Failer is the commercial debut album by Canadian singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards. It was released January 14, 2003 on the independent labels MapleMusic in Canada and Zoe Records in the United States, and features the singles "Six O'Clock News" and "Hockey Skates".

Rolling Stone declared Edwards one of year's most promising new acts, and Blender said that Failers songs possessed "an indefinable pull that makes you love the characters they describe."

Personnel

*Kathleen Edwards – vocals, acoustic guitar, strings, piano, feedback

*Peter von Althen – drums, percussion

*Kevin McCarragher – bass

*Jim Bryson – electric guitar, banjo, vocals

*Dave Draves – organ, piano, vibes, feedback

*Fred Guignon – slide guitar, lap steel, national steel

*Keith Snider – banjo

*Joel Anderson – drums, percussion

*Maury Lafoy – piano

*Dave Dudley – drums

*Petr Cancura – baritone, soprano saxophone

*Tom Thompson – pedal steel

*Blair Phillips – alto saxophone

Category:2003 albums

Category:Debut albums

Category:Kathleen Edwards albums

Category:MapleMusic Recordings albums

Artist/Band Information

Kathleen Edwards (born July 11, 1978 at kathleenedwards.org. URL last accessed 2006-10-23. in Ottawa, Ontario) is a Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter. Her 2003 debut album, Failer, contained the singles "Six O'Clock News" and "Hockey Skates".Whibbs, Chris., Exclaim!, May 2008.

Personal life

Edwards, whose parents were diplomats, spent portions of her youth in Korea and Switzerland. At age 5, Edwards began classical violin studies that continued for the next 12 years. As a teenager she lived overseas, where she spent much of her time listening to her brother's Neil Young and Bob Dylan records. Her brother also bought her first record, a Tom Petty album. After high school she decided not to attend college, instead opting to play local clubs to pay the bills.

Edwards married musician and producer Colin Cripps in 2004. Edwards and Cripps separated in early 2010.

Albums

In 1999, Edwards recorded a six-song EP entitled Building 55 and pressed 500 copies. By the fall of 2000, she was on tour across Canada managing her own gigs. In 2001, she wrote seven of the ten songs for her 2003 debut release Failer.

Edwards played at SXSW in 2002 and was signed to Rounder Records and MapleMusic shortly after. "Failer" was released in Canada in the fall of 2002 on Maplemusic Recordings. In January 2003 "Failer" was released by Rounder Records in the US and internationally. Rolling Stone declared her one of year's most promising new acts and Blender said that Failers songs possessed "an indefinable pull that makes you love the characters they describe, no matter how fucked up they are." The New York Times praised Edwards as a writer whose songs can "pare situations down to a few dozen words while they push country-rock towards its primal impulses of thump and twang." She made her television network debut on "Late Show with David Letterman," where she performed "Six O'Clock News."

In 2005, Edwards released Back to Me, which also garnered considerable critical acclaim, and led to the release of the singles "Back to Me" and "In State". The track "Summerlong" also featured on the soundtrack of the movie Elizabethtown starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst.

Kathleen Edwards at NXNE 2007.JPGupright=0.66thumbleftEdwards performing at the 2007 NXNE festival

In 2008, Edwards released her third studio album, Asking for Flowers. It was described by the San Francisco Bay Guardian as "her finest album to date", and was a shortlisted nominee for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize. In contrast with 2005's Back to Me, on which Edwards relied on her working band, Asking for Flowers predominantly features session musicians.

In fall 2010, Edwards began working on her fourth studio album in Wisconsin.

Musical Collaborations

In 2005, Edwards lent her vocals to the duet "The Plan", recorded with Matt Mays and El Torpedo for their self-titled album.

In 2006, she was nominated for Juno Awards for Songwriter of the Year and Adult Alternative Album of the Year for Back to Me.

In 2007, Edwards worked with John Doe, formerly of the punk rock band X, on his solo album A Year in the Wilderness. She sings vocals on three tracks.

In 2008 Edwards sang backup vocals on Bryan Adams' album 11, and supported one of his tours. In 2009, she joined Adams on stage to sing one of Adams' songs, "Walk On By".

Discography

Albums

EPs

* 1999: Building 55

* 2003: Live from the Bowery Ballroom

* 2008: Live Session

Singles

Guest singles

References