Artists | Issues | CD Reviews | Interviews | Concert Reviews | DVD/Video Reviews | Book Reviews | Who We Are | Staff | Home
 
Non-Prog CD Reviews

Lara Taubman

Revelation

Review by Gary Hill

To me this set feels like it could have been released in the late 1960s or early 1970s. Comparisons to a lot of the folk music based stuff from that era work for most of this. There is a decent range from song to song here, and this works well.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) in Music Street Journal: 2020  Volume 4. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2020.
Track by Track Review
Sound of Heartbreak
Intricate and pretty musical textures bring this into being. The vocals bring a real folk music texture. The instrumental elements, though, land closer in a classical-meets-bluegrass zone. The piece gets more powered up and rocking before it’s all done.
Desert Boy
Starting with a piano led arrangement, there is more of a jazzy texture to this. It has a healthy helping of Americana, and the arrangement brings some soul to the mix. It’s a slow moving number, but also a very classy one. The organ really brings a retro flavor.
The Conversation
Another that has a lot of bluegrass built into it, the banjo definitely contributes to that element. This, like the album’s opener, has a real folk music vibe to it.
Heartbreak Garden
This starts mellower, but gets more rocking as it works outward. The cut has a lot of charm and style. It’s very much a folk rock song.
Hookup
Now, this is a big change. This has a cool psychedelic soul vibe to it. I love the groove and texture of this. It’s my favorite tune of the whole disc. This really feels like something that would have been at home in the late ‘60s or early ‘70s.
Cold Side of Spring
The guitar soloing on this tune brings some country to the table. The whole tune has more of that folk rock vibe. Other instrumental interplay later reinforces that country music thing.
Akureyri
Folk music based, there is a lot of bluegrass at the heart of this up-tempo, but stripped back number.
Snakes in the Snow
Another number that’s essentially folk music based (in keeping with the 60s and 70s style), there are some hints of classical music in the mix early. World music percussion climbs into the piece later. There is some classical meets psychedelic weirdness later in the number.
Revelation
This is a stripped back, acoustic guitar and vocal tune. It’s very much what you would expect from 1960s folk music.
 
More CD Reviews
Metal/Prog Metal
Non-Prog
Progressive Rock
 
Google

   Creative Commons License
   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

    © 2024 Music Street Journal                                                                           Site design and programming by Studio Fyra, Inc./Beetcafe.com