I admit I'm a late comer to the party. This is Caroline Herring's fourth album and somehow I've missed out on how good this woman is until recently. Originally from Mississippi but more associated with the Austin music scene Caroline took herself out of her comfort zone to make her newest album. She made the album in Connecticut away from her usual studios and with only the producer David Goodrich adding sparse accompaniment.
As a songwriter herself Caroline decided to put the words of other writers on this album. She covers "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper and taking nothing from the original she makes the song her own. While she covers other writer's song on this album she still contributes her own material to the album. For her writing is not a quick easy process as she explains on how she came to write the first song of the album:
"I've been working on the first song, "Tales of the Islander," for several years. The melody has changed a lot, the structure has evolved. It's about Walter Anderson, a Mississippi artist whom I've always loved. He was a naturalist and I'm not. It took me awhile to understand his world. I was intrigued with his long trips to the islands around Mississippi, and I wanted to know what he got out of them, what he saw. He was so thirsty for life, and when he was on a good jag, he was so aware and just drinking in everything at once. In the end, I built the song around this little cottage he lived in that no one was allowed to go into. After he died, his family went in and discovered in addition to thousands of pieces of art that he had painted magnificent murals on the walls. Each wall was part of a day's cycle: sunrise, sunset..."Some other reviews of this album:
Folk singer-songwriter Caroline Herring’s keening alto and hummingbird vibrato will grab you hard on her blisteringly beautiful new album, Golden Apples of the Sun.
No Depression
Simple, austere, and lovely, the best moments from Golden Apples shine under a classic folk glow, as crisp and clear as a New England fall morning.
Pop Dose
Caroline Herring has a warm and earthy presence that just oozes off of Golden Apples Of The Sun. Her songwriting is top notch and her vocal performances are warm and right and draw the listener out of his/her shell.
Wildy's World
Full of fingerpicked acoustic guitar and solo vocals Herring's album is an intimate musical document that will remind anyone who was around in the ‘60's why they loved "folk music."
Enjoy The Music.com
As should be evident this is a really good album. It made the top ten list of our Best Albums of 2009, so it definitely is worth buying.
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