An L.A. daughter whose name is synonymous with songs about
the city’s honking traffic blur and Hollywood Boulevard’s
forgotten dreamers, Johnette Napolitano has followed her musical
fancies for more than two decades, most famously with Concrete
Blonde, as a singer-songwriter-musician whose boundless voice
was an instrument of power and passion.
The lurking smells and secret lairs of the French Quarter
after hours took listeners into deepest, darkest New Orleans
on “Bloodletting (The Vampire Song).” No bus tour
of the stars’ homes was as evocative of the long-gone
glamour of Tinseltown Town as “Still in Hollywood”
(the real “I Love L.A.”). Concrete Blonde's biggest
hit, the haunting, soothing “Joey,” became a radio
staple that fans still cheer for at her solo shows. Along
the way, she’s explored othe musical avenues with Pretty
& Twisted, Vowel Movement,The Heads, and a collaboration
with Concrete Blonde and Los Illegals.
Scarred, Napolitano’s staggering new solo album, finds
the artist in an unconstrained, more cinematic phase of an
already rich career. Living under Joshua Tree’s endless
sky and bazillion stars has inspired the songwriter to dig
into emotional new territory. “I'd figured by this point
in my life, I'd be in writing/art/semi-retirement mode, and
wanted to be in a place like this and just be Georgia O'Keeffe,”
she says. “I can make all the noise I want because there
isn't anything out here, so the only thing to do is write
and work on my art stuff. If you'd had told me I'd still be
making records and touring at this point, I wouldn't have
believed it, but why the hell not? But it's very spacy out
here, and quiet, and I can hear ideas come through. I don't
know what it is about the place, but it just clears my head.”
...It's (Scarred) described as “a
self portrait with
layers of Johnette throughout every song…. Her signature
voice has long held its own
along side rock ‘n’ roll’s leading ladies.
Powered with raw emotion and throaty intensity,
Johnette continues to astound with her evocative vocals and
lyrics.”
Harp Review - PDF
