Rhiannon Giddens Returns to Original Songs and Essential American Sounds With the Spirited ‘You’re the One’: Album Review
variety.comChris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic It’s been a few years since Rhiannon Giddens did anything remotely in the ballpark of a “pop” album, and it’s not hard to come up with reasons for that: Besides her having a full dance card, you could almost argue she’s overqualified for the job.
The recipient of both a MacArthur “genius grant” and a Pulitzer, the banjo-wielding balladeer has sustained herself for a while at the intersection of earthy and highbrow, most recently winning acclaim for her opera, “Omar,” and she looks at least at much at home fronting the LA Phil as she used to leading the old-fashioned string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops.
Her recorded output in the last few years has focused on superb collaborations with her partner, Francesco Turrisi, emphasizing the sounds of Ireland and Italy.
Naturally, she hosts a PBS series and dips her intellectual toe into educational books and webcasts. Who needs to swing, when you’re the embodiment of musical academia, or practically a Grammy Award in human form?
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