''Cut You'' is an album by the American musician
Penelope Houston
Penelope Houston (born December 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter best known as the singer for the San Francisco-based punk rock band the Avengers. She was raised in Seattle. In the mid-1970s she attended Fairhaven College in Bellin ...
, released in 1996. It is a mixture of rerecorded older songs and new songs.
[ ''Cut You'' was Houston's major label debut; many of her previous albums had been available only in Germany.
]
Production
Signed to Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels.
Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...
by her old acquaintance Howie Klein
Howie Klein (born February 20, 1948) is an American writer, concert promoter, disc jockey, music producer, record label founder, record label executive, progressive political activist, adjunct professor of music, and a fan of punk rock. He is perh ...
, Houston composed six new songs, while adding more instrumentation to her rerecorded older ones. The album was produced by Houston and Jeffrey Wood.[ Reprise asked Houston to withdraw "Cut You"; she instead made it the title track.
]
Critical reception
'' No Depression'' thought that Houston's songs "tend to involve many nameless, spiritually wiped-out characters captured in moments of particular drama ... instead of telling the whole story as a traditional folksinger might, Houston is more of a tour guide."Trouser Press
''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
'' deemed the album "a solid cross-section of her material ... the playing and recording quality are absolutely vibrant and Houston sings as wonderfully as ever."Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' concluded that Houston "goes well beyond empowerment, penning lyrics as smart as they are wicked."Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' wrote that "'Locket' glides along to a Latin-tinged beat while the title track, with its light country twang and darkly comic lyric, evokes a vindictive, post-punk incarnation of Patsy Cline."[
'']Tulsa World
The ''Tulsa World'' is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. Tulsa World Media Company is part of Lee Enterprises. The new owners announced in January 202 ...
'' stated that "the songs are built around intricate lyrical jabs and worldly insights." ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' determined that "what's most impressive about ''Cut You'' is Houston's vivid depictions of women who are attempting to square their reality with sometimes fading desires and dreams." ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' opined that "Houston ties it together with gossamer vocals and lyrics that invert the accusations of punk." ''The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' called the album "mature rock with punk roots, soft songs with sting."AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
wrote that the album "offers proof that Houston helped pioneer the melodic-yet-hard-hitting alternative rock currently mined by such performers as Liz Phair and Aimee Mann."
Track listing
References
{{Authority control
1996 albums
Reprise Records albums