Joanna Newsom & The Y's Street Band - EP

Somebodywhoisnobody all right for starters your so called intelligent brother did nothing but quote music critics with the "untrained voice statement" Also with this music you don't judge the singing but the lyric the feel and the overall message and power of the song. You take bob Dylan or John Lennon they didn't have the greatest voices in the traditional sense but their music changed the world. Now I'm not putting this gal into their caliber but I'm saying she has the same kind of folksy music and it should be treated as such.

Joanna Newsom may look meek but her music is loud. And not in the cover your ears kind of way, but in the way that makes a statement. Her song Colleen is the best on the album. A great adventure, with an even greater sound. Newsom throws some pungency into the song with some shouts that give real feeling to the story of the song.

Also, I would appreciate it if iTunes would put up her debut EP (Walnut Whales).

The comment from my brother is, "THAT BROKE MY HEARING AID!" Honestly, her whining voice is so grating it makes me want to jump off a cliff and end my misery! Ow, ow, OW!!! Her voice is untrained and whiny, like a yowling cat who is being boiled alive. The high notes and out-of-tune style of "Colleen" made me almost have a heart attack. When you're not a soprano, don't sing that high, honey! Stay with the mezzo range, where your voice is actually okay and sort of pretty! "She's a wailing hamster!" says my intelligent brother, "Wailing hamsters should not be allowed on iTunes!"

what a find for great work background musicnjust close your eyes and enjoy

I just found the wonderful Ms. Newsom a few days ago and she's truly given me some musical hope. I hate it when folks make comparisons but I can't help thinking Pentangle meets Incredible String Band. (For you old farts out there...)

If only there was a rating of no stars. honestly, this is the only artist i can find on itunes that i would give NO stars to. Because joanna newsom deserves NO stars. her harp playing is a catastrophe. wanna hear a real harpist. check out the classics. and her voice. untrained. im sorry love....but no. hang it up. those who know nothing of music and enjoy hearing a little girl whine, knock yourself out. but for me. no thanks.

The clearer, less squeaky vocals, the banjo, and amazingly wide variety of instruments used (such as banjo, and accordion, and the spoons, etc.) lend themselves to this album in such an amazing way. Joanna Newsom continues to grow and shift and sway, getting better and better with each passing album. I thought Ys was the bee's knees, it was so different than The Milk Eyed Mender and so beautiful that I thought she had peaked. I was so wrong. BUY THIS. It is worth the price, and just so amazing. It's also neat that all the songs on the EP start with C.

Newsom's voice comes across in this release as remarkably more mature than before- the "childish" quality that has become her signature seems more wizened in these works. In the new release Colleen, she spins a tale only she could with nuances in lyric and song that are very much her own. The remaining tracks on this CD receive a well-deserved flushing out of their instrumentations, transforming Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie into more of a gem than ever and Cosmia into a very different beast; while the subtleties of the original on Ys are certainly missed on occasion when compared to this denser and more stratified version, the new colors and especially the winding down of the ending make the work alone easily worth the cost of the album. In all, my favorite tracks by Newsom to date.

The first time I listened to the excrutiatingly beautiful lyricism and emotional tone of "Colleen" I was overcome by feelings of archetypal nostalgia, and wept like a baby. The Y's Street Band's accompaniment is splendidly quirky and original, perfectly complementing Joanna's impressionistic lyrics and idiosyncratic singing and harp playing style. This one song, by itself, is worth the price of the album.