When Good Things Happen to Bad Pianos

Be the first to write a review

Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Stewart Mason
2006's Songs from the Coalmine Canary was an abrupt departure from the dub-inflected dance-rock eclecticism of Little Annie's previous albums, a disc's worth of dramatic cabaret-style torch songs in the manner of a downtown hipster Edith Piaf produced by scene maven Anthony Hegarty. The follow-up, When Good Things Happen to Bad Pianos, takes the idea one step further: a collaboration between Little Annie and pianist Paul Wallfisch on nine vintage cover songs (plus one brief holiday-themed original at the end), this is torch singing in extremis. Little Annie's voice, never an instrument of beauty, sounds positively ravaged at times, recalling Broken English era Marianne ...
See more details below
CD
$15.19
BN.com price
(Save 5%)$15.99 List Price
Other sellers (CD)
  • All (9) from $4.00   
  • New (8) from $11.06   
  • Used (1) from $4.00   

More About This Product

Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Stewart Mason
2006's Songs from the Coalmine Canary was an abrupt departure from the dub-inflected dance-rock eclecticism of Little Annie's previous albums, a disc's worth of dramatic cabaret-style torch songs in the manner of a downtown hipster Edith Piaf produced by scene maven Anthony Hegarty. The follow-up, When Good Things Happen to Bad Pianos, takes the idea one step further: a collaboration between Little Annie and pianist Paul Wallfisch on nine vintage cover songs (plus one brief holiday-themed original at the end), this is torch singing in extremis. Little Annie's voice, never an instrument of beauty, sounds positively ravaged at times, recalling Broken English era Marianne Faithfull and Billie Holiday towards the end of her life. But there's an elegance and grace to her delivery, both on traditional examples of the form like "One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)" and Charles Aznavour's "Yesterday When I Was Young," and unexpected recastings like Tina Turner's "Private Dancer," which she turns into a wounded but proud meditation, and U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," which becomes almost unbearably tragic, sounding more like vintage Jacques Brel than the one Brel cover, "If You Go Away," does. Less of a shock than Songs from the Coalmine Canary, which was the sort of late-career reinvention that not many artists get to pull off, When Good Things Happen to Bad Pianos is an entirely worthy follow-up.
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • Release Date: 2/12/2008
  • Label: Durtro / Jnana
  • UPC: 718752830621
  • Catalog Number: 1966
  • Sales rank: 267,374

Album Credits

Performance Credits
Paul Wallfisch Primary Artist, Synthesizer, Bass, Guitar, Piano, Background Vocals
Kid Congo Powers Electric Guitar, Background Vocals
Jeff Pierce Trumpet
Technical Credits
Leon Russell Composer
U2 Composer
Michel Legrand Composer
Jacques Brel Composer
Harold Arlen Composer
Charles Aznavour Composer
Rod McKuen Composer
Alan Bergman Composer
Marilyn Bergman Composer
Ervin Drake Composer
Fred Kevorkian Mastering
Mark Knopfler Composer
Johnny Mercer Composer
Herbert Kretzmer Composer
Paul Wallfisch Composer, Producer, Engineer
Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review
( 0 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously