Only with Laughter Can You Win is the second album by American singer-songwriter Rosie Thomas, released on September 23, 2003 by Sub Pop."Just Out", Billboard, October 2003, p. 65. Retrieved January 22, 2014
The album's title is taken from the lyric of Joni Mitchell's "Roses Blue". "All My Life" was used in the television series Alias.Stafford, Nicki & Burnett, Robyn (2004) Uncovering Alias: An Unofficial Guide, ECW Press, , p. 333 "Let Myself Fall", recorded in St. John's Church, Detroit, features a duet with Thomas's mother and her father, brothers and sister also feature on "I Play Music".Cowen, Andrew (2004) "Culture: Different Folk with Different Strokes", Birmingham Post, May 13, 2004. The album also features Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) on "Red Rover".
"I Play Music", "Red Rover", and "Sell all my Things" were included as sample music on Windows XP Media Center Edition in 2005.
Reception
The album received favorable reviews from PopMatters, the Pittsburgh City Paper, The Boston Herald, and Christianity Today. AllMusic gave the album a three star rating.Johnson, Zac "Only With Laughter Can You Win Review", Allmusic. Retrieved January 22, 2014 Pitchfork Media gave it 5.4 out of 10, with Amanda Petrusich describing it as "a solidly crafted, fully realized work" but "a heartbreakingly predictable singer/songwriter collection". The Stranger called it "a gorgeously understated indie-folk album that demonstrates how entwined Thomas' life and music are".
Track listing All songs written by Rosie Thomas.
"Let Myself Fall" – 1:52 "I Play Music" – 3:38 "Red Rover" – 3:20 "Sell All My Things" – 3:54 "Crazy" – 2:35 "One More Day" – 4:15 "All My Life" – 3:19 "You and Me" – 2:04 "Tell Me How" – 3:52 "Gradually" – 5:05 "Dialogue" – 5:02
References