Marian Call’s new CD is done and ready for pre-order! And she wasn’t thinking small…
2 and 1/2 years in the making, “Something Fierce” is a double-album, a 2-CD set with 19 songs and a 16-page booklet of lyrics and photos. In that time she’s traveled all 50 states, had some amazing experiences both good and bad, and she returned home to fall in love with Alaska all over again. And all of that went into her music.
Broadly speaking, “Something Fierce, vol 1: Good Luck With That” is about her life and what’s happened to her over the last few years, and “Something Fierce, vol 2: From Alaska” is a love letter to her adopted home, but that’s far too vague a description for both. It’s not as geeky as her previous releases — one of which was commissioned to be just that — but she is a proud geek, and so the flavor remains. It’s not a single thing at all. There is sad here, very sad, and there is thoughtful, and there is bouncy fun that I guarantee will stick in your head for days. There are the thoughts of someone who has traveled far and done a lot, and there is the expertise of dozens, even hundreds of friends, family and fellow musicians with whom she crafted different parts (I’m in the background of “Goodbye Morning Moon” but I don’t think I damaged it any). There are sections she recorded in hotel rooms and in studios, with raucous crowds and by herself, and with every instrument you can think of, including, of course, typewriter, rainstick and deceased cat.
But what it really is, is Marian. It’s a look inside her head. It’s her thoughts and her humor and her heart. It’s the powerful voice we knew she had, further tempered into a finely wrought tool by, basically, life. And I haven’t really told you a damn thing about the songs, because a) I hate spoilers and b) it’s easier to just show you. Head to SoundCloud for samples, or listen to (and maybe buy) Good Morning Moon and Anchorage. Go to her live shows or listen to her occasional concert webcasts (check her site for times). And then order “Something Fierce.”
“Something Fierce” will be released October 1, 2011, and there are a variety of ways to get it. You can pre-order the digital download version for $15 (or more, if you wish) and you’ll get something free now and the download link to the album as soon as it’s available.
Or you can pre-order the 2-disc CD. The first 500 will be autographed, and you’ll get the digital download copy as well so you can listen to it right away while you’re waiting for shipping. Autographed copies are $25, or you can wait till after the release and get the non-autographed ones for $20.