Editor Reviews:

Amazon.com:
Enhanced UK pressing of the American singer/songwriter's 2007 album features unique artwork and four bonus tracks: live versions of 'Downpour' and 'Josephine' plus enhanced videos of 'Turpentine' and 'The Story'. On The Story, Brandi Carlile opens up her heart, soul, and psyche in a series of memorable songs that invite you into her world. The intensity and authenticity of her music brought her to the attention of the Grammy Award-winning producer T Bone Burnett (Counting Crows, Roy Orbison) who came on-board to produce The Story.

Amazon.com:
The Brandi Carlile story so far is fairly short: fresh-faced singer-song writer from rural Ravensdale, Washington, quietly releases a 2005 debut that has critics and fans reaching for their thesauruses searching for appropriate adjectives to describe her voice. Patsy Cline, Jeff Buckley, kd lang, Beth Orton, Linda Ronstadt, and Aimee Mann get name-checked as Carlile and her guitar-and-bass-playing Hanseroth twins-led band criss-cross the country for two years, first as openers, then as headliners. Cue the overproduced, disappointing follow-up album? Not so fast. On The Story, Carlile teams up with veteran roots producer T Bone Burnett, who brings in vintage equipment and strips down her sound. Instead of using overdubs, the new songs--most of which were already road-tested--are recorded live, giving the ballads and midtempo rockers a tough, uncompromising edge and a fuller, more aggressive attack. Echoes of country and folk color the bucolic "Have You Ever" and the unadorned acoustic "Cannonball," but it's the sweeping drama of the more epic-sounding "Until I Die," "Late Morning Lullaby," and the U2-styled "My Song" that leave the greatest lasting impressions. Carlile and Burnett make a perfect team: he allows her malleable voice room to soar in the mix while she brings sharp original songs that exude confidence, pride, and emotion. It's a combustive combination and one that results in a sophomore release every bit as good, and in many respects better, than her first. Stay tuned as the story continues. --Hal Horowitz

Brandi Pics

From Amazon.ca:
Brandi Carlile has a rare voice, consistently spilling over with honesty, purity, and passion. Her dynamic and tonal range is truly exceptional and on par with the likes of k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, and Patsy Cline--at times soft, swooping, and clear as a bell ("Turpentine," "Josephine," "Cannonball"), and then ferocious to the point of breaking ("The Story," "My Song"). A voice like Carlile's when paired with the right material is a winning combination, and The Story's country-meets-Radiohead ballads and rockers do not disappoint. While the songs on are not as consistently stellar as those on her self-titled debut album, they are more often than not solid, and show off her talents and confidence as both an artist and performer, which have fully bloomed since her debut. This, coupled with T Bone Burnett's light, live production style, creates an album that is ultimately more rewarding than her first. The high points on The Story have raised the bar considerably for Carlile, and they are frequent. Her choice to record the album in a live setting inside the studio lends it a raw intimacy and authenticity noticeably absent from most studio recordings, and leaves us with not only an album, but a work of art. Carlile is a career artist still defining her sound, but her maturity as a vocalist cannot be questioned--this is an immensely talented singer laying herself bare before us, and one of the strongest releases of 2007. --Alan Wiley

Rating : - The Story better than you might think
This album, The Story, by Brandi Carlile is much better than one might think after a few listenings. It is actually quite remarkable. The title song is the obvious zinger, but the album is full of very good songs, some as good as "The Story," others just a touch under. What brings "The Story" to the fore is the incredible vocal range Brandi utilizes inside of 3:30 minutes. It is an extraordinary song, sang by an extraordinary singer. Although she didn't write "The Story," she wrote most of the other tunes on the album, and they are finely crafted songs. I will be following her career, at least until she disappoints, and I recommend this album to anyone who enjoys a woman who can truly sing. The only drawback to The Story is it has more songs unlike "The Story," than like it. I really enjoy a woman who can belt out lyrics and then softly return to earth. Brandi Carlile does that very well, just not as often as I'd like. Nonetheless, this is easily a five star album.

When I received The Story from a friend, she told me that she is "kind of like Lucinda Williams." I wouldn't go that far, but she does have talent. Lucinda Williams has thirty years experience making top level albums, and Brandi Carlile has only just begun. But the likeness is there. Where I draw the line between Lucinda and Brandi is in the lyrical content. Lucinda Williams knows no peer in the women's songwriting world. Brandi may get there, but until she does, I'll be revved up for her next release.