Product Description

'Chinatown' is the second album from The Be Good Tanyas whoare made up of Samantha Parton, Frazey Ford and Trish Klein. It follows their 2001 debut, 'Blue Horse', and continues with their harmony-led folk, country and pop. The Canadian trio are joined by Olu Dara on cornet and Aaron Chapman on saxophone.

Track Listing

1. It's Not Happening
2. Waiting Around to Die
3. Junkie Song
4. Ship Out on the Sea
5. Dogsong 2
6. Rowdy Blues
7. Reuben
8. House of the Rising Sun
9. In Spite of All the Damage
10. Lonesome Blues
11. In My Time of Dying
12. I Wish my Baby Was Born
13. Horses
14. Midnight Moonlight

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37927 in Music
• Released on: 2003-02-10
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
If, as many purists believe, the best country music is the bleakest, then Chinatown is a tremendous leap forward for the Be Good Tanyas. Whereas their debut album, The Blue Horse, focused on the sweeter side of traditional Appalachian music with a chirpy, naïve charm, Chinatown finds the three Canadian songbirds diving headlong into the dark. For their second release, the Be Good Tanyas follow the traditionalist route mapped out by Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton, eschewing the neo-traditionalism of Alison Krauss and Nickel Creek which was hinted at on The Blue Horse. The result is a revelation.

Chinatown drips with twisted pathos, reflected in both their choices of songs (Townes Van Zandt's "Waiting Around to Die", their self-penned "Junkie Song" and the modern standards "House of the Rising Sun" and "In My Time of Dying") and their delivery, which is sincere without being overly maudlin. Chinatown's slower pace, and overall more melancholy theme, allow the trio more room to flex their three-part vocal harmonies and able fingerpicking skills, which they flesh out once again with the non-traditional (but always subtle) backing of bass and drums. This results in an inspired and breathtaking reading of Van Zandt's "Waiting Around to Die", as well as a relatively upbeat take on the traditional "Reuben", here reclaimed as a sort of bluegrass "I Will Survive". Though not as polished as its predecessor, Chinatown is just as much a gem. --Robert Burrow

Customer Reviews

Repairs your damaged soul with every listen......
Best song for me is "In Spite of All the Damage", dont want to use cliches, it's just beautiful

what beautiful soulful, quiet, acoustic music
this is a collection of gorgeously sung songs. simple compositions, sparse, spot-on instrumentation, the mandolin, the steel drum, the guitar, and that sexy husky low voice accompanied by a hushed chorus. its a cd for lovers of the slow song, the craft of music, the blues tinged with country and bluegrass. gorgeous and soulful. give it a try.

Faultless, astounding
I seem to be in a minority here, perhaps because I heard Chinatown before Blue Horse, but in my humble opinion Blue Horse is a sweet and fetching debut album wheareas Chinatown is mesmerising, beautiful, and damn near faultless. I was completely captivated from the end of the first line of the first song (in comparison, my reaction to Littlest Birds on Blue Horse was "Hmmm, I wouldn't play this to some of my more sceptical friends.")

Sweetly aching melodies and delivery with the slurred vocals (Vancouverette John Martyn?) luring you further in, like songs from the sirens. Junkie Song is stark, emotive, and haunting, the most beautiful song I've ever heard about something so ugly. House of the Rising Sun is magnificent, and I didn't even recognise it until it was half way through!

Some reviewers have indicated that this verges on "music to slit your wrists to" but I find it uplifting and life-affirming. A beautiful, mature, and astounding record, burned into my heart.