Cut You

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Cut You
Studio album by
Penelope Houston
Released1996
GenreAlternative rock
LabelReprise[1]
ProducerPenelope Houston, Jeffrey Wood
Penelope Houston chronology
Crazy Baby
(1994) 		Cut You
(1996) 		Tongue
(1998)

Cut You is an album by the American musician Penelope Houston, released in 1996.[2][3] It is a mixture of rerecorded older songs and new songs.[4] Cut You was Houston's major label debut; many of her previous albums had been available only in Germany.[5][6] Houston promoted the album with North American and European tours.[7]

Production[edit]

Signed to Reprise Records by her old acquaintance Howie Klein, Houston composed six new songs, while adding more instrumentation to her rerecorded older ones.[8] The album was produced by Houston and Jeffrey Wood.[9] Reprise asked Houston to withdraw "Cut You"; she instead made it the title track.[10] "Secret Sign" is about a run-in with a ex's new girlfriend.[11]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Chicago Tribune[13]
Los Angeles Times[14]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[9]

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."[4] Trouser Press 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."[15] The Chicago Tribune concluded that Houston "goes well beyond empowerment, penning lyrics as smart as they are wicked."[13] The Los Angeles Times 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."[14]

Tulsa World stated that "the songs are built around intricate lyrical jabs and worldly insights."[16] The Washington Post 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."[17] Rolling Stone opined that "Houston ties it together with gossamer vocals and lyrics that invert the accusations of punk."[18] The Boston Globe called the album "mature rock with punk roots, soft songs with sting."[19]

AllMusic 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."[12]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleLength
1."Secret Sign" 
2."Sweetheart" 
3."Scratch" 
4."Locket" 
5."Fuzzy Throne" 
6."Ride" 
7."Harry Dean" 
8."Waiting Room" 
9."Qualities of Mercy" 
10."Fall Back" 
11."Pull" 
12."Glad I'm a Girl" 
13."White Out" 
14."Cut You" 

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Penelope Houston Cut You". CMJ New Music Monthly. CMJ Network, Inc. April 30, 1996. Archived from the original on September 30, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  2. ^ "Penelope Houston Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-09-30. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  3. ^ "Penelope Houston's Cut You Due in '96". MTV News. Archived from the original on 2021-09-30. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  4. ^ a b "Penelope Houston – Cut You". No Depression. Archived from the original on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  5. ^ Semon, Craig S. (2 June 1996). "Penelope Houston looks at breakups, betrayals". Datebook. Telegram & Gazette. p. 8.
  6. ^ "The Accidental Punk". SF Weekly. February 24, 1999. Archived from the original on September 30, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  7. ^ Bessman, Jim (Mar 27, 1999). "Punk-rock veteran Penelope Houston lets loose 'Tongue' on Reprise". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 13. pp. 16, 20.
  8. ^ Borzillo, Carrie (Mar 2, 1996). "Cutting Through". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 9. p. 18.
  9. ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 562.
  10. ^ "The Great Avenger". Arts & Entertainment. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 24 May 1996. p. 18.
  11. ^ Semon, Craig S. (2 June 1996). "Penelope Houston looks at breakups, betrayals". Datebook. Telegram & Gazette. p. 8.
  12. ^ a b "Cut You". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-09-30. Retrieved 2021-09-30 – via www.allmusic.com.
  13. ^ a b Webber, Brad (27 June 1996). "Penelope Houston Cut You". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  14. ^ a b Masuo, Sandy (28 Apr 1996). "In Brief". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 66.
  15. ^ "Penelope Houston". Trouser Press. Archived from the original on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Penelope Houston Cut You". Tulsa World. 3 May 1996. Archived from the original on 2021-09-30. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  17. ^ "Four Angry Women". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  18. ^ Farber, Jim (Apr 4, 1996). "Recording — Cut You by Penelope Houston". Rolling Stone. No. 731. p. 62.
  19. ^ Sullivan, Jim (8 Feb 1996). "Penelope Houston Cut You". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 30.
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