Between Me and the Wardrobe

Between Me and the Wardrobe, the third album by British singer-songwriter Gwyneth Herbert, and her first album to consist entirely of self-penned songs,[3] was released in 2006 on Herbert's own Monkeywood Records label and reissued in 2007 by Blue Note Records. It was given a five-starred review in The Observer.

Between Me and the Wardrobe
Studio album by
Gwyneth Herbert
Released2006
GenreJazz; Singer-songwriter
Length43:06[1]
LabelMonkeywood Records; reissued by Blue Note Records
Gwyneth Herbert chronology
Bittersweet and Blue
(2004)		 Between Me and the Wardrobe
(2006)		 Ten Lives
(2008)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Observer[2]

Production and release

After she left Universal Classics and Jazz to pursue a less commercial and more personal musical direction,[4][5][6] Herbert collaborated with Polar Bear's Seb Rochford in a production role for this album.[3] Self-financed by Herbert,[7] it was recorded in three days[7] and was never intended for general release.[8] It was initially released, in 2006, on Herbert's own Monkeywood label[9] before being picked up by Blue Note Records, making Herbert their first UK signing in 30 years.[7][10]

Reception

In a five-starred review for The Observer, Stuart Nicholson said that on Between Me and the Wardrobe Herbert "lets the lyrics do the work for her. They are well thought out, moving between artfully constructed soft-focus simplicities to poignant yearning".[2]

Colin Buttimer, writing for BBC Music, said: "stories are very much to the fore, in fact many of these songs are compacted narrative jewels... The music is oak-like, rich and weathered... Seb Rochford, best known as the strikingly hirsute drummer for Polar Bear, Fulborn Taversham and Acoustic Ladyland, is responsible for a production that’s stripped-down, but full of unexpected and highly rewarding details".[3]

John Fordham, in a review for The Guardian, said: "Herbert's originals (all the pieces are hers) connect more with Janis Ian or Rufus Wainwright than the standards the subtly intelligent Herbert at first seemed destined for. Jazzers might be foxed by Blue Note's endorsement of this low-key, folk-inflected and very personal vision, but... the lyrics gleam with individuality... and though the tunes could have used a few more twists and turns, it confirms that Herbert is light years from the whisper-in-your-ear Krall clone some dismissed her as".[11]

Track listing
NoTitleLyrics and musicLength
1 "Lay You Down" Gwyneth Herbert 2:58
2 "Whisper Low" Gwyneth Herbert 4:07
3 "The Woman meets the Wiseman" Gwyneth Herbert 2:06
4 "Midnight Oil" Gwyneth Herbert 3:35
5 "Little Girl" Gwyneth Herbert 3:33
6 "The Morning After" Gwyneth Herbert 4:43
7 "Slow Down, Brother" Gwyneth Herbert 4:49
8 "That's the Kind of Man" Gwyneth Herbert 3:48
9 "In the Meantime" Gwyneth Herbert 4:15
10 "Sweet Thing" Gwyneth Herbert 3:41
11 "Turn it Off" Gwyneth Herbert 5:05
12 "Going for a Song" Gwyneth Herbert 5:38 Total length = 43:06[1]
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References
  1. "Gwyneth Herbert:Between Me and the Wardrobe". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  2. Stuart Nicholson (12 August 2007). "Gwyneth Herbert, Between Me and the Wardrobe". The Observer. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  3. Colin Buttimer (3 August 2007). "Gwyneth Herbert Between Me And The Wardrobe Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  4. John Fordham (4 August 2009). "Gwyneth Herbert: the door-to-door diva". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  5. "Gwyneth Herbert Quartet". Oxford Jazz Festival. April 2009. Archived from the original on 14 November 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  6. Holly Williams (14 April 2013). "Second life: What happens when Next Big Things fail to hit the big time?". The Independent on Sunday. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  7. "Gwyneth Herbert". Artists. Naim Label. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  8. Andrew Perry (8 December 2007). "Gwyneth Herbert: The one that got away". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  9. "Gwyneth Herbert: Biography". Naim Label. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  10. Rebecca Grundy (Spring 2008). "So what exactly lies between Gwyneth Herbert and her wardrobe?". Durham First. Durham University (24). Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  11. John Fordham (14 September 2007). "Gwyneth Herbert, Between Me and the Wardrobe". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
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