Anaïs Mitchell-Hadestown(A Folk Opera) queen o' nufolk

[jamestkirk]

Anaïs Mitchell--Hadestown (A Folk Opera)
Insanely good!! Tops every rating review printed. 10/10 rating

Way Down (In Hadestown)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUBeFTuUKG8



Why We Build The Wall
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sQ8R54C53o


Hadestown is the fourth album by Vermont-based Anaïs Mitchell, and was released by Righteous Babe Records in the U.S. on March 9, 2010. The album, a concept album, follows a variation on the Ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, where Orpheus must embark on a quest to rescue his wife Eurydice from the underworld. It has been advertised as a 'folk opera'. Several of the songs feature singers other than Mitchell, including Justin Vernon (better known as lead vocalist and guitarist of Wisconsin-based band Bon Iver), Ani DiFranco, Greg Brown, and Tanya, Petra and Rachel Haden (referred to in the track listing as 'The Haden Triplets').

The album features orchestral arrangements by Michael Chorney, who was involved with Anaïs' recordings since Hymns for the Exiled in 2004. The recording itself is based upon a live version of the 'folk opera' which was performed by Mitchell with the collaboration of Mr. Chorney and a theatrical director, Ben T. Matchstick. These performances originally featured a 22-person cast and, after a tour of New England, the songs began to be edited and reworked.

Within the narrative of the album, the part of Orpheus is played by Vernon, Persephone by DiFranco, Hades by Greg Brown, The Fates by Tanya, Petra and Rachel Haden, Hermes by Ben Knox Miller and Mitchell herself plays Eurydice.

While most of the recording was produced by Mr. Sickafoose at Brooklyn Recording Studio in New York, the lead vocals were often produced elsewhere in the U.S..

The Grammy Award nominated packaging was designed by Brian Grunert, Peter Nevins and Anaïs Mitchell, using the artwork of Peter Nevins.

Upon release, Hadestown gained extremely positive reviews overall. Drowned in Sound awarded the album a rare 10/10, stating that "Mitchell traverses such a sweeping range of emotions, genres and styles over the course of Hadestown, it’s frankly remarkable that the whole thing works at all. That it works so brilliantly well, that in under an hour it creates a world you’ll want to return to time and time again, that it is a glittering model of the form – of collaboration itself – is nothing short of awe-inspiring." The Guardian and NME were similarly effusive in their praise, awarding the album 5/5 and 9/10 respectively. Stereo Subversion's Jonathan Sanders gave the album a perfect score and called it "a lasting example of where folk music can go when the right musicians take hold of history."

The album also tops review aggregator website AnyDecentMusic?'s all time chart with an 8.9, the highest rating for any album until Frank Ocean's Channel Orange.


Tracklisitng-

"Wedding Song" featuring Justin Vernon – 3:18
"Epic (Part I)" featuring Justin Vernon – 2:22
"Way Down Hadestown" featuring Justin Vernon, Ani DiFranco and Ben Knox Miller – 3:33
"Songbird Intro" – 0:24
"Hey, Little Songbird" featuring Greg Brown – 3:09
"Gone, I'm Gone" featuring The Haden Triplets - 1:09
"When the Chips are Down" featuring The Haden Triplets - 2:14
"Wait for Me" featuring Ben Knox Miller and Justin Vernon - 3:06
"Why We Build the Wall" featuring Greg Brown - 4:18
"Our Lady of the Underground" featuring Ani DiFranco - 4:40
"Flowers (Eurydice's Song)" - 3:33
"Nothing Changes" featuring The Haden Triplets - 0:52
"If it's True" featuring Justin Vernon - 3:03
"Papers (Hades Finds Out)" - 1:24
"How Long?" featuring Ani DiFranco and Greg Brown - 3:36
"Epic (Part II)" featuring Justin Vernon - 2:55
"Lover's Desire" - 2:05
"His Kiss, The Riot" featuring Greg Brown - 4:03
"Doubt Comes In" featuring Justin Vernon - 5:32
"I Raise My Cup to Him" featuring Ani DiFranco - 4:32


Wait For Me...let it play!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apWfRFMt ... sQ8R54C53o

[jamestkirk]

Anaïs Mitchell ( born March 26, 1981)

Live....Tiny Desk Concert
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Shr47LVcA5I



is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Mitchell has released four albums, including Hadestown (2010) and Young Man in America (2012). She has been described as the "queen of modern folk music."

Mitchell's father is a novelist and college professor and named her after author Anaïs Nin. She grew up on a farm in Addison County, Vermont, and after traveling to the Middle East, Europe and Latin America as a child, she attended Middlebury College.

Having begun writing her first songs at the age of 17, Mitchell recorded her debut album The Song They Sang When Rome Fell in a single afternoon in 2002.

In 2003 Mitchell won the New Folk award at the Kerrville Folk Festival. Her album Hymns for the Exiled was released on Chicago's Waterbug Records label in 2004. This recording attracted the attention of singer/songwriter Ani DiFranco, who signed her to the Righteous Babe Records label.

In 2006 Mitchell debuted a draft of her "folk opera" Hadestown, which she wrote in collaboration with arranger Michael Chorney and director Ben T. Matchstick.[9] A revised version of Hadestown was staged in 2007. Her third album, The Brightness, was released that same year on Righteous Babe Records. In 2008 Mitchell was nominated for the Contemporary Artist category of the third annual Folk Alliance awards show. In September of that same year, Righteous Babe Records released country e.p., a split vinyl/CD EP Mitchell recorded with fellow musician Rachel Ries.

In April 2009, Mitchell appeared on the song "Miss Independence" on Myra Flynn's album Crooked Measures, and the song "Sadly" on Gregory Douglass's album Battler.



Her album Hadestown was released in spring 2010 to favorable reviews. Her manager, Slim Moon, described it as "the story of Orpheus and Eurydice set in post-apocalyptic Depression-era America. The album includes guest appearances by Ani DiFranco, Greg Brown, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Ben Knox Miller of The Low Anthem, and The Haden Triplets (Petra, Rachel, and Tanya Haden).

In early 2012, Mitchell released her album Young Man in America on her Wilderland Records. Mitchell opened the North American leg of Bon Iver's Autumn 2012 tour, which included two sold-out shows at Radio City Music Hall. The album was largely praised by critics as "genre-defining" and her "second consecutive masterpiece."

In late 2012, Mitchell completed recording seven songs from the collection of Child Ballads, compiled by Francis James Child, with fellow musician Jefferson Hamer. The album, produced by Gary Paczosa, was released in February 2013.

Reception

Mitchell has received favorable reviews on her musical style, sound and performance. An article in Acoustic Guitar magazine calls Mitchell "fearlessly emotive" and compares her to Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Gillian Welch. A review in No Depression magazine describes Mitchell as "girlishly sprite and brimming with innocence" and says that she "brings to mind the hippie-throwback charm of Victoria Williams and "80's pop star Cyndi Lauper". Margaret Reges of Allmusic describes Mitchell as having "the earthiness of Shawn Colvin, the child-like bite of Joanna Newsom, and the urban jumpiness of Ani DiFranco."

Discography

The Song They Sang... When Rome Fell (2002)
Hymns for the Exiled (2004) Waterbug Records
The Brightness (2007) Righteous Babe Records
Country E.P. (2008) Righteous Babe Records (with Rachel Ries)
Hadestown (2010) Righteous Babe Records (with Ani DiFranco, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Greg Brown and Ben Knox Miller)
Young Man in America (2012) Wilderland Records
Child Ballads (2013) Wilderland Records (with Jefferson Hamer)

;D

A must listen....