In Tuesday’s (5/3) Seattle Times, Nick Visser writes, “Singer-songwriter and Washington state native Brandi Carlile has released three studio albums, but she is calling her breathtaking new recording, ‘Live at Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Symphony,’ her best work to date. ‘Of all the albums we’ve made, this is the one we’re most proud of,’ Carlile said. ‘It’s really truly us as a live band.’ The tracks—many from her last folk-rock powerhouse album, ‘Give Up the Ghost’—are a mix of Carlile’s hits and some choice covers. Recorded live with 30 members of the SSO, the disc perfectly pairs her commanding voice with the simple power of the orchestrations. ‘It’s really intense when you’re playing,’ she said. ‘They let you have one rehearsal to prepare you for how profound it will be. It shocks you, the orchestra weaving in and out of your music.’ … The recording is meant to feel like a performance, not a CD (the first track is the symphony’s curtain call). … This is an album meant to show all the Brandi Carlile fans out there what they’ve been missing at her concerts.”
Posted May 3, 2011
