Eleni Mandell - Country for True Lovers (12 tracks) +Album Reviews

Classic country for the new millenium

Random McNasty | 04/25/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Excellent musicianship, top-quality production, fantastic performance. Eleni Mandell has a voice perfectly suited for the "music of pain," and she wrings a lot out of it here. The instrumentation is blissfully simple and never distracting; a perfect companion for Mandell's spare vocalizations. If you have ever mistaken a Garth Brooks tune for something by N' Sync, but know old Hank Williams and Patsy Cline tunes by heart, this is an album you'll appreciate. Grab Country for True Lovers, K.D. Lang's Shadowland, and Neko Case's Furnace Room Lullabies, and you'll be set for a whole evening of two-stepping and crying in your beer when your best friend steals your girl, and your dog drives off with your truck."

Wonderful

Random McNasty | 04/08/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great songs. Great voice. Great musicians. Varied material, influenced by traditional country, blues, Tom Waits, 80s new wave, and who knows what else. Mandell should be a superstar, if this status were determined by quality of her material. This applies to all her albums, not just this one, although County for True Lovers is easiest on the ears at first listening. (She could come up with a better title though...) Highly recommended.Also, try to catch one of her concerts. I saw her perform at a tiny cafe in Sacramento, and it was one of the best shows I've been to in years."

Something a little different...

Scott | Florida | 03/05/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Eleni Mandell's 'Country For True Lovers' a bit of leap in style from her fantastic, wildly diverse debut 'Wishbone' and its sister follow-up 'Thrill'. But not quite different from her previous album: the rough-edged, acoustically driven 'Snakebite'.
I'm not too familiar with traditional country, or the work of the legendary recording artists who inspired Ms. Eleni to create this lovely collection of honky-tonk and heartache (my knowledge of twang only goes as far as Neko Case), but Eleni could be reading from the phone book, and I'd still be sold. Her voice is that good!
Needless to say, her fans and the un-initiated will love it to pieces. Among others, my favourites are Iowa City, and the campy You're All Bad (And That's Why You've Been Invited), the title alone is one of the best I've seen in a long time!
One minor note: I wish Eleni's rare, still-only-on-45-vinyl song Turn Out The Lights would've been included, maybe as a secret unlisted track at the disc's end. Aside than that, a fine piece of work (recorded in just 14 days!) from one talented lady whose music I discovered by pure chance."

Eleni makes covers seem all her own

Sarah Dixie Laite | NEW YORK, NY USA | 06/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On this album, and the jazz EP "Maybe, Yes" it's hard to divine what Ms. Mandell wrote and what's a cover. Because to her own tunes and well-chosen covers alike she brings her unique brand of soulfulness, sultriness, wisdom, strength and vulnerability. I'm haunted by "Kingsport Town" and "Iowa City." I also love "I've Got a Tender Heart" and "You're All Bad (and That's Why You've Been Invited)".

Now I love this album, as I love all her albums, but if you're new to Eleni Mandell I would not make this my first album. This is great, but I think "Miracle of Five," "Afternoon" and "Thrill" are better intros. On those albums nearly every song is a GEM. All her albums are chock full o' pearls, but those 3 are all all-out lustrous from beginning to end. Oh, who am I kidding, "Wishbone" is great too. Hell, they're ALL good. Look, just get them all. Treat yourself! Believe me, you're gonna end up getting them all anyway."

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