Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly

March 19, 2008

Kathleen Edwards / Asking For Flowers

Zoe/Rounder Records

You know that great feeling you have

when someone you’ve been pulling for

does well? That’s the feeling I have now.

I have been following with great interest

the career of Kathleen Edwards since

her first album, “Failer”, in 2003.Now she

has released her third album, and first in

three years. To say that it’s a triumph

doesn’t fully cover it. The fact is that Asking

For Flowers is the fulfillment of a promise

that Edwards has demonstrated from the

start.

The new album is like a puzzle with 11

pieces that fit together perfectly. Edwards

has entered the ranks of our finest

songwriters. Her songs are alternately

fierce, defiant, tender, haunting, and

heartbroken.

I doubt that you will hear a more

troubling but beautiful song than the

magnificent ‘Alicia Ross’. It’s the true

story of a young woman who was brutally

murdered by her next-door neighbor. It’s

a bleak tale, and yet somehow not without

hope. ‘Oil Man’s War’ tells the story of

a determined Vietnam-era couple who

are headed to Canada to escape the

prospect of a senseless death in a far off

country. The title track tells that sad

story of a fading long-term relationship.

Edwards worked with co-producer Jim

Scott (Whiskeytown), and an all-star cast

of musicians including Heartbreakers

keyboard player Benmont Tench, and the

great guitarist Colin Cripps. They have

provided perfect settings for the jewels

that make up this album.

In A Whisky: Royal Canadian

Grade: A

—by Ken Shane