Octo_Russ

Shawn Colvin ['Polaroids' A Greatest Hits Collection] 

Well this makes 3 greatest hits packages in a row in my Blog!, and Weller, Merchant, and Colvin each have a similarity, in that they're all Singer-Songwriters, on the whole they sing their own music rather than other peoples, each of them are poets too, spinning tales of their lives or observations of others, again i feel that Shawn Colvin has studio albums that are not good enough to stand up on their own, but a collection of the highlights from her career is a lovely proposition, i originally delved into Shawn Colvin when i bought a second-hand cassette of her first album 'Steady On', but it's the album 'Cover Girl' which i feel is her very best album [where she doesn't sing any of her own songs], and it's the one i would recommend first. 

Shawn Colvin is American, born in 1956, she's now 55 years old, and it doesn't seem possible that she's halfway between 50 and 60, where does the time go?, this collection represents almost all of her career, it appeared in 2004, and represents the years 1989-2001, the photography for this album is excellent [by Tracie Goudie], nice autumnal colours of brown and orange.

The track listing is in date order, from her earliest songs to her latest, and she's pretty much consistent throughout her career, and on this listen i was very much warmed by tracks 1, 4, 8-9 & 13, virtually a track from each album, i really liked track 13 'Whole New You', it has this jangly intro, rather like an ice cream van high on steel drums gong wrong! [0:00-0:07], it's a real upbeat sunny tune, nice jangly guitars too, the chorus explodes into a greater power, nice lyrics too, 

To shake the loneliness and shine the light

Take all your tears and save 'em for a rainy night

Go and wish on every star that's fallen

Shake your head and wonder

When it's all too good to be true

Like a whole new you.

it's good to hear that marimba thingy that opens the song, come back again and again, especially during the chorus, i really need to listen to her latest album too. 

Here's Shawn Colvin singing 'Whole New You' on The Hype Machine.