Supercajafrajulistic Expealadocious
Jay Tobias (jay_tobias@yahoo.com) | SF Bay Area, CA | 02/02/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"When I watched, and heard, Griff Rhys (Gruff?), perform "Gwn Mi Wn" at the TCT Concert (2007), at the Royal Albert Music Hall, I was absolutely spellbound. Apparently using looping and layering to create a real-time one-man-band with percussion, vocals, and other instruments, including some nifty electronic gizmos reminiscent of the concert's sponsors, The Who, and sporting a UCLA beanie, he was completely at ease with Robert Fripp-like 16-second delays (or longer), and multiple microphones to bring out the full beauty of this wonderful Welsh folk music. Nothing about the electronics detracted from the heart-wrenching joy and drive of true soul songs. In fact, with an incredible sense of timing and timbre, his harmonies and cadence were all the more embellished by the array of sounds. This album embodies this powerful song and several others, and the IMPORT version is certainly worth the extra money, as I've come to find in most cases. I'm not sure exactly why the imported (to the US, at least) sound better, but it may have something to do with restoration or recording and remastering techniques and technologies employed. (Sony's SHM-CD comes to mind).
Regardless of the details of sonority and reproduction, the music at its core is so naturally vibrant and wistful that the clear performance allows its impact to come through with "full measure", as the reviewers say. *****
There is a DVD of the TCT concert which includes 3 songs by the Who, this song, and other great music, if one prefers a compilation and wishes to help out Roger Daltrey in his cause to Treating Children with Cancer."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1