Dustbowl SymphonyDate: Sat, 18 Sep 1999 22:24:22 +0100
I had not actually been desperately awaiting this album - I ordered it for the sake of completeness, but was a little upset at the fact there were only three new tracks and a load of retreads. So when it arrived yesterday, I didn't rip off the cellophane straight away - it took me a couple of hours to get round to playing it. And then......
Well the main problem for me was getting to the second track. I played "Trouble in the Fields" three times straight off - I just couldn't believe how superb it was. A great song anyway, but suddenly it's been elevated into another realm entirely. And when I finally dragged myself away from that wonderful track, it was to find that the rest of the tracks are excellent as well - I even quite like "Nobody's Angel", a song which did nothing at all for me before now.
This is a GREAT album. I am really astonished at how good it is, and so glad that my preconceptions were so way out - this one won't be very far away from the cd player for a long while yet.........
And maybe another album next year, and an Albert Hall appearance in the Spring! We're not worthy!
Mike Barrett
Dustbowl SymphonyDate: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 09:35:41 EDT
Hey Y'all,
Have to add my kudos to the pile for the stunningly gorgeous Dustbowl Symphony. Even though I was blessed to hear Nanci's symphonic performance live this summer, I truly didn't expect much out of this CD, most likely because of the lack of new material. I didn't really even get excited about it until I read Mike's wonderfully articulate review early on.
How wrong could I have been? DBS is nothing short of a musical triumph and quite simply one of the most beautiful collections I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. Nanci sounds so vibrant, alive -- she's just "in the zone." Being quite the insomniac, I have found that listening to music through my headphones at night a good way to drift off, if it's going to happen at all -- my biggest problem with DBS is that I can't BEAR to go to sleep until I hear the last note. Back to "Sea Prayers and Whispers" for sleep therapy I guess . . .
While 1937 Pre-War Kimball didn't inspire me to give my own ancient piano away, it has inspired me to get it out of mothballs, tuned up properly, and my hands back on its keys. I turned my back on it well over 25 years ago, but am now just burning to play again, being made humbly aware that being able to have "both hands happenin'" is a gift that I shouldn't waste. I thank my parents for giving me a song and Nanci for reawakening it -- I will try to repay that by playing out loud.
I will also go on record as saying emphatically that I LOVE the LATFAD duet with Darius Rucker. I'm not quite sure why he's often less than appreciated, but that's okay. I love his smoky, well, dusty voice and I also love the fact that he obviously loves Nanci. You go, Darius!
Cate Whittington
Dustbowl SymphonyDate: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 08:56:47 -0700 (PDT)
Dear Netters-
"And maybe you were thinking
That you thought you knew me well.
But no one ever knows the heart of anyone else"
Who would of thought that that little skinny girl running and spinning around the back yard trying to play the guitar, in Austin, TX so many years ago (from the video OVOR) would someday surround herself with brilliant musicians in her own Blue Moon Orchestra and stand in front of the London Symphony Orchestra and thrill and mesmerize us with her magnificent songs and voice? Other netters have described the music on this album better than I could, but let me tell you we have just scratched the surface of 'knowing' this woman well.
Like all truly great artists, Nanci isn't satisfied with the status quo--she is an explorer, a crusader, and a risk taker, and the best thing is she takes us along with her. Most of it we love, some we like, some were not so sure about--but none of it is boring, and all has the touch of a genious.
We should applaud her crusade to preserve 'folk' music. We should be happy that she is promoting the great music of Buddy Holly. Buddy Holly, what was he 22, 23 when he died? What music we have missed by his tragic death. The same with Kate Wolf. What if Dylan haddied in his motorcycle accident after he recorded Blonde on Blonde? Nanci makes us think about these things.
Although loving all her albums, I've always considered that she had 3 masterpieces: 1) Flyer 2)Other Voices,Other Rooms 3) Last of the True Believers. Well, I now officially add a 4th masterpiece: The Dustbowl Symphony.
I don't know how many more paths this lady will explore, but I want to be there when she does.
Maybe she will help us "learn to fly away again."
Bob Riegner
Dustbowl SymphonyDate: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 18:17:45 -0400
Hi guys, That package from amazon was on the doorstep when I got home (to an empty house, yay!) today. CD *and* video... oh, it was bliss. My hands are still shaking. DBS is playing in the other room, because I can't figure out how to get it to play on my computer... it's the second time around... and I love it. I knew I'd love it, the same I've always loved Nanci's CD's, since I learned the magic of this woman's work. Sometimes it takes a few listens, this time it didn't. Granted, there are some things I miss from the previous recordings (most surprisingly, the angels in Waiting for Love) but I know that the point of re-recording her songs is not to make them better, but to travel a new road. And that road may not be better or worse, but there will always be a lesson upon it, some new harmony or lyric, something new. She'll never, ever become complacent, for that would kill her. And she knows this.
My favorite, far and away, is The Wing and the Wheel. I've always loved this song... loved its sparse poetry... now it's been given its wings and wheels and the stunning, schintillating background it deserves. The scat made me cry. I can picture Nanci on her western flyer... looking out across her dustbowl...
(if I spend the love you gave me, tell me, where will it goooooooooo?)
The overture to Trouble in the Fields also had me laying on the floor of my bedroom with my eyes closed, letting those bow strokes seep through me... These Days in an Open Book is good... I'd like it more if it was all as sparse as the beginning. The poppish drum part is kind of puzzling, but those lyrics... and though I cherish the Indigos' harmonies on Flyer, it does sound neat to hear Nanci do them here... Love at the Five and Dime is cool. Once again, another facet to an old classic. Darius *is* Eddie. Nanci *is* Rita. I love it. It's a Hard Life... well, what can I say. Singing to that, with Pat's amazing percussion in the back... her most powerful song, definitely.
I miss the heavy drum beats in LNGH, though... I think that song isn't all that different here from what it is on the original... but it certainly proves that Nanci's voice is still of wine. Tell me How is pretty cool. Such a 60's bubblegum song sounds pretty neat with the orchestra.
I LOOOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEE the cello overture to Not My Way Home. As an aspiring cellist myself, I could only close my eyes and inhale listening to John Catchings. I'm gonna pester Nanci to put out a song book for DBS. I need to learn how to play that. And those harmony vocals at the end are sublime. 1937 Pre-War Kimball. Cool song. Very cool song. It's not as brilliant as some of her other songs, sure, but I can appreciate it for being a really neat tribute to all those folks... I'll sing Hooker's line loudly... The line "The songs we wrote, ah, note for note" conjures up an image of James and Nanci sitting there in her house writing Leaving the Harbor or something. And God bless the child who's got a song, who's got a song.
(we'll have made it a hard life wherever they go.)
Once again, with Waiting for Love, I feel like not much has changed. I miss the angels. Although I didn't exactly love them, I grew used to singing "Waiting for...(love)" instead of taking Nanci's part there. And I miss that. But for all the former Waiting for Love haters that it satisfies, it's worth it. Nobody's Angel is one of the coolest songs Nanci's ever written, I feel, and adding in a french horn and whatever else is in the mix makes it all the more cool. She does sound like she's angry, and because I wasn't angry while I was listening to it, I felt kind of baffled. But I'm sure I'll love it on one of those Flyer kinda days, where all I do is come home and lay down on my bed and drown out whatever it is that's bugging me with a good dose of empathy.
(tell me how to keep your love)
Always Will is a song that's sacred to me... I'm glad it didn't lose any of its sacredness here. Although I like the more mellow, brooding version on Flyer, this version ain't too bad. : ) Drops from the Faucet... well, I was expecting something a little more up tempo (it being Frank Christian and all) but it's cool as a laid back jazz thing, too. I see Nanci on a smoky little stage in a satin sequined dress with too much makeup singing into the mic and getting lots of hoots and howls from the audience. Makes me giggle.
(nineteen thirty seven pre-war Kimball. One two three gone...)
Nanci, you're a genius, and I am consistenly amazed at your conviction and your power... to work with orchestras and stadium status rock acts and folk legends without losing anything along the way... you've never become complacent, and you've taught me to do the same. Thank you.
(and I smiled as it rolled out my door)
Thanks for listening.
Kristina Plath
STORMSDate: Fri, 14 Apr 2000 10:09:42 -0400
I first heard, "It's A Hard Life Wherever You Go" while on leave (vacation) from the Air Force. I was home & listening to my old favorite radio station, late at night. The voice & the (finger picked) guitar, sent me on a Quest to find, "Storms". I've been hooked ever since.
Mark "COUGAR" STRAND