Three time Grammy nominated artist whose hits include "A Thousand Miles", "Ordinary Day" and "White Houses" returns with her brand new album Heroes & Thieves, featuring the hit single "Nolita Fairytale." Album produced... more » by Vanessa Carlton, Stephan Jenkins (Third Eye Blind), Irv Gotti and Linda Perry. Stevie Nicks featured on "The One"« less
Three time Grammy nominated artist whose hits include "A Thousand Miles", "Ordinary Day" and "White Houses" returns with her brand new album Heroes & Thieves, featuring the hit single "Nolita Fairytale." Album produced by Vanessa Carlton, Stephan Jenkins (Third Eye Blind), Irv Gotti and Linda Perry. Stevie Nicks featured on "The One"
"I liked Be Not Nobody, loved Harmonium, and absolutely am AMAZED by Heroes And Thieves. While Vanessa has always incorporated classic pop like Carole King and Billy Joel into her music, she really goes in the classic pop direction on Heroes & Thieves (the piano on the song "Heroes And Thieves" is even a bit like Billy Joel's "Piano Man"), and she pulls it off extremely well - aided by her voice, which doesn't over-emote as much on this CD. I think this kind of music suits her voice better than some of the Goth-influenced and darker stuff she has done before. "Nolita Fairytale," with its rollicking, busy rhythm, also is different from most of the CD. Favorite songs are: "My Best," "Spring Street," "Come Undone," "Heroes And Thieves," and "Home.""
Heroric Vanessa
Jacki | Reno, NV USA | 10/10/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Vanessa Carlton returns with her third studio album, stirring up the music world with her pop ballads. Heroes And Thieves is in large comparison with its predecessor, and basically is an extension of tracks to Harmonium. Carlton's composition and performance are very much the same between the two albums revealing that she has more then likely discovered her signature sound. That's a great accomplishment, especially for a pianist her age. Pieces from this album are artisticlly driven by melodic vocals, and harmonic backing by guitars, bass, back up vocals, and crafted string sections. Percussion was carefully selected to blend majesticlly into a song, and create an end product which will leave fans in awe. Progressions are simple, but are so perfectly perfromed they are purely pleasing to one's ear. Dynamics are in full, bringing forth the clarity and distinctiveness to musical lines and chords. Joining Carlton on the track "The One" is none other than Stevie Nicks, and the two make an interesting pair of performers. It leaves a listener to hope for more collaboration with other artists on future albums and show tours. Once again, Vanessa worked with Third Eye Blind's Stephin Jenkins making it clear that the duo end up creating amazing music. After a hearing of Heroes And Thieves; fans will be left with their fingers crossed, hoping Vanessa Carlton lands another record deal to create even more albums.
Stand out tracks:
"Hands On Me"
"Come Undone"
"Heores And Thieves"
"Feels Like Me"
"Home""
Amazing!
Michael | 10/09/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Well, this CD definitely was worth the wait! Vanessa's voice is so much more clearer on this album than on "Harmonium" and "Be Not Nobody". The songs are just amazing, and the aide of Stevie Nicks makes things even better. This album is a definite buy for any die-hard "nessaholic", as well as those who remember Vanessa from 2002's "A Thousand Miles". It doesn't disappoint!
Let me add, as I listen to this CD for the millionth time in the few short days that it's been out, that the piano on "Home" is absolutely amazing! I applaud you, Vanessa, for being such a talent in an industry that seems filled with fluff as of late!"
For All the 'Nessaholics...
Tony Sclafani | 01/29/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Vanessa Carlton
Heroes & Thieves
(The Inc)
US release date: 9 October 2007
UK release date: 22 October 2007
by Tony Sclafani
Every reviewer approaches a given artist's work with some degree of bias. So, I'll admit upfront I am biased in favor of singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton and was predisposed to liking her newest CD, Heroes & Thieves.
How predisposed was I? Well, when her previous CD, Harmonium, came out in 2002, I became so obsessed with the single "White Houses" I played it non-stop for days. No, wait, make that weeks. OK, OK, I obsessed over this song for months. I converted the MP3 into a wave file and did some of my own edits. I spent so much time thinking about the song's story (teenage girl loses her virginity and looks back in regret) that I used to dream the song. Why was the song's male character wearing a red shirt? Was that a foreshadowing of the blood Carlton references on the bridge? And why did this song remind me of the obscure 1980 tune "Straight Lines" by the UK band New Music? Was it something in the melody? Or did it tap into a similar lyrical theme about displacement in society? And why was a guy in his 30s (me) this moved by a song about a circumstance (and gender) from which I'm very removed?
Eventually, I was hospitalized and they gave me little yellow pills to obliterate the "White Houses" in my head. OK, I'm kidding about that part. But I really did get committed--committed to the concept of Vanessa Carlton as a brilliant singer-songwriter who, I believe, was unfairly marginalized as a teen-pop singer because her first hit, "A Thousand Miles", connected with the post-Britney crowd. They may have, like, so outgrown Carlton in no time, but Carlton, then 22, was just starting to grow as a musician.
Heroes & Thieves is filled with more melodies from the classically-trained pianist who is now 27. There was concern amongst fans (who call themselves "`Nessaholics") that this release would be an embarrassingly commercial bid for big-time success, since Carlton had signed to Irv Gotti's hip hop-oriented The Inc label after parting with her previous label, A&M, when "Harmonium" didn't sell as well as expected. Carlton, though, stayed true to her muse. She didn't dump the lyrical approach and start singing about being "Promiscuous" or some such thing. In fact, she's more like herself now than she ever was before (to loosely paraphrase an old saying).
The 11-song effort is pure `Nessa, down to the tinkling piano hooks, the confessional lyrics and the high-pitched vocals. As that might suggest, Carlton is one of the many disciples of the style Tori Amos pioneered (via Kate Bush and Laura Nyro). While Carlton doesn't have Amos' flair for innovation and rule-breaking, her more conventional style has its rewards because her songs are just so damned melodic, you can't stop humming them.
The CD opener (and debut single) "Nolita Fairytale" layers an off-kilter melody over an insistent beat. Its title may be all but inscrutable to everyone but New Yorkers since it refers to a little-known section of Manhattan (where Carlton now lives). And the lyrics are so personal they read like lines from a diary: "I lose my way searching for stage lights; but Stevie knows and I thank her so". The "Stevie" in question is Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks who helped sequence the CD and sings on the ballad "The One", which is a wistful look back at a long lost college flame (lots of Carlton songs are wistful looks back; it's part of her charm).
The best number here is arguably "Spring Street", a tale of a daughter breaking away from her mother and starting a new life. The semi-autobiographical lyrics offer lots of philosophical food for thought, but it's the chorus that really says something. It goes: "Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah." I mean that seriously; the wordless chorus really does galvanize the emotion of the tune with its sing-along catchiness. "The One" was co-written with hitmaking producer Linda Perry (Pink, Christina Aguliera), as was "This Time", a power ballad that has insomniac Carlton lying in bed regretting a failed love affair.
That affair is most likely the one Carlton had with Third Eye Blind front man Stephan Jenkins who co-wrote several songs and also serves as producer. The two musicians ended their relationship midway through the project, and that colored the tone of much of Heroes & Thieves, Carlton has said. Thus, in a love song like "Hands on Me", it's hard to listen and not wonder "Hm. Was Jenkins the guy she met at the video exchange? Or is that some new guy? And wouldn't someone with her level of fame want to get Netflix"? But the beauty of this music is that it's not just a bunch of tunes ground out to serve as the basis for lyrical conceits. Carlton's songs ring with the authority of classic pop, and in that sense she's probably more of a throwback to Carole King than Amos (although Carlton was born almost a decade after King's "Tapestry" was released).
Heroes & Thieves isn't a perfect album and sometimes gets too idiosyncratic and precious for its own good. It's already spawned its share of detractors, specifically reviewers who question whether Carlton has the vocal goods to pull off some of the more complicated numbers. I think her imperfect singing keeps her sounding human and give her props for not messing with a pitch correction program. And if you feel the same, well, maybe you too should start thinking you might have a problem with `Nessa addiction. See you at the next `Nessaholics meeting.
From Pop Matters -- 21 December 2007
"
Welcome back Vanessa, and thanks for the great album!
Grace | Alameda, US, Canada | 11/21/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I love Vanessa's music style, the melodic yet syncopated rhythms with a strong piano background. It may seem simple, but in some ways that's what makes her music so refreshing. While "Be Not Nobody" had a few tracks that I liked, this album is as a whole one I could listen to all the way through without skipping any tracks. Her best album to date. My favorite tracks are "Heroes and Thieves," "Come Undone," "Fools Like Me," "My Best," and "Nolita Fairytale," which is an excellent opener. Great music Vanessa; keep it up. I hope people who aren't familiar with Vanessa Carlton's music give it a try. You may be surprised."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1
