The Virginian (album)

The Virginian
Studio album by
Neko Case and her Boyfriends
Released1997
Recorded1996–1997
GenreAlternative country
Length30:31
LabelMint/Bloodshot
ProducerBrian Connelly[1]
Neko Case and her Boyfriends chronology
The Virginian
(1997) 		Furnace Room Lullaby
(2000)

The Virginian is the 1997 debut studio album by American vocalist Neko Case, whose backing band at that time consisted of a rotating group of musicians referred to as "Her Boyfriends".[2] It was Case's first solo record after previously being a member of Vancouver pop punk bands Maow and Cub.[3]

Guest musicians on the album include Carl Newman,[4] Carolyn Mark, Rose Melberg, Matt Murphy, Brian Connelly,[1] and Darryl Neudorf. Case and Newman would later form the New Pornographers with other Vancouver musicians.[4]

The song "Karoline" was a re-recording of the song "Rebecca Lash" which Case had written and recorded with her previous band Maow. "Misfire" is a cover of a Queen song, originally recorded on the band's Sheer Heart Attack album. A video for "Timber" was shot; however, CMT did not air it, calling it too dark. Case herself was unhappy with the video and did not want it aired.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Pitchfork Media7.3/10[6]

The Globe and Mail wrote that Case "comes across like a latter-day Brenda Lee, warbling about bluegrass and honky-tonks as if she'd been raised on them, filling her songs with inventive word play, heartbreak and humour while refugees from bands such as Sloan, Copyright and Zumpano bang out their best impersonation of 1950s Nashville session guys."[7]

Track listing

  1. "Timber" – 2:45 (Neko Case, Brad Lambert, Eric Napier)
  2. "Bowling Green" – 2:16 (Terry Slater, Jacqueline Ertel)
  3. "Jettison" – 3:13 (Case, Ford Pier)
  4. "High on Cruel" – 2:02 (Case, David Carswell)
  5. "Karoline" – 2:24 (Case, Carswell)
  6. "Lonely Old Lies" – 3:34 (Case, Lambert, Napier, Carl Newman)
  7. "Honky Tonk Hiccups" – 2:22 (Matt Murphy)
  8. "The Virginian" – 3:29 (Case, Lambert, Napier, Newman)
  9. "Duchess" – 2:55 (Scott Engel)
  10. "Thanks a Lot" – 2:35 (Eddie Miller, Don Sessions)
  11. "Somebody Led Me Away" – 2:46 (Lola Jean Dillon)
  12. "Misfire" – 2:10 (John Deacon)

References

  1. ^ a b Fontana, Kaitlin (2011). Fresh at Twenty: The Oral History of Mint Records. ECW Press p. 176. ISBN 978-1-7709-0052-3.
  2. ^ Harvilla, Rob (May 30, 2018). "Neko Case Is Still Fighting". The Ringer. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  3. ^ Greene, Sarah (July 5, 2016). "An Essential Guide to Neko Case". Exclaim!. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Hudson, Alex (August 27, 2014). "The New Pornographers: Together Forever". Exclaim!. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  5. ^ "The Virginian Review by Jason Ankeny". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  6. ^ Deusner, Stephen M. (November 9, 2007). "Neko Case: The Virginian". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  7. ^ Dafoe, Chris (30 Oct 1997). "The Virginian". The Globe and Mail. p. C4.