Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
Never an artist afraid to polarise opinions - with that squawky voice and those wordy lines of poetry - the news that Joanna’s third record was to be a triple album made even this card carrying fan (one who voted ‘The Milk Eyed Mender and ‘Ys’ at Nos. 2 and 5 respectively in his Ragged Words album of the decade submissions) a little wary. A triple album? That goes on for over two hours? Really? Is this wise?
It should be the grandest of follies, and the length is initially daunting, but it’s not as difficult to navigate as you’d imagine. Each of the three discs comprises six tracks and around 40 minutes of music, which makes it relatively easy to digest. Don’t feel pressurised into listening to it all in one go either, instead approach it as something you can ‘dip into’. This writer had planned on giving each disc a month on its own, but reviewing requirements obviously necessitated jumping in headfirst.
But enough of the instruction manual. This could be Joanna Newsom’s best record yet, the one where her myriad talents flower into something undeniably beautiful. Her voice has shed its squawkiness, and should no longer be as divisive. It remains, however, a truly unique instrument. The songs feel looser and more relaxed than those on Ys, and her palette has extended to include piano, banjos, and electric guitars among a wealth of instrumentation – Ryan Francesconi’s arrangements provide a wonderful backdrop. Put simply, Joanna’s stars have aligned and she has produced a masterpiece.
Standout tracks vary on each listen and are well spread over the three discs. It is no surprise though that so many reviewers have latched onto 'Good Intentions Paving Company', an upbeat, jaunty road song, and something of a departure. When Joanna describes "the tilt of this strange nation", and her sudden burst into tears on the road, it is as wondrous and memorable as Sufjan Stevens throwing a similar wobbler on his own classic 21st century road-song 'Chicago'. Last week this organ berated Miranda Diamandis for her woeful phrasing and she should really take a listen to Have One on Me, because the way Joanna Newsom gets her voice around her lyrics is a wonder to behold.
At the opposite end of the scale, ‘Esme’, her song for a friend’s new-born child, is as sparse as her Milk-Eyed Mender harp-and-voice arrangements, and is her most stunning composition yet. Songs about babies have a habit of becoming cloying and sickly, but Newsom knows exactly how to pitch it. Several bell-clear images stand out: ‘It’s a beautiful town with the rain coming down’ she sings. She’s all heart, this girl, and her feelings of trepidation for one so young in the world are beautifully conveyed: ‘This is a world of terrible hardship everywhere / And I search for words to set you at ease / But there in the looking glass a kite is soaring /Stilling my roaring heart and my trembling knees.’
You may find yourself dipping in at first, but once you’ve submerged yourself in this astonishing, record, you won’t want to come up for air.
Mini review
The eighteen songs that traverse Have One On Me's three LPs variously touch upon Joanna Newsom's many loves, cares and disappointments. So it goes that, as with all good records, if you sit with it long enough, you'll reap the rewards – be it in the form of a warm handshake (‘Good Intentions Paving Co.) or wet-faced embrace (‘‘81’). The vinyl box set has the feel of a treasure chest. This is a coming-of-age record, with Newsom's sexual frankness firmly established on opener ‘Easy’ (“My man and me…”); and if in the past her suppleness could have been mistaken for fairy dust, the cold truths that resonate at the heart of songs like ‘Jackrabbits’, ‘Baby Birch’ and closer ‘Does Not Suffice’ confirm the songstress as another artist entirely. (Review)
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