The Tigers Have Spoken

by Neko Case

Overview

In the press release that accompanies Neko Case's 2004 live album, The Tigers Have Spoken, the singer (and her record company) insist quite strongly that this isn't meant to be a stopgap release on the way to her next studio project. To be blunt, Case protests a bit much on this issue -- an album featuring two re-recorded originals and five covers out of 11 tracks is carrying an awful lot of padding for something intended to be a proper "new" release. But if The Tigers Have Spoken is really intended to keep fans occupied until Case finishes her next project, she thankfully hasn't abandoned her standards of quality control along the way, and delivers some splendid music on this disc. Recorded over the course of three gigs in the spring of 2004, The Tigers Have Spoken features Case backed by the Sadies, whose web of deep, lonesome twang fits Case's repertoire like a glove, with Jon Rauhouse sitting in on pedal steel with his usual grace and flawless feel, and Kelly Hogan and Carolyn Mark contributing backing vocals that are little short of glorious. But the reason Neko Case is headlining over this stellar cast is because she has one of the finest voices to emerge from pop music in recent memory, and she's in firm command of her instrument on these performances. Allowing herself more room to rock than on 2002's Blacklisted, Case rips it up on covers of classic tunes by Buffy Sainte-Marie, Loretta Lynn, and the Shangri-Las, and "The Tigers Have Spoken" and "Hex" show Case isn't saving all her good new songs for the next album. Maybe Case is biding her time with The Tigers Have Spoken, but she sure isn't wasting it -- if it's a relatively minor effort, it still sounds like the work of a major artist, and there's lots of pleasure to be found in it. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	08/10/2018
Label:	Epitaph
UPC:	0045778674015
Rank:	28522

Tracks

1. If You Knew
2. Soulful Shade of Blue
3. Hex
4. The Train From Kansas City
5. The Tigers Have Spoken
6. Blacklisted
7. Loretta
8. Favorite
9. Rated X
10. This Little Light
11. Wayfaring Stranger
12. The Tigers (Intro) [Spoken Word]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Neko Case   Primary Artist,Guitar (Tenor),Vocals,Tambourine,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),6-String Electric Bass
Sean Dean   Double Bass,Bass (Upright)
The Sadies   Guest Artist
Travis Good   Fiddle,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Kelly Hogan   Vocals,Tambourine,Train Whistle
Mark Downing   Vocals
Brad Hutchison   Banjo
Carolyn Mark   Vocals
Dallas Good   Vocals,Guitar (Electric)
Brian Connelly   Guitar (Acoustic)
Jennie Benford   Vocals,Mandolin
Jon Rauhouse   Banjo,Pedal Steel
Jim Krewson   Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic)
Mike Belitsky   Drums

Technical Credits

Doug McClement   Audio Engineer,Engineer
Darryl Neudorf   Audio Production,Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Neko Case   Audio Production,Mixing,Drawing,Composer,Producer,Layout Design
Travis Good   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Steve Cataldo   Composer
Ellie Greenwich   Composer
Sean Dean   Composer
Loretta Lynn   Composer
The Sadies   Composer
Dallas Good   Composer
Buffy Sainte-Marie   Composer
Catherine Irwin   Composer
Jeff Barry   Composer
Peter J. Moore   Mastering
Mike Hagler   Mixing
Steve Chahley   Mixing Assistant
Jim Krewson   Photography
Randy "Tex" Iwata   Assembly,Layout Design
Warren Butterfield   Photography
Sean Richards   Engineer
Brian Lucey   Assistant Engineer
Mike Belitsky   Composer