Search - Cordelia's Dad :: Comet

Cordelia's Dad is always worth getting

09/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Eleven of Comet's twelve tracks are acoustic. Despite what the info up above there says, this is not a live album in the traditional sense of the word. That is, it was recorded live in the studio, not at a concert. What that means is that you get some of the intensity of a live recording, because things weren't done in little pieces and then put together, but you also get a nice clean recording, as you so often don't with a truly live record.As for the songs, what can I say? Cordelia's Dad is always great. If there were any justice in the world, everyone on earth would know that and there would be hundreds of customer reviews here, reflecting the millions of records they'd sold. Unfortunately, that's not the case. There are three voices, a frame drum, a guitar, a banjo, and a fiddle on Comet. Tim Eriksen has one of the greatest singing voices to be heard today -- not great in the style of Pavarotti, but that's not necessarily a bad thing -- and Cath Oss's harmony parts are lovely. The arrangements are accordingly spare and direct, and the overall effect is moving and something different than but just as good as beautiful. Just get it. It's worth it."

Highly recommended

03/04/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Here's one modern album that works for my ultra-trad tastes: unusual historic material, singing methods borrowing some of the riveting qualities of Sacred Harp, deft instrumentals, and that indefinable quality, "conviction"."