Editor Reviews:

Amazon.com:
Patti Scialfa can't utter a sentence, let alone issue an entire album, without the world scanning it for Bruce Springsteen-related subtext, so on Play It as It Lays--the sharpest, most assured, and best record of her solo career--she gives up. This beautiful, world-weary record, rich in girl-group harmonies, folk-roots rhythms, and clear-eyed lyrics, gets to the heart of what it means to be in a long-term relationship, whether it's with a rock god or a shoe salesman. There are sacrifices ("Like Any Woman Would"), concessions ("Town Called Heartbreak"), thrills ("Rainy Day Man"), and long spells of casting aside wistfulness and scraping up hope ("Looking for Elvis"). Most of all, though, there is honesty. Scialfa, a longtime E-Street band member and mother to the three Springsteen teenagers, sings these songs in the dark, grainy voice that's distinguished her from the start, but here it takes on a weightier, more lived-in quality. She's as comfortable with this material as she was with her backing band for the project--Willie Weeks, Nils Lofgren, Cliff Carter, and Mr. Springsteen himself all piled into a room in her New Jersey farmhouse for the sessions, christening themselves the Whack Brothers along the way--and it shows. Play It as It Lays is Scialfa's Born in the USA; her masterpiece. --Tammy La Gorce

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Rating : - Tales from the dark side; stories for women
I had to repost the reviews and response to another reviewer on glide (dot) com on 9.18.07. I'm finally listening to this CD and it's got so many fine tracks, and the lyrics are really astounding when I listen closely. She's quite a poet, really. I will agree that as Scialfa comes into her own, no longer a backup singer, she will really blow our minds. Most admirable effort, especially on Play It As It Lays, Play Around, Bad for You and Black Ladder. These two reviewers say everything I would have said, if I knew how to say it better! Here goes:

"Posted by anne on 09/30/2007 at 10:05 AM ET
Patti Scialfa is a storyteller.In a world where "todays singer" lip synch their way to stardoom.Patti is a breath of fresh air. She tells a womans journey. She strikes a cord . Jersey100, You are right on.Bob no disrepect meant ,perhaps a woman should review this CD.

. Posted by jersey100 on 09/18/2007 at 12:56 PM ET
Contrived??? Scialfa is a confessional singer/songwriter whose lyrics are always heartfelt and based on personal experience. This album is like a short story about the ups and downs of a long-term relationship, told with incredible guts and honesty considering her day job and high-profile personal life. I think you missed the point of the album--she deliberately bows to many conventions of rock and its roots (blues). But she twists them to serve a different purpose. In "Like any Woman Would," she has a girl-group singing like a Greek Chorus behind her, deliberately tapping into "He's So Fine" territory. But they aren't singing about how fine he is, now are they? (!!!) She may be singing in character or about Mr. Scialfa, but her complaint is fairly universal among women--and hardly contrived! In one song a woman lays down the law for her faithless man. In another a woman agonizes over her own temptations. In the end the character concludes that her love is deep enough to stay in the relationship and "Play It as It Lays" This is an extremely brave album. You might not like it, you might not relate to it. But that doesn't mean it's contrived or that the artist phoned it in. There's a lot of blood on these tracks. Consider giving this one another spin. Scialfa's songs reflect the lives and concerns of women who've lived enough to gain some wisdom--and thats an under-served constituency on the airwaves. She deserves better than this dismissive review."