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Love to Live
Living Sisters
Love to Live
Genres: Folk, Pop
 
  •  Track Listings (10) - Disc #1

The Living Sisters may be the most experienced "new" group you've ever heard. Los Angeles-based singer/songwriters Inara George (The Bird and the Bee), Becky Stark (Lavender Diamond) and Eleni Mandell have cumulatively spe...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Living Sisters
Title: Love to Live
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Vanguard Records
Original Release Date: 1/1/2010
Re-Release Date: 3/30/2010
Genres: Folk, Pop
Style: Traditional Folk
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 015707804226

Synopsis

Album Description
The Living Sisters may be the most experienced "new" group you've ever heard. Los Angeles-based singer/songwriters Inara George (The Bird and the Bee), Becky Stark (Lavender Diamond) and Eleni Mandell have cumulatively spent decades writing, recording and singing around the world with their respective groups. Now, after years of seed-planting, the accomplished trio has finally recorded their Vanguard debut album, Love to Live, as The Living Sisters. With this debut, The Living Sisters embrace their mutual love of country, soul, gospel, jazz and other traditional styles of music. Gorgeous harmonies highlight poetically charged lyrics and sing-along choruses backed by retro pop instrumentation.

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Member CD Reviews

Larry E. (wle) from DORAVILLE, GA
Reviewed on 5/30/2012...
i love anything eleni mandell does
this is just even better with the harmonies, pretty women, nice songs!
10*+
wle

CD Reviews

Not the Roches, but they'll have to do for now.
Larry D | Los Angeles, CA United States | 04/12/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's been three years since my favorite living three-part-harmony sister act, The (incomparable) Roches, released their most recent album, the lush and shimmering "Moonswept"; and while I enjoyed the not-really-related Puccini Sisters for a little while, their basic gimmick (rock-era songs arranged for The Andrews Sisters) quickly wore on me. I was very much in need of a harmony fix when I happened upon "Love to Live", the debut collection by The (also-not-really-related) Living Sisters. Neither as transcendent as The Roches nor as nudge-wink cute as The Puccinis, this alt-folk supergroup (apparently Inara George, Becky Stark and Eleni Mandell are all indie goddesses, but I'd never heard of them before) reminds me most of another not-really-related sister act, The Chenille Sisters. Which is not a bad thing, by any means.



There's a mid-tempo sameness to the songs, whether original (the Suzzy Roche-ish "How Are You Doing") or cover (the Bessie Smith blues, "Good Old Wagon", Nancy Wilson's early-60s pop hit, "How Glad I Am"), which, along with the Sisters' all-but-identical pretty-but-edgeless soprano voices, makes "Love to Live" a bit sleepy. I've played it as dinner party background music; and while no one asked that I turn it off, neither did anyone ask who was singing.



After three listens, I'm still enjoying this music. But in all candor, at least one of the four stars is just because I'm glad these young ladies recorded "Love to Live" at all. At a time when I find myself complaining (often and loudly) that Country music is the last bastion of real singing (as opposed to rap and AutoTune) and real songs (as opposed to "jams" and, again, raps) in American pop music, "Love to Live" is a collection of nice songs, sung nicely. In "You Make Me Blue", they actually sing "shoo-wop doo-wop", just like in "I Only Have Eyes For You" by the Flamingos. That's cause for celebration in itself. "Love to Love" isn't quite an antidote for all that makes me cringe in current music; but it's a soothing salve."
Great summer music
billpayer | 07/09/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD reminds me of past summers many years ago when the music defined the summer.

Songs by the Beach Boys, the Drifters, and (fill in your favorite) made things right.

These girls own this summer for me. Great music!"