It's back! We have a limited number of the original CD packaging for 'Little Black Dress,' complete with the booklet of short stories that accompany the songs. When we run out, you'll still be able to purchase it from Taxim Records in Germany - but you'll save money by buying it right here at CD Baby!
Anny Celsi...nominated for L.A. Weekly Annual Music Award for 2003,in the category of Best Rock/Pop Songwriter/Composer...."Little Black Dress & Other Stories" made these "Best of 2003" lists:
LA Weekly: "Most promising signs of life"
FAR BEST OF 2003 - KTRU Houston: "Best Debut"
Entertainment Today: "Best of Music 2003"
San Gabriel Valley Newspapers: "one of the most literate, appealing indie albums of 2003 - a superlative set of song novellas that demand you hit the repeat button."
WXXE, Syracuse, NY: "Empty Hangers" #2 on their year's best list...
WHAT OTHER ARTISTS SAY:
"Anny's music might make a person look in the mirror and wonder if they themselves are the subject of her songs. The writing is that strong. "It Hurts My Heart" in particular makes me feel guilty when I listen to it. How often does a song do that?"
(Ben Vaughn)
"I'm loving this album! The artwork/concept, songs, production, everything. Great job, I can't stop listening!" (Amy Rigby)
"Anny Celsi has an outstanding record here. She has no problem painting pictures with vivid, colorful lyrical images, and sugarcoated melodies. An ace job of producing by Kevin Jarvis as well." (Randy Weeks)
"We only cover kick-ass songwriters like Anny Celsi!"
-- Grey De Lisle & Murry Hammond(Old 97's)
WHAT THE REVIEWERS SAY:
"Affecting, pop-smart tunes" -- Chris Morris, Billboard
THREE STARS "clever...and the music is consistently strong to boot" -- Ken Barnes, USA TODAY
"An ultra-cool, ultra-hip album that is one of the best new releases I've heard in a long time. Check it out." -- Ed Kociela, Utah Daily News
"A musical journey in the best sense, "Little Black Dress" unfolds like a tightly written script." -- Mark Spangler, The Oregonian
"A hell of an impressive debut, Anny Celsi is a talent to watch." -- Michael Toland, www.highbias.com
"Hit material folk pop" -- Tom "Tearaway" Schulte, Outsight Communications
"Anny Celsi is a Cali girl with plenty of sass...There isn't a weak track in the set, which is no small achievement." -- Adrian Zupp, HARP
"In the classic singer-songwriter mode, Anny's sunny/dark folky-rock took me to a "Raymond Chandler-esqe" Los Angeles of hard lessons learned and the high cost of love. Dig it! It's black and white 50's film-noir in color." - Jonny Dufresne, Two Louies Magazine
"...a beatnik-cool performer who veers from poppy, bouncy beats to jazzy piano bar riffs and sexy come-ons...she's sensitive but no wimp and a fellow traveler to Aimee Mann and Sheryl Crow. The "pop-noir" soundtrack of her solo debut, "Little Black Dress," wears a veneer of L.A. Confidential style." -- Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press
"Think of Victoria Williams, Aimee Mann, Suzanne Vega and Sheryl Crow mixed together and you begin to get the picture. Anny is pretty much their equal as a songwriter." -- S.P. Clarke, Two Louies
"Anny Celsi possesses such a radiantly reassuring voice that it almost doesn't matter what she's singing about..." -- Falling James, LA Weekly
"It's not often that listening to a record evokes the same buzz of satisfaction that one gets upon finishing a particularly ripping book. Seldom does an album sustain an arc of characters and situations that is consistently surprising, amusing and touching. "Little Black Dress and Other Stories" is all this and more... whether you're following her written words or bouncing a foot to the surplus of winning melodies, "Little Black Dress" is a perfect fit." - John Chandler, Portland Tribune
"When she starts to sing she's got something to say, and she says it in this way designed to separate the boys from the men, if you know what I mean and I think you do." -- Ben Varkentine, www.ink19.com
"Anny Celsi has a knack for selecting telling symbols that illuminate the interior lives of characters inhabiting her songs....using seemingly mundane objects to dissect relationship politics with sometimes acidic precision." -- Bliss, Pasadena Weekly
BIO & ALBUM NOTES: Anny Celsi (pronounced "Chelsea") began her musical upbringing in the shadow of Portland's freeways, infusing the Northwest's rain-soaked, caffeine-rock culture with the girl-pop sounds of Phil Spector, Dusty Springfield and Ellie Greenwich. She spent her teenage years as a writer and vaudeville performer with the acclaimed avante-garde Storefront Theatre, after which, several inches short of the Las Vegas showgirl minimum, she turned her attention to songwriting. She was a founding member of the L.A. boy/girl pop-rock band The Tearjerkers, which released a 7" single back in the 1900's now highly prized by collectors. Anny's next band, Annyland, released an independent CD, "She Walks In," which garnered rave reviews, quickly achieving frequent rotation on over 200 college stations nationwide.
Following Annyland, Anny continued to write, record and perform, drawing bandmates from the vibrant pool of musicians and songwriters lining the star-paved streets of Los Angeles. Her unique twist of phrase and undeniable melodic hooks attracted the attention of other artists to her songs as well. Curb Records artist Jana made "Shovelful of Dirt" a highlight of her nationwide concert tour. Folk festival favorite Claudia Russell picked up "Whiskey Walk" for her debut release "Song Food," a move which resulted in Anny's first BMI check (for $11.70). And at a listening party hosted by producer Marvin Etzioni, alt-country diva Grey Delisle heard Anny sing "'Twas Her Hunger Brought Me Down," a song inspired by a Theodore Dreiser novel. That song ended up on Grey's self-released "Homewrecker" (soon to be re-released on the Sugar Hill label). Anny's own recording of the song is also featured on "Chapter One: Songs Inspired By Literature," a compilation CD to benefit adult literacy, along with such artists as Aimee Mann, Suzanne Vega, Grace Slick and Bruce Springsteen (and available right here at CD Baby!).
"Little Black Dress & Other Stories" started out as a two-song project to help home-town friend Kevin Jarvis try out his new recording studio. As the months went on and the song list continued to grow, Jarvis, a sought-after drummer who has toured and recorded with Steve Wynn, John Wesley Harding, Grant Lee Phillips, Lucinda Williams, Shawn Mullins and Ben Vaughn, turned out to be a tasteful and inspired producer/engineer as well. He was also instrumental in bringing some premier musical talent to the table, including Randy Weeks (Lonesome Strangers), Phil Parlapiano (John Prine, Rod Stewart, Tracy Chapman), Robert Lloyd (Steve Wynn, Victoria Williams, John Wesley Harding), Bill Bonk (Aimee Mann, Grant Lee Buffalo) and Hank Van Sickle (John Mayall). Along with contributions from Steve Barton (Translator) and Adam Pike (The Syrups), who regularly play in Anny's Black Dress Band, the CD was nearly complete. Two songs previously recorded with Marvin Etzioni were included, one of which, "Little Black Dress," expresses the spirit of the entire album: "No matter what life throws at you, you've got to put on your little black dress and keep going. The woman in these songs can change a tire in that dress if she has to. And she'll still look good, and she won't spill her martini, either."
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