War and Peace (Syd Straw album)

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War and Peace
War and Peace (Syd Straw album).jpg
Studio album by
Syd Straw
Released1996
StudioThe Studio, Springfield, Missouri
Label Capricorn [1]
Producer Syd Straw
Syd Straw chronology
Surprise
(1989)		War and Peace
(1996)		Pink Velour
(2008)

War and Peace is the second album by the American musician Syd Straw, released in 1996. [2] [3] Straw had been without a record label for four years prior to signing with Capricorn Records. [4] The album title jokingly refers to War and Peace's almost 60-minute running time. [5] [6] The first single was "Love, and the Lack of It". [7]

Contents

Production

The album was produced by Straw. [8] [9] She recorded it, in two weeks, in Springfield, Missouri, where she was backed by the cult band the Skeletons. [7] [10] The sessions were paid for by Straw's manager boyfriend. [11]

Many of the songs are about Straw's divorce and past relationships. [11] "Million Miles" was cowritten with Johnette Napolitano. [12] "Static" was originally an instrumental track, composed by Jeff Tweedy; Straw maintains she wrote and recorded the song with an engineer while Wilco was at lunch. [13] [14] "Almost as Blue" is dedicated to Kurt Cobain. [15]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [16]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [8]
Robert Christgau Rating-Christgau-dud.svg [17]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
The Indianapolis Star Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [6]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [18]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]

Trouser Press wrote that "Straw's vocals are tremendous throughout, and the album has a tougher tone musically than the overly glossy Surprise." [12] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution deemed the album "a resilient cycle of country-rock songs about hopes, longings and the memories of complicated relationships." [19] The Dayton Daily News concluded that "her infectious roots rock melodies are surprisingly upbeat, given the subject matter, and her rich voice—capable of fierce passion or a soft country lilt—is simply beyond compare." [20]

Stereo Review determined that "it's her intelligent lyrics and soaring choruses that make War and Peace a standout—the way she plays the victim/victor personas off each other." [21] The Hartford Courant praised the Skeletons, writing that "Straw has just the right twang and snap to back her solid, affecting songs." [22] The St. Louis Post-Dispatch labeled the album "a fair-to-middlin' collection of pop dirges and country-rock tunes on which her voice veers from adequate to lovely." [23] The New York Times stated that "songs settle in between country rock and folk rock, with well-turned melodies and steady-strummed guitars... Singing about heartache, Ms. Straw cuts self-pity with determined resilience." [24] The Waterloo Region Record listed it as the second best album of 1996. [25]

AllMusic called the album "a jangly-guitar, singer/songwriter folk-rock feast and a glimpse into an apparently tortured soul." [16]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."The Toughest Girl in the World" 
2."Million Miles" 
3."Time Has Done This" 
4."Love, and the Lack of It" 
5."CBGB's" 
6."All Things Change" 
7."Madrid" 
8."Almost as Blue" 
9."Water, Please" 
10."X-Ray" 
11."Howl" 
12."Static" 
13."Black Squirrel" 
14."The Train That Takes You Away" 

References

  1. ↑ Dawn, Randee (June 1996). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 34. p. 45.
  2. ↑ "Syd Straw Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ↑ Weisbard, Eric (September 1996). "Whatever". Spin. Vol. 12, no. 6. p. 158.
  4. ↑ Sullivan, Jim (March 24, 1996). "Talking 'bout g-g-generations". The Boston Globe. p. B23.
  5. ↑ Bauder, David (May 10, 1996). "Straw's 2nd CD both serious and silly". Cue. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 18.
  6. 1 2 Penner, Diana (June 9, 1996). "Syd Straw 'War and Peace'". The Indianapolis Star. p. I7.
  7. 1 2 Morris, Chris (March 30, 1996). "Capricorn's Straw makes 'War and Peace'". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 13. p. 22.
  8. 1 2 Rothschild, David (May 16, 1996). "Recordings". Chicago Tribune. p. 9C.
  9. 1 2 MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. pp. 1097–1098.
  10. 1 2 Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. p. 793.
  11. 1 2 DeRogatis, Jim (May 16, 1996). "Syd Straw plays with the skeletons in her closet". Rolling Stone. No. 734. p. 25.
  12. 1 2 "Syd Straw". Trouser Press. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  13. ↑ McLennan, Scott (June 4, 1996). "Syd Straw better than ever". Telegram & Gazette. p. C3.
  14. ↑ "Syd Straw". Frets with DJ Fey. August 12, 2024. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  15. ↑ DeLuca, Dan (August 9, 1996). "Syd Straw". Features Weekend. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 15.
  16. 1 2 "War and Peace". AllMusic.
  17. ↑ "Syd Straw". Robert Christgau.
  18. ↑ Rosenbluth, Jean (June 23, 1996). "Pop Music". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 89.
  19. ↑ "Music scene jams to radio confab". Features. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. February 12, 1996. p. D10.
  20. ↑ Larsen, Dave (May 17, 1996). "Recordings on Review". Go!. Dayton Daily News. p. 19.
  21. ↑ Nash, Alanna (May 1996). "Syd Straw: War and Peace". Stereo Review. Vol. 61, no. 5. p. 93.
  22. ↑ Catlin, Roger (May 9, 1996). "Pop/Rock". Calendar. Hartford Courant. p. 4.
  23. ↑ Daily, Patrick (May 17, 1996). "Syd Straw: Great When Angry". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 8E.
  24. ↑ Pareles, Jon (June 11, 1996). "Weepers, Teasers And Hymns". The New York Times. p. C15.
  25. ↑ "Rock writers choose year's top 10 albums". The Ottawa Citizen. December 14, 1996. p. H2.
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