Search the Music Review Database

Classical Music

François Couperin: Keyboard Music, Volume 1
Angela Hewitt
Hyperion CDA67440 Reviewed by SG
While the music of Angela Hewitt's favourite composer - Johann Sebastian Bach - with its more abstract style, easily adapts to being played on either harpsichord or piano, Couperin's style is more closely allied with, and enhanced by, the characteristics of the former's sound. But, with a dry sounding Steinway and her sparing pedal use, Hewitt manages to overcome any shortcomings with her choice of instrument. There are three Orders on this beautiful release: the Sixth, Eighteenth and Eighth. The opening Sixth - pioneering when first composed - is totally enthralling, with Hewitt drawing every detail from the textures, particularly in Les barricades mistérieuses. The Eighteenth is full of contrast, with the unassuming placed side by side with the ostentatious, while the Eighth includes a Passacaille that could simply be Couperin's finest work for keyboard. Hewitt lets each embellishment flow naturally by utilising great sincerity, drawing the listener into the performance and making her affection for the music obvious. Throughout, she supplies a most committed performance; with outstanding touch and control allowing each piece to evolve with tremendous elegance and style, and Hyperion has captured the acoustic of Henry Wood Hall with aplomb, all resulting in an excellent release.

Beethoven: Complete Music for Piano Trios, Vol. 2
The Florestan Trio
Hyperion CDA67369 Reviewed by SG
This lovely disc opens with Beethoven's ever popular Archduke Trio before offering two lesser known works as bonuses - an early Allegretto and the wonderfully witty and zestful Kakadu Variations. But it is the account of the Archduke that remains the high point, with a performance to rank alongside the absolute best. The opening theme of Susan Tomes' piano sets the tone, with its easy flowing tempo, awash with expression, and this is taken up by the other players, revealing the natural togetherness that remains a characteristic of this ensemble. This may be a performance in the true "classical" manner, with others providing grander or more romantic accounts, but the Florestan's imbue Beethoven's most massively scored trio with great intimacy and lyrical tenderness, providing the piece with a luminosity rarely achieved. While the Scherzo may appear a little faint-hearted at times, there is generally a rhythmic quality that stimulates the calm, especially in a finale full of character, with sudden moments of levity. But they never loose sight of the overall elegance of the work, and it is this balance of sublime details and their comprehensive foresight that produces such a radiant account.

Bestiario de Cristo
Alia Musica / Sánchez
Harmonia Mundi HMI 987033 Reviewed by SG
This collection of fourteen vocal works, and four instrumentals, taken from 13th Century manuscripts held in Paris and Spain, concerning the religious symbolism of animals - hence the title of "Bestiary of Christ" - is another compelling release from the excellent ensemble, Alia Musica, and their director, Miguel Sánchez. By means of various vocal styles, a number of animal representations, from moths to dragons, are introduced. Each of these creatures and their characteristics are woven into religious metaphors, symbols or values through the deployment of the poetry, and there are some excellent and extensive notes for the more interested listener, offering an introduction to the significance of the texts and the context of each song. But there is little for all but the most learned of listeners to distinguish these songs from countless other contemporary religious pieces, despite being structurally sophisticated, melodically appealing and skillfully written. What brings this disc to the fore is the quality of the performances, with this accomplished group providing a most pleasant and often sensitive listening experience. They are genuinely dedicated musicians, who continue to bring early music enthusiasts a rich repertoire of the rare and unusual, and with beautifully sympathetic engineering, this release has to be a top recommendation.

MacMillan: Why is the night different?
Tuireadh / Memento / Emperor String Qt./ Robert Plane
BIS CD-1269 Reviewed by SG
James MacMillan's music harks back to the modernist innovations of the 1960s: being full of complex, dissonant harmonies and is often difficult for timid audiences to fully appreciate. The most austere piece among this collection of his chamber music is Visions of a November Spring - his first string quartet. It begins in a disconcerting manner with deformed string effects, proceeding through tormented convulsions and edgy gestures, and ending with eerily distressing harmonies. His second quartet, Why is the night different? comes from the Jewish rite of commemoration on the first night of Passover, the Sedar, and retells the tale of the Israelites flight from Egypt. Macmillan employs a highly illustrative musical technique, with the instruments behaving like characters in a play and the first violin assuming the role of narrator. Tuireadh, for clarinet and string quartet, was composed as a memorial for the victims of the Piper Alpha oilrig disaster. It is tense, gutwrenching music, and comes complete with agonized shrieks and anguished weeping. The disc ends with the much calmer, hymn-like Memento, which, like the previous pieces, is performed with total assurance. With sound of exceptional clarity and impact, the result is a superb, if somewhat harrowing release.

Schubert: Piano Sonatas D.598, D.599 and D.560
Murray Perahia
Sony S2K 87706 Reviewed by SG
Murray Perahia has always instilled his performances with lyrical qualities, while being fully aware of the composition's overall structure; qualities at the heart of these performances of Schubert's last three piano sonatas. But, he also conveys more urgency, making less of distinct minutiae, enforcing a greater diversity of expressions and colour. This is particularly apparent in the A Major, D.959, where he gives the scherzo a stronger rhythmic core than in his 1987 recording for CBS. In the opening Allegro, where he now opts for the repeat, he adds refinement, clarifying and intensifying the music, as he does in the slow movement, which is tauter, conveying warmth and body. This approach to the slower movements is apparent throughout all three pieces, but Perahia just lacks Uchida's sensitivity and Richter's control. In the B-flat Major, D.960 some of Rubinstein's tenderness eludes him also, while the scherzo lacks a little sincerity and character, but the way he launches into the finale, shattering the previous movements mood, gives the work fantastic clarity. But, with a performance of the C Minor, D.598, full of unflustered virtuosity, this release ultimately reveals how Perahia is developing as a most intelligent pianist.

Ives: Symphony No. 3 "The Camp Meeting", Washington's Birthday
Northern Sinfonia / Sinclair
Naxos 8.559087 Reviewed by SG
Being the world's foremost authority on the music of Charles Ives does not necessarily guarantee James Sinclair's interpretations are going to be totally successful. But happily his musicianship reveals the same empathy and there is a certain quality to these performances that make them among the finest of Ives' music ever recorded. Sinclair presents each work with great lucidity of texture, with the composer's moments of dissonance adding to the disparity of harmonics. While the majority of the music on this disc is gentle and beautifully relaxing, especially during the Third Symphony, he also utilises some tempi of the more spirited variety. The Unanswered Question, with its distinct communication between the inquiring trumpet and the answering of the remaining winds, is presented in record time, making this performance all the more persuasive. During Washington's Birthday, the barn dance is supplied with wonderfully optimistic rhythms, while the two final pieces, taken from Three Places in New England, display much enthusiastic humour. The Northern Sinfonia play with total discipline and self-assurance throughout and the engineering captures every ingredient of this most welcome issue with great balance, all making this impressive release highly recommended.

Brahms, Bartok, Liszt, Dohnanyi: Piano Sonata No.3, 15 Peasant Songs, 2 Etudes, Rhapsody No.3
Annie Fischer
BBC Legends BBCL 4054-2 Reviewed by RP
Annie Fisher's prized and highly regarded original piano recordings of the 1950s and 1960s for the Columbia label remain far from the reach of most ordinary mortals. So it makes this BBC 20bit transfer of a live mono recording made during the 1961 Edinburgh Festival a particularly welcome one. Play this CD and you will begin to understand just how her reputation came to be founded upon that combination of pure unadulterated natural talent, spontaneous readings and thoroughly expressive performances. She could almost be described as too gifted. The casual approach to rehearsals and the recording process in general meant that the Hungarian-born Fischer was infuriatingly underrecorded. Whilst she was always prepared to endlessly play passages in search of expressive perfection, the suggestion that there should be a second take to iron out technical faults was almost invariably received with indifference. Here, at Usher Hall in Edinburgh the luxury of returning to touch up the tape did not exist and the result is a recital disc of such fluency, passion, dazzling virtuosity and musical communication that any occasional blemish in its delivery has no relevance to the realisation of these works. She shrugs off that notoriously difficult pacing for the Brahms F Minor Sonata yet effortlessly retains the supplest of grips. Fischer allows her music to ebb and flow within the composer's prescribed vision for this Sonata but never looses sight of the greater unfolding drama tantalisingly held before us. It can be heard through the lyricism of a slow movement that builds towards a series of radiant climaxes and beyond, with resonant dynamic phrases which ripen, open out and drench us with their images of rare beauty. This account feels right because it is perceptive, ruminative, sensitive and assured when and as required. Elsewhere, Annie naturally excels when playing the music of her fellow countrymen. In Bela Bartok's earthy exploration of humanity, the Fifteen Hungarian Peasant Songs are sympathetically and genuinely developed. Careful attention is paid to his sprung rhythms and those vocal-like qualities of the score. This allows an articulate soloist like Fischer (who possesses flair, imagination and poetry in their hands) to evoke that full range of instrumental colours and those inextricable feelings of elation, passion or frailty which accompany them. It is easy to picture the rural setting and a simple yet hard life for those that lived there when she plays these vignettes. For them Fischer's evocative artistry is both visual and tactile in nature. The tanned skin and callused hands, weary smiles and joyous country-dances are brought to life in these finely etched performances that mimic a wider spectrum of instrumental nuances to recreate their images. In Franz Liszt's Trois Etudes No.3 and Grandes Etudes de Paganini No.6 there are a couple of technical hiccups but they do not detract from the beautiful sweeping flights of fancy and intelligent phrasing teased from these keys. The conclusion to this sparkling Edinburgh night is an encore piece in the shape of a delightful Rhapsody in C Major, OP.11 No.3 by Erno Dohnanyi. This closing lyrical encounter has majestic melodies placed alongside contrasting passages of sustained driving momentum, which shows Annie Fischer at her stylish and creative best. A clean and dynamic sounding re-master memorably picks out those nice little changes in tempo, weight and emphasis as well as the physical shape and sound of decaying piano notes, not just here but throughout all of these works. A wonderful opportunity to hear one of the great Twentieth Century pianist in their element.

Sibelius: Rondo of the Waves: The Oceanides (Yale and Final versions); and other works
Lahti Symphony Orchestra / Vänskä
BIS-CD-1445 Reviewed by SG
This is BIS' 51st volume in an ever increasing monument to a complete edition of Sibelius' work. They have previously explored the genesis of works such as the Violin Concerto and Symphony No. 5, but they now reveal the development of other works, starting with The Oceanides, commissioned in 1914, for an American visit. Originally called The Rondo of the Waves, the original piece found its way to Yale University Library, before Sibelius' extensive reworking. The Yale version has long been known of, but only now makes its debut, and is supplemented by an even earlier version. Hearing how one of Sibelius' masterpieces emerges from its confused beginnings is a lesson in the creation of greatness, especially when performed with such sensitivity and tonal polish - Osmo Vänskä and his Lahti players are true champions of Sibelius' work. But this release is more than just an academic look at the composer's compositional methods. The disc also holds astounding performances of the composer's lesserknown pieces, including the wonderfully ethereal piece for wind; Cassazione. With the bonus of excellent sound, this simply has to be one of the most notable new releases of Sibelius' music for a number of years.

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 "Leningrad"
Kirov Orchestra / Rotterdam PO / Gergiev
Philips 470 845-2 Reviewed by SG
Performing Shostakovich's grand wartime symphony necessitates the largest of orchestras, utilising vast forces, particularly in the strings and brass. So it is not surprising to find Gergiev utilising both the orchestras of which he is principle conductor - interestingly from cities that suffered similar wartime fates. Despite the conductor being a little free with the composer's tempo directions, Gergiev delivers a performance that still propels the music with a particular momentum. He employs fairly tight rhythms throughout, creating a forceful and striking interpretation of rich textures. Many of his recordings have been tremendously revealing, using every detail to project his vision of the music, and the same can be said of this live performance. He manages to convey the extent of emotions, successfully generating both anguish and jubilation while still offering the sensation of great determination. The two orchestras blend with great effect, producing some exceptionally dynamic climaxes that are outstandingly portrayed by the engineering, producing a disc of demonstration quality. Philips has captured both the sonic magnitude and the reverberation of the concert hall brilliantly, resulting in a gripping listening experience that is a worthy addition this work's already impressive discography.

Purcell: O Solitude
Gérard Lesne / Il Seminario Musicale
Naïve E 8882 Reviewed by SG
Until Schubert, Henry Purcell was certainly the most prolific songwriter in Europe and arguably the greatest, filling his song's with topics from virtually every characteristic of his volatile age. Although Purcell himself was a countertenor, I doubt if this, or any collection of his songs for countertenor could have been better served than here. Gérard Lesne performs this diverse set with extraordinary eloquence, revealing the composer's remarkable creativity and versatility. In the opening O Solitude, my sweetest choice! he supplies a most heartfelt rendering, while his singing of the celebrated If music be the food of love is beautifully animated. He fittingly concludes the program with An Evening Hymn (Now that the sun hath veil'd his light), bidding goodnight to the world with one of Purcell's most distinguished yet poignant marches. Throughout he is ably assisted by the stylish performances of the expert ensemble Il Seminario Musicale, who were found by Lesne himself nearly twenty years ago, and who also perform instrumental interludes throughout. With such performances, superbly captured by engineering of the highest standard, this is one of the finest recitals of its kind available.

New Formats

Locatelli: Introduttioni Teatrali OP.IV; Concerto in A Major
Orizio / OCFMBB
Fone 004 SACD Reviewed by RP
Locatelli was a native of Bergamo and these Festival "Michelangeli" Brescia Bergamo musicians (who truly shine under the sympathetic direction of Agostino Orizio) give beguiling and virtuoso performances of the four Teatrali and that expressive Concerto in A Major for violin, strings and basso continuo. Each of the Teatrali is divided into three sections and was probably used as an overture to operas by other composers of the day. Yet, because they remain firmly rooted within an Italian Concerto Grosso tradition, these melodic, sensitively scored and sonorous pieces stand out in their own right as tightly structured, independent and highly emotive vignettes. At twelve and a half minutes long, the Concerto is nearly twice the length of Introduttioni II, the longest of the Teatrali, and this allows Locatelli's more stately and considered craft to develop some defining moments of pathos and melancholia especially in the moving Largo. The venue, (an ambient Palazzo Grande in Brescia), the valve/analogue equipment and a perceptive and highly accomplished recording by Fone impresario, Cesare Ricci have all successfully transferred to this, the premier digital format. Listen out for the sumptuous, beautifully formed and sustained violin notes held out forever in the closing Allegro.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

Dvorak: Symphony No 8 & 9 'From the New World'
Iván Fischer, Budapest Festival Orchestra
Philips 478 617-2 Reviewed by AG
These two works are often coupled, only partly because their combined playing time is about right for a single release. They have a natural affinity, presenting contrasting but complementary moods. The eighth is predominantly lyrical and clearly old Europe in style. The New World, inspired by a visit to the United Stares, has something of the urgency and dynamism of New York, though the musical language remains unmistakably European, Dvorak's valedictory symphonies have appeared many times on disc, but of all recent recordings this one is surely the best. Slavic performers playing Slavic music was always likely to pay dividends, and Fisher's exuberant personality provides the coup de grace. The eighth is given a spacious, measured reading with an almost folksy familiarity, warmth and grace which brings the various parts into sharp relief. The New World is a more propulsive work, and it shows in a performance that is often electric. Both performances are nothing if not idiomatic, with a real pulse and forward momentum. The orchestral players, who must have absorbed the music as infants over their corn flakes, have a clear affinity with the music, but still manage to invest the performances with a winning freshness and gusto.

Hovhaness: Works for Harp
Kondonassis
Telarc CD-60530-SA Reviewed by RP
lan Hovhaness was heavily affected by mysticism and a long held interest in the music of the European Middle Ages and Renaissance. Consequently his compositions often have that remarkably pervasive quality about them which successfully blends those distinctive personalities found amongst Occidental and Oriental influences as well as works ancient and modern. The Concerto for Harp and String Orchestra, The Garden of Adonis, Upon Enchanted Ground, Sonata for Harp and a World premier recording of Spirit of Trees heard here are expertly and powerfully played by the American harpist, Yolanda Kondonassis. Their instrumental scoring is melodic, rhythmically flowing, stylish and imaginative with the flute, cello and giant tam-tam joining the harp's incandescent voice for the bright exchanges on Upon Enchanted Ground and David Leisner's guitar for Spirit of Trees. Plucked and sustained strings pinch and cushion their way through a swaying and dance-like Concerto. Those bright flourishes and every graceful contrapuntal hand gesture in the Sonata have even their most delicate and lightest of touches revealed by a recording which proves SACD's almost magical ability to accurately reproduce the textures, tonal and harmonic properties of the most unusual and diverse of instruments.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

Mahler: Symphony No 3
Anne Sophie von Otter / Women's Chorus of the Vienna Singveriens, Vienna Boy's Choir, Boulez, VPO
DGG 474 298-2 Reviewed by AG
If there is one composer whose works have benefited disproportionately from the introduction of high-resolution multi-channel audio, it is surely Gustav Mahler. The music is predominantly large scale with a complexity that is almost inevitably diminished in recordings. The emotional core of this work is the slow, solemn song Sehr langsam sung ravishingly by Anne Sophie von Otter against a muted orchestral accompaniment, which is followed in one of the most startling transitions in all symphonic music into the bright, breezy Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck sung by a double chorus of womens' and boys' voices. Although SACD is no complete cure for the limitations of black vinyl and compact disc, it is beginning to close the gap. The Third has a beauty and complexity that doesn't t always work on disc. Here it comes across as loose limbed (but tight in ensemble) yet superbly focussed, with an almost tactile quality and presence. The DGG sound is almost unrecognisable from the messy manipulative mixes characteristic of the Karajan era. Open, spacious and atmospheric, this Third is also the most successful performance (along with Das Lied von der Erde) of the ongoing Boulez Mahler cycle.

Junior Wells - Come On In This House
Telarc SACD-63395 Reviewed by RP
His reputation as a stylish blues harmonica player was cold forged on vinyl back in the mid-1960s when he traded solos with the superb Buddy Guy. Here, thirty years later, the singing of Junior Wells and his weeping harp bend the notes that shed some big heartfelt tears on this 1996 recording. This time it's emotional undercurrents are reserved for classic Sonny Boy Williamson material in songs like 'Trust My Baby' and 'The Goat' or for those laconic Tampa Red tracks such as 'King Fish Blues' and 'She Wants To Sell My Monkey'. The naturalness and warmth in his delivery is complemented on this mainly acoustic album by the terrific slide and steel guitar playing of Corey Harris, John Mooney and Alvin "Youngblood" Hart. Elsewhere the legendary Sonny Landreth lays down strong electric slide solos for 'Why Are People Like That?' and some telling support work in 'Give Me One Reason'. Bob Sunda fires in those honest acoustic and six-string electric bass lines which alongside a rock solid Jon Cleary acoustic piano tuck in so nicely behind the assertive, gritty and seasoned Wells vocals as they illuminate a powerful and emotionally rousing mood of the Delta. The corrugated tin roofs, clapboard walls and that special kind of inner musical strength which unites close knit rural communities are all evocatively recreated.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

Bach: St Matthew Passion
Schoenberg Choir, Harnoncourt, Concentus Musicus Wien
Das Alte Werk 8573 81036-9 Reviewed by AG
Once described by the academic Adolf Bernhard Marx as "the greatest and most sacred work of music", the St Matthew Passion is a true masterwork of undeniable beauty, grandeur and - yes - passion. It is the cumulative impact of the music that tells more than any of the individual performers or movements. Similarly, although the soloists are excellent in every case, it is the raptness and controlled fervour in the combined forces that really speaks to the listener. The orchestral and vocal forces are beautifully blended, and the Schoenberg Choir provides scale and weight to frame the work. The surround sound recording does just what it should, which is to anchor the front image and provide a sense of depth and physical structure, while the surround channels add space and substance to the sound. As well as being an excellent recording of a fine performance, this disc perfectly encapsulates the power of the DVD-Audio format. The disc includes a 5.1 DVD-Audio recording, along with a stereo DVD-A down-mix and a stereo Dolby Digital track for DVD-Video players, plus supporting still video information including a picture gallery. All this for a work with a playing time in excess of 161 minutes, is shoehorned onto a single disc!

Audiophile Recordings

Prokofiev: Symphonic Suite Of Waltzes
Schwieger / Kansas City Phil.
Cisco Music CLP 7002 Reviewed by RP
This is a very pretty record indeed. As well as Gypsy Fantasy from the Stone Flower, there are excerpts from an enchanting and quite magical Cinderella ballet and the Mephisto Waltz, which is a timely reminder that Serge Prokofiev also wrote for the cinema and not just the concert hall. The Symphonic Suite itself neatly divides up into six cameos. They showcase the simple lyricism, parody and humour of a composer who proved himself to be equally at home writing great symphonies under the constraints of the Soviet system as he was with those sweeping rhythmic and melodic lines so suitably employed for these fairytale themes. Hans Schweiger and his Kansas City players bring a delicacy and lightness of touch to this music which belies their status as a provincial orchestra under the baton of a second tier conductor, though it is worth noting that Schweiger did understudy Erich Kleiber for three years before the Second World War. The lifelike1959 direct-to-two-track recording is quite stunning. Not only do these engineering solutions beautifully develop the rich tonal colours present in this music, but they also ensure that the rapid dynamic shifts in weight and emphasis are fully realised.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

Nina Simone - Sings Billie Holiday's Blues
Get Back GET2022 Reviewed by RP
Nina Simone's interpretation of pop, soul, jazz or blues standards are always compulsive listening and the reworking of these eight songs either penned by or closely associated with the greatest jazz singer bar none could have been musically irresistible. Both divas were noted for their courageous public stands against racism so the inclusion of an unbearably haunting and consciousness raising 'Strange Fruit' resonates across the decades. Scintillating performances of Berlin's 'This Year's Kisses' and Comden's 'Just In Time' stand alongside classic Holiday numbers like 'Tell Me More & More Then Some', 'Fine & Mellow' and 'Don't Explain'. There's no little humour too in a tongue in cheek and quite earthy exploration of 'Give Me A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer'. Unfortunately, whether the vinyl is slab-like or wafer thin, if the source material is badly transferred and poorly re-mastered then all aspects of the release suffer. Could Get Back have done a worse job? I doubt it. This LP sounds deplorable. It is compressed and lacks detail, while any warmth originally present has evaporated and with it much of the natural attraction in Simone's soulful approach has disappeared as well.
Supplier: The Cherished Record Company - www.cherished-record-company.co.uk (44)(0)1579 363603

John Lee Hooker - The Folklore of John Lee Hooker
Get Back GET7516 Reviewed by RP
This is an illuminating album spread across three Vee Jay label recording sessions - two from the Chicago Universal Studios in January 1961 while 'Tupelo' and 'The Hobo' were laid down at the Newport Folk Festival on 25th June 1960 with Bill Lee playing string bass in support. It mixes an old solo R&B format with those new directions in blues music. Here, JLH fronts a tight little band that includes a legendary Jimmy Reed (harmonica & guitar), Quinn Wilson (bass), Earl Phillips (drums) and William "Lefty" Bates (guitar) for 'I'm Mad Again', 'Want Ad Blues', 'Hard-Headed Woman' and 'I'm Going Upstairs'. Elsewhere, the traditionalists can still warm to his gripping and frequently anguished rendition of the Mississippi delta country blues that emotionally roams across the distress felt in 'My First Wife Left Me' and a sense of outrage and ingratitude of 'Five Long Years'. An undisguised pain courses through every sinew. In the powerfully honest vocal lines and through those vigorous, persistent and frequently dark chords achieved on his acoustic and electric guitars. This giant of the blues movement delivers a hugely important record, one that charts the development of his music away from that of a lone musician and into the realms of the folk blues genre.
Supplier: The Cherished Record Company - www.cherished-record-company.co.uk (44)(0)1579 363603

Muddy Waters - Sings Big Bill Broonzy
Speaker's Corner LP-1444 Reviewed by RP
This reissue of a 1960 Muddy Waters LP from the Chess label shows what can be achieved if the source material is expertly transferred. Yes, the original tapes are less than ideal. There's a booming bass line that takes some controlling but Speaker's Corner have done their utmost to rein it in, and instead raise the distinctive wide open Waters vocal profile. Detailed attention has also been given to the supporting musicians and this is where it differs so markedly from Get Back's sonically challenged Nina Simone release. However, they do have at least one thing in common and that is their musically significant repertoire. Waters was a close friend and pupil of Big Bill Broonzy and his homage to a man who broadened the appeal of blues music way beyond those local folk roots until it was embraced by a nation is never less than intuitive. Both men were at one time or another field hands toiling in the oppressive heat of the Mississippi Cotton Belt. Both understood life's dissatisfactions, the inherent suffering, an inner anguish and that remarkable sense of pride born out of shared adversity which allows this genre to rise above all the poverty and racism. Both could play abrasive guitar and holler, shout, cry and really sing the blues. The ten tracks here range through these emotions. A mournful 'Lonesome Road Blues'. The sweet irony of 'Southbound Train' when the future for many impoverished black rural workers lay in the opposite direction, to the cities of the North. An evocative 'Just A Dream' that recaptures a happy time of women and whisky tempered by the stark realities of life. And the wicked glint in Muddy's eye as he develops a jaundiced yet humorous view of a man who learns that his best friend definitely ain't no woman in the Waters penned 'I Done Got Wise'. Piano, harmonica, guitar and drums (not credited) form a tight little backing band who help recreate a tactile sense of those torments heard in 'Double Trouble', 'Mopper's Blues' and the deeply thoughtful 'When I Get To Thinking'. They put an awful lot of flesh on the giant Big Bill Broonzy frame. This is a priceless and beautifully anecdotal insight. Enough to remind us all that there is far more to the recorded legacy of one McKinley Morganfield than his ubiquitous Folk Singer LP.
Supplier: The Cherished Record Company - www.cherished-record-company.co.uk (44)(0)1579 363603

Jennifer Warnes - The Well
Cisco CLP7009 Reviewed by RP
Hurried transfers can often castrate the superb resolution and highly detailed quality found in recordings that started out life as CD releases. The Well however has been a long time in coming and this delay is largely down to the close artistic involvement of Jennifer Warnes with the production of this beautifully pressed LP. The wait has been worthwhile. This Bernie Grundman mastered LP sounds immaculate. For example, the palpable clarity, precision and dynamics secured in the reproduction of guitars (acoustic and pedal steel), violins, viola, cellos and piano which back Jenny's finely sculpted vocal thread heard on 'Prairie Melancholy' are given an infusion of delicacy, warmth and intimacy. Where the CD lifted a veil on proceedings, playing the record then goes on to fill in a void that I had not previously noticed. Even when Jenny so easily switches in and out of styles from folk to blues diva and in those songs that show her talent as a roots pop singer or country casual, there is still a sense of greater rhythmic certainty and coherence. It provides a mortar that ties in those transparently polished instrumental slabs.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

© Images and text copyright Absolute Multimedia (UK) Ltd 1999-2008
another fine webwork by Global WebTrader