Search - Si Kahn :: Companion

Great album

06/10/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great album of both classic and mellow Si Kahn. Several songs touch an his usual loves of justice and organizing, but there is a sweet and mellow love song or two mixed in, like "When the Shore is Out of Sight, and even a wonderful acapella gospel tune "Journey Through This Life." I've always thought Si Kahn is probably the best writer of the most meaningful lyrics I've ever known, and still do. His voice is unique, with it's gravely southern twang, which some may not enjoy - but for depth of feeling and meaning as well as traditional folk-music consciousness-raising, he has no peer!"

Dear Si,...

J. R. Thelin | 01/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Think of this album as a series of intimate letters written by Si Kahn to a number of his life's "companions" - and that he is sharing those letters with us, his listeners. While some tracks do not possess the specificity and/or bite of earlier work, such as the wonderful "Home," there is enough going on in their details to allow the listener into a distinct world and world view: that of friendship and what it means to Si.



The instrumentation, as on other Kahn albums, is generally sparse and most certainly not flashy. The lead vocals are plain, but emotive; and what background vocals there are support that

plainspokenness. This is definitely a folk album for folks; but, if you listen to these tunes for awhile, you may discover that you're one of those folks, too, even if you never much cared for folk music.



Subject matter (within the overarching theme of friendship) ranges from love with and for and from his wife; reflections on an activist colleague who moved to the West Coast (Si is a mid-Atlantic resident, I believe); one tale about an ex-convict and his evolution from loner to community builder and one about a recently deceased prison guard. The tone of the recording moves from somber to reflective to joyous to silly to spiritual. For such a plain, simply presented LP, there are many varied riches to discover."