling”.
The album shows Case further evolving her unique blend of country, gospel, r’n’b, noir elements and straight-up rock and roll into her own distinct, unmistakable sound.
Neko Case – Middle Cyclone (Anti)
Her newest offering, the recently released Middle Cyclone (like its predecessor Fox Confessor Brings the Flood) is another slow burn that won’t hit you immediately, but demands repeat listening and rewards it heartily. “People Got a Lotta Nerve” and “This Tornado Loves You” are the clear highlights and both rank with Case’s very best material, but the whole thing is great. And if you can stand all 32 minutes of it, the crickets chirping in the closer “Marais La Nuit” are actually quite soothing and if nothing else, good for the background.
Also of note are her fantastic covers, this time of SPARKS’ “Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth” and HARRY NILSSON’s “Don’t Forget Me”, both of which she makes her own.
