By the Way, I Forgive You

by Brandi Carlile

Overview

By the Way I Forgive You represents a return of sorts for Brandi Carlile, finding the singer/songwriter shifting away from the ramshackle mess of 2015's The Firewatcher's Daughter and toward the kind of grandiose emotional bloodletting she pioneered on her 2007 album, The Story. This transition was intentional, spurred by producer Dave Cobb's notion that Carlile hasn't topped her vocal on "The Story" in the decade since. Seizing this challenge, Carlile -- supported, as ever, by the Twins' Tim and Phil Hanseroth -- hired Cobb and Shooter Jennings as co-producers and crafted the stately, spooky By the Way I Forgive You. Where The Story bore signs of earnest idealism, By the Way I Forgive You wears its scars proudly, using "Every Time I Hear That Song" -- a lament whose refrain provides the album with its title -- as its touchstone. Wounded but compassionate, the song is about forgiveness, and that's the underlying emotion that ties together this backwoods balladry, operatic Americana, and rough-hewn rock. Carlile doesn't always find forgiveness easy but she's operating from a place of empathy, which gives her tales of loss, frustration, and wrong turns a deep resonance, especially as her lyrics find a match within the music. The Twins have always elevated Carlile's songs above the realm of delicate confessionals, but here they attack with a muscular grace, keeping their full power in reserve until the necessary moments. Cobb and Jennings not only capture this elemental musicality, they accentuate it through cinematic string arrangements from the late Paul Buckmaster. Sweeping and symphonic, Buckmaster's strings command attention but they do not overshadow Carlile, who indeed hasn't sounded this nuanced or forceful on record since The Story. Nevertheless, By the Way I Forgive You is a different beast than its predecessor, a record with more texture, shade, and ambiguity: it is clearly the work of a maturing artist and it's all the richer for it. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	02/16/2018
Label:	Atlantic / Elektra
UPC:	0075678659171

Tracks

1. Every Time I Hear That Song
2. The Joke
3. Hold Out Your Hand
4. The Mother
5. Whatever You Do
6. Fulton County Jane Doe
7. Sugartooth
8. Most of All
9. Harder to Forgive
10. Party of One

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Brandi Carlile   Primary Artist,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Vocal Group
Paul Buckmaster   Conductor
Shooter Jennings   Organ,Piano,Keyboards,Wurlitzer,Synthesizer
Kristin Wilkinson   Viola
Jim Grosjean   Strings
Mary Kathryn Van Osdale   Strings
John Mark Painter   French Horn
Phil Hanseroth   Bass,Banjo,Guitar,Vocals,Clapping,Keyboards,Vocal Group
Josh Neumann   Cello
David Angell   Violin,Strings
Dave Cobb   Guitar,Clapping,Percussion,Hi String Guitar
Monisa Angell   Strings
Anthony LaMarchina   Strings
Tim Hanseroth   Bass,Guitar,Vocals,Clapping,Vocal Group,Bass (Vocal),Guitar (Electric)
Sari Reist   Strings
Julia Tanner   Strings
Zeneba Bowers   Strings
Laura Rogers   Vocals,Vocals
Chris Powell   Drums,Vocals,Clapping,Percussion,Vocal Group
Betsy Lamb   Strings
Janet Darnall   Strings
Carole Neuen-Rabinowitz   Cello,Strings
Carrie Bailey   Strings
Zach Casebolt   Strings
Wei Tsun Chang   Strings
Stefan Petrescu   Strings
Emily Nelson   Strings
Seanad Chang   Strings
Lydia Rogers   Vocals
Anderson East   Vocals,Vocal Group
Katelyn Westergard   Strings
David Davidson   Strings
Matt Walker   Strings
Gena Johnson   Vocals,Vocal Group
Alicia Enstrom   Violin,Strings
Ali Gooding Hoffman   Strings
Pete Souza   Vocals,Vocal Group

Technical Credits

Paul Buckmaster   Arranger,String Arrangements
Shooter Jennings   Producer
Kristin Wilkinson   Arranger
Pete Lyman   Mastering
Brandi Carlile   Composer
Phil Hanseroth   Composer
Dave Cobb   Composer,Producer,Mixing Engineer
Scott Avett   Cover Painting
Tim Hanseroth   Composer
Tom Elmhirst   Mixing
Gregg Nadel   A&R
Craig Rosen   A&R
Stephen Lamb   Music Preparation
Eddie Spear   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Gena Johnson   Engineer,Second Engineer,Mixing Assistant
Brandon Bost   Engineer,Assistant
Matt Meiners   Art Direction
Pete Souza   Photography