Church Bell Recording

The Church with One Bell is an interesting covers album, finding John Martyn tackling songs that are both ideal and absolutely ill-fitting. Since Martyn is such an idiosyncratic talent, maybe it shouldn't be surprising that he succeeds on "Strange Fruit" and not with Randy Newman's signature craftmanship on "God's Song," but there's still a bit of shock that the former works. Furthermore, the choice of material is often puzzling, but he makes songs like Ben Harper's "Excuse Me Mister" work through committed performances. Ultimately, The Church with One Bell is too uneven to qualify as even a minor gem in his catalog, but there are enough interesting moments to make it a worthwhile listen for long-term followers.

John Lee Hooker - The Country Blues Of John Lee Hooker (1959) {Remastered & Expanded rel 2015}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 358 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 159 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 54 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remastered
© 1959, 2015 Riverside / Soul Jam Records | 600869
Blues / Country Blues / Delta Blues / Acoustic Blues / Detroit Blues

In 1959, John Lee Hooker signed a one-off deal with the Riverside label to record an acoustic session of the country blues. It was a key change from his earlier recordings, most of which had featured Hooker on an electric guitar with his trademark reverb and stomping foot. Folk purists of the day were delighted with COUNTRY BLUES, believing Hooker had returned to his roots, leaving the "glitzy commercialism" of R&B behind. But some Hooker fans considered COUNTRY BLUES a "betrayal" of his true sound. The truth is probably somewhere in-between. Remember, John Lee Hooker is always John Lee Hooker, regardless of the format. If you like Hooker, or acoustic blues, buy this album. It is an intimate session featuring standards like "How Long", "Bottle Up and Go", as well as Hooker's first recorded take on "Tupelo", one of his all-time classics.

Baritone Gerald Finley's generous selection of Barber's songs includes two of his most familiar cycles, 11 individual songs, and Dover Beach, for baritone and string quartet. The songs all come from Barber's early period and range from "There is nae Lark," written when he was 17, to the Hermit Songs of 1953. Finley doesn't have a huge voice, but he can deliver plenty of power when required, and he has an appealing warmth and ease. His delivery is refreshingly free and unmannered, and it is ideally suited to the directness of Barber's songs. He shows wonderful sensitivity to the texts and makes even the most overdone songs, such as "The Daisies," sound convincing and newly imagined. The Hermit Songs are sung almost exclusively by women, perhaps because of the tradition that Barber established when he gave the premiere performance accompanying Leontyne Price, whose recording remains a gold standard. The texts, mostly written by Medieval Irish monks, largely reflect a male perspective, and Finley's fine performance ought to give courage to more men to take up the cycle.

A double anthology from the celebrated Welsh opera and concert singer Bryn Terfel. At His Very Best takes in recordings from his recent duet album with tenor Rhys Meirion, several of Bryn's earlier albums on Wales's Saydisc label and a recording of a newly commissioned work performed together with the Rhuthun Choir.