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3 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 very good, but not her best Nov 26, 2008
To her credit, Jolie Holland is growing as an artist, and making good use of the admiration she's received from industry greats. That being said, I don't think this is her best effort. I'd put it at #3 in her catalog, behind the extraordinary Catalpa and the delicious Springtime Can Kill You, but ahead of the less certain Escondida. But this is also the closest she's come to a "rock" album, which might make it more accessible for some. And the production is excellent.
Of course, she still possesses a unique voice and can write lyrics with a twisted elegance reminiscent of Tom Waits. There's really no one else like her. Whether you like her or not, however, is your decision. If you're new to Jolie Holland, I'd recommend starting with Springtime Can Kill You, which is lovely and accessible. If you like that, get the difficult but amazing Catalpa, then this one. If you already love her, you should definitely buy The Living and the Dead as well! It may not be as glorious as some of her earlier work, but it's still well worth listening.
0 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Brilliant, as Usual Nov 21, 2008
At first I was a little put off by the seemingly less unique sound of this CD. I was wrong. Yes, it's a little more accessible, but it has depth and keeps growing on every listen. She's truly one of the essential American artists of this generation. May she continue to write and sing.
0 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Incredible Artist and Performer Nov 13, 2008
I just saw Jolie perform at Eddie's Attic in Atlanta. Truly incredible performance. Effortless performance done to perfection. My friend, who had never heard of her, told me in the first 30 seconds, "I'm in love." I have followed Jolie's music since I first heard of her on Catalpa. My favorite is "Springtime can kill you", but this record is really growing on me fast. If you get a chance go see this great american artist live. She's so friendly. After the show at Eddie's Attic, she gladly had her picture taken with me, signed my cd, and just hung out after the show chatting about nonsense. Jolie is just one big hit away from super stardom. Catch her while you can. Now that she is performing with a band, she will be doing much bigger performances soon.
4 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Jolie goes to show you don't ever know Oct 15, 2008
With The Living and the Dead, Jolie Holland continues to find her way towards normalcy yet still delivers a good, and at times great album. Springtime Can Kill You grew on me quite slowly over the past couple years, and I think that's where I'm at with The Living and the Dead.
The weirdest thing about this album is that it has her biggest stars to date (namely Marc Ribot and M. Ward) yet musically it's sometimes her most generic album. As much as I love some of these songs, they'd be even better were they brought to life via the bands on Catalpa, Escondida or Springtime.
Mexico City is the sonic equivalent of the American Traditional style of tattooing and Corrido Por Buddy most suffers from the band at hand. Palmyra is, for me, one of the premier examples of just how overhyped a guitarist Marc Ribot is. There is nothing here you've not heard before, which is a shame as in the past Jolie's albums have had singular moments in the history of American music. As much as I like the strength of some of these songs, their execution is generally much more common than Old Fashioned Morphine, Darlin Ukelele, Black Hand Blues, or most importantly, ALLEY FLOWERS, etc... or even Stubborn Beast, Crazy Dreams, etc... from the Springtime album...
...but then you get a song like Fox In Its Hole. Slow and drippy like electric molasses, it features Ribot's best playing (On a National, and still nowhere near what Bob Brozman could have brought to this song). With today's American climate, it's impossible for me to hear these lyrics and think of "honey" as a metaphor for anything less than consumerism, materialism and oil. If you ever saw the quiet, pained Come Early Morning with one of Ashley Judd's best performances, you'll be able to imagine Sweet Loving Man and The Future working perfectly within that story.
With Love Henry, if you have the required old-timey training you'll instantly recognize this song and/or the family of traditional tunes from which it comes. This is a highlight moment of her career, and on harp-guitar she delivers the best guitar playing of the album.
It may end up that of her 4 albums so far, this will be my 4th favorite. The darkened, modernistic pre-war country voodoo blues of the first 2 albums is gone but it still shows an artist of great emotional depth and evolving talents. Right now I think of it more in the realm of 3 stars simply because while Carla Bozulich grows deeper and more introspective (as on Hello, Voyager and Dandelions On Fire, I'll never understand why product links for this fantastic album are never an option though this site carries and sells it), Jolie keeps moving closer to normal. Still, I greatly enjoy this album. Experience has shown me that I always think more highly of her albums over time.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Highly Spirited Oct 12, 2008
I was caught by this album when I first heard it, I was really surprised by how listenable it is. While this album does lack the gorgeous smoky darkness and textures of Springtime, The Living and The Dead, is still a brilliant album. The atmosphere is surrendered for a more lively collection of songs, but the songs are still brilliantly arranged and preformed. And the melodies are better. For me the Lyrics aren't as good as on Springtime, but the construction of the songs themselves are better, they are more solid and it's easy to hear Jolie becoming a much better songwriter.
It's a beautiful, buoyant record, full of spirit and still a little shadow to play this record brilliantly.
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