The title track lyric for Kathleen Edwards’ latest CD is printed opposite the picture of a sadly wilting rose. And like that head-hanging bloom, which has obviously seen better days, it’s a song about a used-up woman looking back upon her romantic life with great regret. “Asking for flowers/Is like asking you to be nice,” its character complains, probably to nobody but herself. It’s impossible to imagine Edwards winding up this pitifully surrendered, however. She’s a strong woman; one never afraid to speak her mind. With a lyric that lays down the law and spells out the ABC’s of love, “The Cheapest Key” finds Edwards announcing authoritatively: “B is for bullshit and you fed me some.” (Methinks she doesn’t take a whole lot of that BS stuff). Much of Asking For Flowers finds Edwards singing the alt.country blues, which are aided most notably by Greg Leisz’s distinctive guitar work. Leisz’s pedal steel steals the spotlight during “I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory”, where Edwards compares her struggling music career with someone who is far more successful. It sports memorable lines like, “You’re the Great One, I’m Marty McSorely” and “You’re cool and cred like Fogerty/I’m Elvis Presley in the 70s.” Edwards also subtly sings out against the Iraq war with “Oil Man’s War,” which tells the story of a man and wife destined for Canada, where he plans to “buy us a store” in order to escape getting caught up in that Middle East conflict. Edwards has given us a winner here, so somebody please throw her a big, beautiful, fresh bouquet of roses.
--Dan MacIntosh
