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''Cedar + Gold'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Tristan Prettyman. It was released on October 2, 2012 by
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
and peaked at number 47 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. Much of the album's lyrical content was influenced by Prettyman's on-again, off-again relationship with fellow singer-songwriter
Jason Mraz Jason Thomas Mraz ( ; born June 23, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single "The Remedy (I Won't Wo ...
.


Background and composition

Prettyman began a four-year hiatus from music after extensively touring in support of her 2008 album '' Hello...x''. She traveled to
Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
, Australia, New York City, and
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
, after which she was diagnosed with vocal cord polyps. She returned to songwriting following surgery. While ''Hello'' was partly inspired by her breakup with
Jason Mraz Jason Thomas Mraz ( ; born June 23, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single "The Remedy (I Won't Wo ...
, ''Cedar + Gold'' was recorded after the couple reunited, got engaged, and then split again. Mraz had told ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'' about the breakup, and Prettyman reacted by writing songs to tell her side of the story. "Some of these songs were written in 'fuck you' moments. I felt trapped," Prettyman said. In the song "Glass Jar", a reference to the jar that once held her engagement ring, she recalls the moment Mraz proposed to her. "I Was Gonna Marry You" is a kiss-off to Mraz in which Prettyman explains feeling shocked at the breakup. She examines the relationship as a whole in the nearly-six-minute album closer "Never Say Never", which incorporates
spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...
and concludes with
pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...
. First single "My Oh My" was released in June 2012 in advance of the album. The music video for the album's second single "I Was Gonna Marry You" was released in October. On January 18, 2013,
Nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...
premiered the lyric video for "Rebound".


Critical reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
writer Matt Collar remarked that the songs on ''Cedar + Gold'' "are both personal and universally relatable, with melodies that stick in your head and tug at your heart." Collar added that the album "features some of the most introspective, self-examinational, and emotionally raw songs of rettyman'scareer." Michelle Morgante of the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
wrote that Prettyman "sings with an apparent honesty that is liberating", and that instead of anger, her voice displays "both fragility and strength, retrospection and introspection, and through it all there is love." KC Libman of ''
LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...
'' suggested that the album "moves away from the 'surfer girl' aesthetic of her previous records and into darker, more mature territory." Alessandra Donnelly of ''
The Aquarian Weekly ''The Aquarian Weekly'' is a regional alternative weekly newspaper based in Little Falls, New Jersey. Founded in 1969, it covers rock music and related news and events in New Jersey, New York City, and the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Penns ...
'' said the album "blends together as you listen on without having any truly outstanding songs", and that while Prettyman "has a naturally smooth sound ..her work does not leave the zone of generic comfort." Musicperk.com rated the album 8.5/10 quoting "This album’s clearly a masterpiece".


Track listing


Personnel

*
Greg Wells William Gregory Wells (born 1968) is a Canadian record producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and mix engineer. He has worked with Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Quincy Jones, J*Davey, Burt Bacharach, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Missy Elliott, ...
– drums, piano, bass, guitars, programming, keyboards, percussion, banjo, glockenspiel, celeste * Josh Grange – pedal steel and guitars *Tristan Prettyman **Guitars on "Say Anything", "My Oh My", "Quit You", "Glass Jar" and "Deepest Ocean Blue" **Programming on "Bad Drug" *
Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, banjo, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage ba ...
– Guitars on "Say Anything", "I Was Gonna Marry You", "Come Clean" and "Never Say Never" *
Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Do ...
– Drums on "Quit You"


Charts


References

{{Authority control 2012 albums Tristan Prettyman albums Albums produced by Greg Wells Capitol Records albums