Loading AI tools
2000 studio album by Victoria Williams From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Water to Drink is an album by the American musician Victoria Williams, released in 2000.[1][2] She had originally intended to record an album of standards, but was discouraged by Atlantic Records.[3] Williams promoted the album by touring with Lou Reed.[4]
Water to Drink | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 2000 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Producer | Victoria Williams, J. C. Hopkins | |||
Victoria Williams chronology | ||||
|
Produced by Williams and J. C. Hopkins, the album was recorded mostly at Williams's home studio, in Joshua Tree.[5][6] The title track was written by Antônio Carlos Jobim.[7] Williams used a kalimba on some of the tracks.[8] Van Dyke Parks composed the string parts for some songs.[8] Greg Leisz played pedal steel on the album; David Piltch played bass.[9][10] Mark Olson, Williams's then-husband, sang on "Joy of Love".[11] Petra Haden sang and played violin on several tracks.[12] "Junk" employs a Mellotron; "Gladys and Lucy" a horn section.[13][14]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [7] |
The Atlanta Constitution | B+[15] |
Birmingham Post | [16] |
Entertainment Weekly | B[17] |
The Gazette | [18] |
Los Angeles Times | [19] |
Orange County Register | B+[14] |
Rolling Stone | [20] |
Spin | 8/10[9] |
Entertainment Weekly noted that "Williams has a strange, little-girl voice that channels big emotions and annoys small-minded quirkophobes."[17] The Atlanta Constitution wrote that Williams has "tamed the wilder edges of her oddball compositions so that her shambling country-gospel-pop sound has steeped into something you might call homespun jazz."[15] Spin praised Haden's "shimmering backing vocals."[9] Rolling Stone concluded: "Both homespun and hymnlike, the songs on Water to Drink are the fullest expression yet of Williams' cockeyed genius."[20]
The Los Angeles Times opined that Williams "is among the least jaded contemporary songwriters, a chronicler of the incidental moments that transform the prosaic into the transcendent."[19] The Hartford Courant determined that "her cutesy turn on 'Claude' has her sounding like a nails-on-chalkboard version of Carol Channing."[11] The Gazette called Water to Drink "a crazy quilt of musical styles all stitched together with waif-like vocals."[18] The Irish Times determined that, "at her best her music evokes the richness of southern American rural culture, intimate reflections packaged in delightful light folksy melodies."[21]
AllMusic wrote that "the constraints of performing another composer's songs tone down the blur of her ideas, giving her space where she can spread out and share her immense talent."[7]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Grandma's Hat Pin" | |
2. | "Gladys and Lucy" | |
3. | "Water to Drink" | |
4. | "Light the Lamp Freddie" | |
5. | "Claude" | |
6. | "Joy of Love" | |
7. | "Until the Real Thing Comes Along" | |
8. | "Lagniappe" | |
9. | "Junk" | |
10. | "Little Bird" | |
11. | "Young at Heart" | |
12. | "Little Bit of Love" |
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.