another interesting looking cd handed to me
very happy to receive all and sundry for serious consideration
which amounts to at least a track by track listen and comment thereof
veda hille by all accounts (i.e. wiki) is a canadian singer/songwriter lady
most interestingly records on the ape label which is owned by xtc-er andy partridge
xtc being one of the better bands out of the 80's so this should be good
though of course i dive in with no pre-conceived expectations
lucklucky
plucked violins leading in the opening track promising something different
a female voice then comes in repeating the title over and over
then the same voice comes in on top strongly singing
with major orchestration also coming and building loud and strong
so yes not your average singer/songwriter here - i think i like it
book of saints
piano lead-in presumably at the hands of the lady herself
she does have a sweet voice though the lyrics are quite the opposite
which of course makes it quite appealing - here in reference to womanhood
our bodies are not made of brass they're made of thread and air
and blood comes out in pints and litres keep your hands off you filthy cheaters
ace of the nazarene
starts out like a throwback to 80's synth-pop but then kicks in
a fast, catchy, anthemic, singalong tune with electric guitars and cello
wiki tells me this album is composed mostly around editted christian hymns
this one in particular has a lot of lyrical reference to biblical terms
successfully putting it at odds with the totally contemporary music
a shining forth
a lovely solo piano lead-in with the ladies voice following in reflective mode
very clever production has her self-accompanied with strings and flute
no drums or bass anywhere to be heard so the voice/lyrics standout
quite organic sounding really and showcasing her lovely voice
i'm reminded of katie noonan (george) but only fleetingly
oh come on
they must have had a lot of fun putting this one together
the cover notes inform that it is made up of first line of hymns
but reading and listening to the lyrics they flow very nicely
there's brass harmonies dominating in the music
she oozes confidence, skill and style on this another unique piece
the moon
trilling piano leads in to strings and toe-tapping up-tempo tune
another outstanding piece of production sounding flaming lips-ish
kind of off-key vocals on top of busy instrumentation
then a fallback to a simple string sound and the sense of a return
all intruments then hard at it with the piano leading a great outro
sleepers
i never knew how nice to sleep with you would be
a lovely little ditty extolling the enjoyment of sleeping with the loved one
i never cared for metal hair until the boy you were - slayer
and on it goes telling a story of blissed out contentment in the joy of sleep
the music - piano, xylophone, trumpet, violins working very nicely together
soapland serenade
seems our lady has had some experience with a bathhouse in japan
tells the story of ladies working to appease the male customers
it's quite a complex tune musically with various key and timing changes
different voices also used to represent the customers and workers
and the first and final cutting line - would you like to look at loneliness?
cowper's folly
this one actually requires a couple of plays to get the head around
starts out as another beautiful piano/voice/harmony collaboration
the lyrics again are based on an 18th century hymn - god moves in a mysterious way
which raises the question - what is her motive - reverential or cynical
though i suspect actually she just loves the phrasing that suits her style
rose of sharon
and now for a complete change - this one sounding eastern european
a gypsy kind of beat, with violins and clarinet worked nicely into the mix
but the consistency of her voice out front and the lyrics again leaning to bitterness
i opened to my lover, my lover he had gone, i looked, i could not find him, i called, he did not come
all over in less than 2 minutes but leaving it's mark musically
constance
another short little ditty at just over 1 minute and again with hymnal lyrics
the hymn in question being i've found a friend written in the early 19th century
old time piano sound leads into harmonising vocals with a string backing
a lovely homage to a special friend which really has a beautiful message
you have to wonder at this lady's determination to carry these songs forward
this spring
another lovely lead-in on the piano and her voice and violins following
a very gentle, reflective piece telling us about a very special spring
the blossoms have achieved their peak, explosions in electric leaves
ridiculous abundance, the air attacks my lungs, the warm pale yellow sun
sigh, gasp, just loverly then the climatic - i see it because you are gone
the trees
which segues at least in subject matter to the big final tune of the album
a up-tempo number with brass dominating but everyone hard at it
a not so subtle dig at the ignorance of man(kind) from the view of trees
you are dumb, you are green, you are a sap----ling
and therefore ending the album in typical mode with the rest of the album
summary
did someone mention andy partridge (xtc) is involved with this most contemporary and consistently impressive collection of pop-meets-hymn tunes from this canadian singer/songwriter with a fine want to mix in brass, piano, strings, and harmonies
