From: owner-bklist-digest@smoe.org (bklist-digest) To: bklist-digest@smoe.org Subject: bklist-digest V1 #64 Reply-To: bklist@smoe.org Sender: owner-bklist-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-bklist-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "bklist-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. bklist-digest Sunday, June 29 1997 Volume 01 : Number 064 Today's Subjects: ----------------- REVIEW: Destination Anywhere (a cruel review) [Gordon Wong Subject: REVIEW: Destination Anywhere (a cruel review) BRENDA KAHN: *Destination Anywhere* (Shanachie) About four years ago, a remarkable singer-songwriter named Brenda Kahn brought raw sincerity to intelligent new heights with the album "Epiphany in Brooklyn." Less political than her earlier work but still arranged primarily around the acoustic guitar, "Epiphany" struck a delicate balance between punk, folk, and pop. Revelling in biting social observations and the tawdry murk of doomed relationships, Kahn's cleverness complimented her stark emotional delivery rather than overwhelming it. I wish the same could be said of her long-awaited new album, "Destination Anywhere." The disappointment kicks off with "Reconcile," a bombastic parody of Kahn's gritty sincerity and uncluttered edginess. On this and the other uptempo tunes, her sloppy band provides little more than a backdrop for self-indulgent shouting and punk pretensions. While "Reconcile" and "Yellow Sun" might sound nice sandwiched between X tracks on an early-'80s compilation CD, or played loudly by drunken friends in your basement, here they come off like excuses for a sensitive girl to live out her wannabe-rock-star fantasies. In moodier songs like "Night" and "Omaha," Kahn seems to recycle her own lyrical cliches; instead of reworking them, she drapes them in distracting instrumentation. If Kahn's songwriting formula was beginning to bore her, she could've tried to move beyond her usual subculture commentaries and disturbing takes on love and alienation. Or maybe she coulda picked up a thesaurus to find new words for expressing her perennial angst? Opera lessons, to extend the range of vocal possibilities? Sitar sessions with the Maharishi? A year off? Detox? Considering all the possibilities, why she opted for a predictable bar band is beyond me. Maybe Kahn is just letting off steam while she saves up insight and originality for her next album. She still shows signs of life on a few tracks, particularly "Lie." If you're a fan, wait 'til Brenda experiences another epiphany before you shell out for a new CD. - -reviewed by magdalen (Taz Musique) =================================== YOUR COMMENTS? [1] What do you think of the review? Agree? Disagree? [2] What does this review make you feel? ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Jun 1997 14:38:57 -0400 (EDT) From: DelphiBlue@aol.com Subject: Re: REVIEW: Destination Anywhere (a cruel review) << [1] What do you think of the review? Agree? Disagree? >> << [2] What does this review make you feel? >> I'm always afraid to comment on this, because I love Brenda, and I've had some wonderful correspondence with her in the past, but I do prefer her earlier recordings. I agree with the reviewer when he comments on the band (rather than Brenda, who is still marvelous,) but I still love a lot of the music on the disc " . . . Adam wanted the apple . . . in his mouth." Very sexy, helped not only by Brenda's vocal delivery, but by the band's instrumentation as well. I feel that the back-up band on OTBS makes her songs suffer even more. There's something about the recording that I dislike. There's a feeling that Brenda isn't singing as much as she's quietly crooning through songs, so as not to wake the neighbors. Does that make sense? Her voice sounds broken, and never really reaches the depth it has in the past. A better band behind her voice (or more of her own guitar) could easily make these melodies feel more natural. When I listen to OTBS, I can't help but notice how much the band takes away. I like to replay the chord progressions in my head, imagining my own on-again off-again band backing Brenda. Still a big Brenda fan, who feels she deserves better than the band she's been dealt, Dennis ------------------------------ End of bklist-digest V1 #64 ***************************