Search - Tarnation :: Gentle Creatures

Heartbreak, Loneliness & Sad, Sad Tears

12/20/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is still one of my very favorite CD's with female acoustics. A sort of country-ish nostalgia with a bit more real essence of grime and dirt, in a dry, barren, land of heart break and turmoil with some brighter looks outward ahead to better pastures of love and loneliness. I get shivers down my spine and goose bumps listening to her voice. Funny thing is; I have never been to keen on main stream country music ( albeit from some as Alison Cross, Lucinda Williams and others that have a little more substance ), but this recording is quite in a class of its own. I cannot think of anyone else that comes close to their music. Even the harden " I Hate Country Music" person, has a spot for it. Everytime I have played this for someone, they always want to know who it is and get it. Paula Frazer' voice moves me unlike many others. It is unfortunate that she and Tarnation are not more available [exposed vs exploited] to the publics listening tastes. I have heard comments that her voice is reminiscent of Patsy Cline- and that is giving her tremendous praise- because her vocals make me tear up with emotions. She swoons and pines like no other.
Some of the tracks recordings are a little bright and brittle in the upper frequencies, due to the mic and recording levels, ( I think they used an old fashion mic, one of those huge metal types of bygone days ), but tracks 2,3,5,6,9,11,14,15 are the most gratifying to me. ( I have an early CD w/o the extra tracks listed here that I purchased when it was first released). This CD is also one of my audiophilia favorites for listening to high-end audio auditions to hear what is going on;whether it is satisfying or not. The recording on most songs (mentioned) have incredible detail, imaging, focus and plenty of ambiance when they recorded this. The vocals are breathtaking and the instrumentation is clear and vivid. Buy it and enjoy.
"Mirador", their other release, is also an excellent recording with more of a zesty, hot flavored guitar and drum rythym, basking on the road in the hot desert sun-a sort of spanish/mexican zeal to it. Sometimes the songs sound like they are out of some early Italian Western film with an upbeat grunge about the music. I just want more from them. I have not listened to Paula Frazer's "Indoor Universe", but that is in the cart and ready to purchase, along with another copy of Gentle Creatures to get the extra tracks. Enjoy the Music"