Ys
by Joanna Newsom
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 373 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 309 out of 373
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 373
  3. Negative: 48 out of 373

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  1. ElliottM
    Nov 12, 2006
    10
    Best album of 2006, hands down.
  2. leiris
    Nov 13, 2006
    9
    A truly wonderful and unique album. Van Dyke Parks influence is apparent and works extremely well with Newsom
  3. johnw
    Nov 13, 2006
    10
    And once again this collection of reviews shows us what total retards the people at Rolling Stone magazine are. They have lost their connection with challenging music a long time ago. As for joanna newsom : record of the year.
  4. Matt
    Nov 13, 2006
    10
    A lot of people may throw out a perfect score like it's no big deal; this album, however, deserves it. Though it's likely to split listeners into two distinct camps, you will not hear a better record this year. I find it difficult to be objective about this, but the arrangements are gorgeous, the lyrics are incredibly evocative, and the nuances in her delivery are amazing. Ys A lot of people may throw out a perfect score like it's no big deal; this album, however, deserves it. Though it's likely to split listeners into two distinct camps, you will not hear a better record this year. I find it difficult to be objective about this, but the arrangements are gorgeous, the lyrics are incredibly evocative, and the nuances in her delivery are amazing. Ys immediately grabbed my attention the first time I heard it and has yet to let go.… Expand
  5. MichaelE
    Nov 13, 2006
    10
    This is one of the albums that will be good company for a lifetime! I wouldn´t call it a voice I ´m falling in love with too easily, but her singing and storytelling is simply fantastic!
  6. AndrewC
    Nov 13, 2006
    10
    It's absolutely astonishing. Even after forty plays, it knocks me out every time.
  7. JoshS
    Nov 13, 2006
    10
    Incredible, best album of 2006.
  8. MattD.
    Nov 13, 2006
    3
    Less grating than The Milk-Eyed Mender, but it's without personality. Sounds like a bad soundtrack to a fantasy movie. If you want something different, try Nellie McKay or Loreena McKennitt.
  9. umbertop
    Nov 13, 2006
    7
    beautiful but not so beautiful
  10. JeremyP
    Nov 14, 2006
    10
    Personally, my favourite album ever. I'm so happy I heard it months before it was released so that I was free of any influence
  11. KevinC
    Nov 14, 2006
    10
    This album is without question the best thing I've heard in at least a few years. It's mind-blowingly ambitious and ornately beautiful. I wouldn't expect anything less from Joanna Newsom, this is a perfect album and a stunning masterpiece.
  12. bill
    Nov 14, 2006
    10
    Astounding! Between Joanna and Van Dyke, this si nothing short of a masterpiece! The more you play it, thyee more it grows on you. Congrats Joanna!!
  13. PaulF
    Nov 14, 2006
    10
    Spell binding! Album of the year.
  14. JonL
    Nov 15, 2006
    8
    It's definitely an achievement of some kind, and blistering with passion, pastoral and opaque, yet its emotion is unmistakable. Yet, it doesn't hit me like certain albums of similar feel and goal (say Astral Weeks). It seemed like Newsom was getting more from this (admittedly grand) outpouring of ideas than I was, and yes, her voice detracts from the album. But with its It's definitely an achievement of some kind, and blistering with passion, pastoral and opaque, yet its emotion is unmistakable. Yet, it doesn't hit me like certain albums of similar feel and goal (say Astral Weeks). It seemed like Newsom was getting more from this (admittedly grand) outpouring of ideas than I was, and yes, her voice detracts from the album. But with its ambition, insanely beautiful arrangements and dense more-from-feeling-than-logic poetry, it sure does come tantalizingly close to a masterwork, and it has the feeling of a ghostly catharsis that is extremely rare in any phylum of music these days. For that, it's an album to be admired, if not to be quite as loved.… Expand
  15. Grut
    Nov 15, 2006
    4
    Her first album was amazing, this one is just crap. Must be the influence of her new buddy Devendra Banhart. Can someone tell this guy not to talk to other artists ?
  16. AntonioB
    Nov 15, 2006
    9
    Rolling stone dropped the ball. Solid arrangements as the songs meander with a purpose and let her voice shine.
  17. Helen
    Nov 15, 2006
    10
    We have seen the birth of a true modern day masterpiece.
  18. nightchapelk
    Nov 15, 2006
    2
    awful. 50+ minutes long and she is singing for 48 of those minutes. I would love to hear the version sans vocals.
  19. SanN
    Nov 17, 2006
    10
    On first listen, I'm thinking it might be the best of the year. That spot is currently held by TV On The Radio for me, but it's close.
  20. PlatePlate
    Nov 17, 2006
    10
    On the verge of replacing In The Aeroplane Over The Sea for me, album of the year, Joanna Newsom is a demigod, wow, i have listened to this album more in the last few weeks than any album this year in total
  21. ZachJ
    Nov 17, 2006
    10
    One of the more groundbreaking albums to be released this year, I think. Takes a while to settle in (possibly moreso than usual; I say this because most times people follow such a comment with, "Just like any great album.") Once it clicks though...incredible.
  22. DanielO
    Nov 18, 2006
    10
    J Publius said: "This will be on every critics top 10 list, and nobody will listen to it for more than five minutes." Actually I haven't been able to put it down for over a week. Grows with every listen. It's the same for most people I've talked to who liked it.
  23. samf
    Nov 21, 2006
    10
    stunning
  24. DanielW
    Nov 21, 2006
    10
    One of the finest albums ever written. Opening track "Emily" is one of the best songs ever written. One must be generous and open-minded when approaching Y's, but the rewards are excellent. At times, her lyrics can even be life-changing. Definitely pick this one up.
  25. skyweaponsky
    Nov 21, 2006
    10
    This is a real dream
  26. GuyH
    Nov 23, 2006
    10
    Anyone commenting on this album should have the patience to listen from start to finish at least 10 or so times... Well it isn't conventional pop song writing, it is hard to get a hold of at first but your patience will be rewarded. Ys is stunning - Only Skin and Sawdust together make up the most compelling 30 minutes of music released this year. Yes, this album is that good.
  27. KacyK
    Nov 23, 2006
    9
    I previewed this on iTunes and didn't like it. In particular, Joanna's vocals. A couple of days later, I purchased it and after 2 or 3 listens, I'm fairly smitten with it. I now find her vocals charming and sincere. Beautiful harp and arrangements. Wonderfully escapist.
  28. KenH
    Nov 24, 2006
    1
    This is by far the most overrated album of the year. Just awful
  29. markp
    Nov 26, 2006
    10
    Astonishinly beautiful, albeit a tad bjorkish and kate bushish, but once you over that, lyrics in hand, it is a bold, fresh, gigantic musical piece. Well done to that young californian girl!!
  30. TedB.
    Nov 27, 2006
    2
    Newsom should have stuck to voice work in commercials and cartoons rather than thinking she could sing.
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Awards & Rankings

17
#17 Best Album of 2006
9
#9 Most Discussed Album of 2006
17
#17 Most Shared Album of 2006

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Universal acclaim - based on 35 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 35
  3. Negative: 1 out of 35
  1. BBC collective
    80
    It’s to her great credit that Newsom (literally) plucks artistic triumph from the jaws of cloying whimsy.
    Read full review
  2. The Guardian
    100
    It may well be the most off-putting album released this year. After playing it, there seems every chance it is the also the most astonishing.
    Read full review
  3. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    Newsom has managed to lessen the twee factor of her last record... in the process crafting an album as bewitching as it is odd.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »