The Tigers Have Spoken [Digipak]

Personnel include: Neko Case (vocals, acoustic guitar, 6-string guitar, tenor guitar, tambourine); Travis Good (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, fiddle); Dallas Good (vocals, electric guitar); Jennie Benford (vocals, mandolin); Kelly Hogan (vocals, whistle, tambourine); Carolyn Mark (vocals); Jon Rauhouse (pedal steel guitar, banjo); Brad Hutchinson (banjo); Sean Dean (double bass); Mike Belitsky (drums).

Recording information: Schubas, Chicago, ILL; Lee’s Place, Tornto, Canada; The Matador, Toronto, Canada.

For 2004’s THE TIGERS HAVE SPOKEN, her debut on the prestigious Anti label, alt-country singer/songwriter Neko Case forgoes a studio album in favor of a live outing. Those looking for the upbeat pop of Case’s work with the New Pornographers won’t find it here—this is straight-up twangy country rock that sticks closely to the sound of her previous records (BLACKLISTED and FURNACE ROOM LULLABY), and makes the most of the concert setting.

The focus here, as always, is on Case’s powerful voice, which channels Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn while remaining undeniably individual. Aided by the Sadies, vocalist Kelly Hogan, and pedal steel/banjo player Jon Rauhouse, Case unveils new originals (the bold “If You Knew,” the dreamy title track) and a handful of covers (Buffy Saint-Marie’s “Soulful Shade of Blue,” Lynn’s “Rated X”), among others. Throughout the set, Case and Hogan harmonize gorgeously, while Rauhouse’s crying pedal steel lifts the music to a higher plane. Although this is a teasingly short record (barely clocking in at 34 minutes), THE TIGERS HAVE SPOKEN proved more than enough to tide fans over until Case’s next full-length album.

What the critics say…

Rolling Stone (No. 966, p.61) – 3 stars out of 5 – “\[S\]hows off the Chicago indie country girl’s endearing bag of sounds…\[the originals\] sound beamed in from some long-lost AM radio station.“
Spin (p.123) – “\[L\]ike her hero Loretta Lynn, she’s the good girl who done got complex.” – Grade: B
Entertainment Weekly (pp.122-25) – “Part torched twang, part blue-eyed soul, Case’s voice vaults impressively over pedal steel, banjo, and assorted countrified six-strings…” – Grade: A
Uncut (p.150) – 4 stars out of 5 – “TIGERS is a leave-them-gagging-for-more whirlwind, and confirmation that, at 34 and with three albums behind her, Case still has tantalizingly wide-open game plan for her future.“
Alternative Press (p.108) – “\[D\]elivered with the intensity of a blast furnace….Packing a punch as sweet and warm as a shot of whiskey.” – 4 out of 5
CMJ (p.4) – “Live CDs this honest grow harder to find by the day…it’s rare that tigers speak so eloquently.“
Mojo (Publisher) (p.114) – 4 stars out of 5 – “\[O\]ne of Americana’s most exquisite singers…”