In case there was any doubt that
Joanna Newsom was busy making music -- along with modeling and starring in
MGMT videos -- in the four years between her brilliant second album Ys and its follow-up, Have One on Me’s three-disc, two-hour expanse is proof positive. The album’s massive size suggests that
Newsom is bent on outdoing herself with each release, but the music is simpler than Ys’ symphonic reveries. Instead, she uses this oversize canvas to travel from Appalachian folk to big city pop, with stops at country, soul, and gospel along the way. It’s a dense journey, not just as a whole, but from song to song. Most of the album’s range is in the title track: Over 11 minutes, “Have One on Me” begins with jazzy harp stylings and some of
Newsom’s most polished vocals, returns to Milk-Eyed Mender’s rural whimsy, passes through a marching band, and lands in a British folk reverie. Similarly striking moments appear at the beginning and end of this triptych, but the first disc presents
Newsom’s biggest departures. Have One on Me’s first third incorporates rock and pop, giving it a Laurel Canyon flair that underscores the ‘70s vibe of the whole endeavor. The lovely “Easy” plays like a Ys track rewritten for a rock opera; “Good Intentions Paving Company” flirts with winsome country-rock; “’81” is the closest the album comes to having a pop single; and the limpid, almost painfully quiet “Baby Birch” reaffirms that
Newsom doesn’t have to be complex to be moving. The album’s third disc dives into her dramatic side, especially on “Kingfisher,” a chamber pop fantasia that plays like a condensed version of Ys. Have One on Me’s middle stretch unfurls songs that expand on Milk-Eyed Mender’s serenity, including the dazzlingly beautiful “Go Long,” which ranks among
Newsom’s finest songs. At its best, Have One on Me is an impressive album with the intimacy of a live performance. ~ Heather Phares