Tristan Prettyman took an extended break prior to making her newalbum Cedar + Gold. She traveled the globe, had surgery to removepolyps on her vocal cords, got engaged to her long-term boyfriend, dealtwith the pain of his ending the engagement, and eventually questionedwhether she even wanted to be a musician at all.With an artistry that lies in her finely etched lyrical details and intimatevocal performances, Prettyman spares no one, including herself, on songslike Say Anything, I Was Gonna Marry You, Come Clean, Glass Jar, and Never Say Never. As intense as some of the songs may be, the mood istempered not only by playfully twisted tunes like first single My Oh My, but also by the album s warm, earthy sound, which Prettyman createdwith her producer Greg Wells (Adele, Katy Perry), who plays piano, bass,drums, and some guitar on the album.
J**R
Heartbreak Makes for Incisive Writing
Like Taylor Swift, Prettyman uses her recent breakup as fertile fodder for song. As her prior Hello and Twentythree paid witness, Prettyman is no slouch as a writer, but heartbreak now makes her melodies and words particularly incisive. Songs like “Second Chance” or “My Oh My” channel her hurt into big choruses of affirmation that the real loser is he who left. Just try not singing along. Emotional shrapnel is worked through in songs like “Deep Blue Ocean,” as Prettyman channels Shelby Lynne and scales back to simple bass and pedal-steel, making the ache palpable. The penultimate “Rebound” proffers a very frank assessment of exactly what a rebound is good for. And in the closer, “Never Say Never,” Prettyman tries to sum up, but collapses into a mirror monologue to Mr. Gone. Love hurts, a heart blurts, and art gleams in cedar and gold.
S**N
Glad I Bought the Entire Album
I haven't purchased a physical CD for at least 5 years and it's probably been longer than that. I usually just download a song, or two, here on Amazon from any album I like. I don't want to waste my money on songs I don't like. I had heard "My, Oh, My" on YouTube. Then I heard the acoustic version of that song -- also on YouTube, which is even better and a nice bonus when you get the free CD Rip of this album. I have to say that every song on this album is good listening. A good mix of rock, jazz, a little country too. Once I sampled the songs here on Amazon, I decided to buy the entire album. It's that good IMO. I'll be honest, I had not heard of Tristan Prettyman before this album, but I will be looking at other albums from her. If you get a chance to listen to her acoustic versions on YouTube (1 MIC, 1 TAKE), I recommend that. She has a unique sound that really comes through acoustically.
L**Y
Very Forgettable
I don't understand all the positive reviews this album has received. The lyrics are incredibly generic and cliche. The music starts out mediocre and devolves into irritating ("Quit You") and then incomprehensible ("Bad Drug"). Prettyman has a lovely voice, and (most of) her melodies aren't bad, they just aren't interesting, and the album can't seem to decide between going full-on country or sticking to a singer-songwriter sound. It all just ends up sounding sort of lost.
D**H
Awesome!!!!!!
I saw Tristan perform on one of the morning news shows recently and loved what I heard. As a result I decided to research her music and bought this CD. One of the rare, entire CD's I have bought lately, that I love from beginning to end. As others have stated, not a bad song on the whole album. Not only is the rhythm of each song catchy and memorable, but the words are mesmerizing!!!! After hearing that this album was most likely motivated by her recent break up with Jason Mraz, I appreciate the perfect words she has chosen for each title. The more I listen to it the more and more love it!
R**W
I love this CD!
At my age (55), I am very surprised to become a fan of a new talent. I really enjoy Tristan Prettyman's songs on this album. It's wonderful to have something new to listen to. It's been years since I've been this excited about a new musical talent.
S**.
Tristan is a must have artist for any CD collection.
Tristan is a wonderful artist and I like the collaboration of the songs. I bought mainly for her single "My Oh My", but really enjoy all of them. Beautiful vocals and I enjoy just her with her guitar, too. Her "My Oh My" is the perfect finger-snapping, foot stomping, head-bouncing song to listen to and "Rebound" is just a hilarious to me.
J**L
parental advisOry...not for parents.
I love her voice. However there is no warning that there are curse words on the album. I bought it for my mom based on what I had heard and then listened tho the whole thing and found curse words. My mom is very conservative Christian. I had to call her and warn her not to listen to Bad Drug and Rebound.I love this CD though.
S**W
heartfelt, open, and genuine
When I play Cedar + Gold, I can feel the emotion that poured into the lyrics and music behind these songs. The "production" of this album did not lose any sincerity of Tristan's work. In other words, it sounds great, but feels raw.I've found myself not skipping any songs on the album, but my current favorite songs on the album are: Say Anything and Come Clean
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