From: owner-harbinger-digest@smoe.org (harbinger-digest) To: harbinger-digest@smoe.org Subject: harbinger-digest V2 #11 Reply-To: harbinger@smoe.org Sender: owner-harbinger-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-harbinger-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk harbinger-digest Friday, July 18 1997 Volume 02 : Number 011 HARBINGER DIGEST To post, mail harbinger@smoe.org To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger-digest To get list info file, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: info harbinger-digest Today's Subjects: ---------------- Re: (harbinger) Sarah Surfacing special edition [Rodney Somerstein ] Re: (harbinger) 'Surfacing' & it's monotony [HunterXTC@aol.com] Re: (harbinger) Sarah Surfacing special edition [amy1@alpeng.com (Amy Med] Re: (harbinger) 'Surfacing' & it's monotony [Chris Povie ] Re: (harbinger) Hello [Simon Dick ] (harbinger) lillith at blossom music center... [HunterXTC@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 22:09:06 -0800 From: Rodney Somerstein Subject: Re: (harbinger) Sarah Surfacing special edition >Borders has these in stock, in large amounts, on sale for $12.99 a copy. >So no need wasting money ordering from Canada and having to pay shipping. >Even considering Canada's valueless currency, it's probably cheaper and >quicker to order from Borders at the sale price. I picked mine up from the Palo Alto Borders last night. They received 80 of them. By the time I got in there last night to pick up the one that they were holding for me, all of them were gone. It would probably be best not to drag your feet if you hope to get one of these. - -Rodney - ------------------------------------------------------------------- Rodney Somerstein | Meditation... it's not what you think. rodneys@bayarea.net | - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html For This Fire kinda-lyrics write Riphug@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jul 97 15:11:04 -0600 From: Casey Subject: (harbinger) 'Surfacing' & it's monotony Hi all, Ok. So after listening to 'Surfacing' about 10 times and reading every post from various lists that had anything to do with people's reactions to the CD, here are my thoughts that I think kinda sum up my feelings about it. Of course, comments are welcome and invited. First of all, let me state for the record that I like 'Surfacing'. While, no, I don't like it as much as 'Fumbling', I certainly think it's as good as or better than 'Touch' and 'Solace' and worthy of Sarah's name. That being said, let me go into what I think the problem with the CD is and why it's not grabbing most of us like 'FTE' did. As my subject alluded to, I think the problem with 'Surfacing' is it's monotony. As a lot of people have said, it's an unrelentingly *slow* album, and that's ok ... except so many of the slow songs sound just a little too much like all the other slow songs. And I'm not sure how much of this is Sarah's fault and how much is Pierre's. I will say, I think Pierre's production quality has gone down since 'FTE'. I don't mean the quality of the sound, but the quality of the effort, or creativity that went into the sound. Each song on 'FTE' had a life of it's own and indeed a personality of it's own. Each one took you on a journey. I think that's what we're all missing on 'Surfacing' as a whole. To me, for whatever reason, it sounds like either Pierre or Sarah gave up on trying to make each song an individual and instead just changed a few chords or a few beats or added or removed some instruments. With the exception of "Sweet Surrender", 'Building a Mystery", "Black and White", and *maybe* "Witness" there just is not enough variety on 'Surfacing'. On 'FTE' there was "Plenty", "Elsewhere", "Circle", and "Hold On" that spaced the songs out and made listening to the CD always entertaining, no matter what mood you were in. I think that is another thing 'Surfacing' is missing to some degree ... the entertainment/enjoyment value of listening to it. And I think on an album like 'Surfacing' with only 10 songs on it, it is *essential* that their be a variety of sounds, rhythms, and all the other stuff that makes great music great. As for the individual songs on 'Surfacing' I don't think there's anything wrong with them. As a matter of fact I can say I love most each and everyone of them. All of them have made an emotional connection for me. So, it's not in the songs where the problems lay, I think they're great. I think the problem is that they just shouldn't have all been on one album together. By doing so, it takes away from the personality of the song as well as giving the CD that monotony I've already talked about. The last complaint or problem I have with 'Surfacing' is perhaps the hardest for me to voice. This is because it is bording on blasphemy in my eyes not to mention I keep thinking *WHO* am I to pass judgement on Sarah?! Well, to be honest, I'm not much of anyone. But, here's my opinion about what is, I think, the biggest problem with 'Surfacing': the lack of evolving and expanding seen in Sarah's voice and style. To be successful in their albums, I feel an artist must always continue to evolve and to push the limits of the voice, music, and lyrics. When we listen to a new album, we should never feel like we've heard it before. And that's the way I feel about 'Surfacing'. I don't see or hear any musical growth. Sure, Sarah has changed her hair, her dress, her band, and a great many other things, but that's not what I'm talking about here. I think what I'm specifically saying is that it doesn't seem that Sarah has tried anything new vocally on this album (perhaps using the deep end of her range more, but that's about it). Sarah has an amazing talent of using raw emotion in her voice that is so evident in recent live performances of "Building a Mystery", "Possession", and "Path of Thorns". A distinctive "edginess", if you will, that gives the song life and pulls you, the listener, in. The only time I've ever heard Sarah use this part of her voice in a studio recording is on two occaisions: to a lesser degree on "Elsewhere" and to a great degree on "Dear God" (which I think is her strongest vocal recording to date). I was so hoping she'd explore this raw, edgy, part of her voice and use it on 'Surfacing'. I don't feel that she has, and I think that's my biggest disappointment about the album. Whether you like Tori Amos or not you must admit that every new album of hers is a new expierence (sit down and listen to 'Little Earthquakes', 'Under the Pink', and 'Boys for Pele' and you'll see what I mean). And again, whether you like the avenues of exploration and growth Tori's taken, at least she's taken them and taken the boldly. I think Sarah was traveling a great path from 'Touch' to 'Solace' and then to 'FTE'. But, I don't think she's moved foward with 'Surfacing'. Nor do I think she's taken any steps back. It's just doesn't seem like she's moved. At least in my mind, I'm *still* waiting for the new Sarah McLachlan album. So, there it is. With all that said, I still maintain 'Surfacing' is a good album and I do like it. And it does not change the love and respect I have for Sarah or for any of the people involved in her music. And I have no doubt I will continue to buy every new Sarah thing there is and see her every chance I get. 'Surfacing', despite it's flaws, changes none of that. I also agree with the person who said to keep listening to 'Surfacing'. Because it has grown on me and continues to do so -- and I think it will do the same to you. Thanx for reading. - -Casey =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= / "If I shed a tear, I won't cage it ... if I feel a rage I won't / \ deny it ... I won't fear love" \ / -Sarah McLachlan; 'Fumbling Towards Ecstasy' / \ \ / "I have my own parties. They involve being barefoot with a piece / \ of fried chicken and a margarita in each hand." \ / -Tori Amos / =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html For This Fire kinda-lyrics write Riphug@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jul 1997 22:03:12 -0400 (EDT) From: HunterXTC@aol.com Subject: Re: (harbinger) 'Surfacing' & it's monotony well first of all id just like to say that casey's post was great.... it is honest and from the heart and unfortunately for someone who wanted to say "wow this is an amazing sarah record".. it must have been hard to write. but i have to agree. i first listened to the entire cd at work, and it was sad because everything sounded rather similar.... my first impression was.. she has too many enya cds in her collection. howevr i have listened to surfacing a couple of times at home, and i must admit sweet surrender really impressed me and i think it stands up well against any of her previous work. i too know that i am certainly not worthy in the least to criticize a perfomer of sarah's caliber, but on the whole, although i like surfacing, im disappointed that after 3 years of waiting this is what she comes out with. i guess i was hoping that the hint of power she displayed on dear god would be translated into this record. but that wont stop me from seeing her tomorrow at blossom music center!!!!! spanish - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html For This Fire kinda-lyrics write Riphug@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jul 1997 14:16:25 -0700 From: amy1@alpeng.com (Amy Mednick) Subject: Re: (harbinger) Sarah Surfacing special edition I got mine this morning for $11.99 at Borders in Fort Lauderdale. All I can say is that Sarah, like Paula, is totally awesome. - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html For This Fire kinda-lyrics write Riphug@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Jul 1997 02:43:04 -0400 (EDT) From: Chris Povie Subject: Re: (harbinger) 'Surfacing' & it's monotony * Hello, all; Just wanted to pass along my feelings regarding Spanish and Casey's apprehension of criticizing Sarah's less-than-ambitious meanderings: They both said words to the effect of "I really didn't think it was her [Sarah's] best effort--but who am *I* to criticize?" Well, my answer is, "*YOU* are the exact people who SHOULD be giving feedback"; If her own FANS don't vocalize publicly their heartfelt opinions on and impressions of recent endeavors, then who *will*?--certainly not the casual car-only music listener who can't tell their own Sarah from a Hanson in the ground [I know - obscure word play, there; sorry]. If I were aspiring to be a world-class performer--and I'm *not*--you can bet your bippy I'd actively seek feedback from my most loyal, knowing and appreciative fans, be they waiting in line for tix *hours* before the gate opens, or discussing my life and work *daily* and at length in an online forum! So, can we have a little less humility here, and a little more pride in being the select few people in the population who can actively discuss wardrobe, set lists, stage lighting, hair style, public appearances and shaving habits of any number of talented young ladies in the musical field?! Thank you for your collective time. Chris Povie (Who happens to think 'Surfacing' BLOWS, but hasn't let that lessen his respect for Ms.McLachlan...) - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html For This Fire kinda-lyrics write Riphug@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Jul 97 12:07:06 -0600 From: Casey Subject: Re: (harbinger) 'Surfacing' & it's monotony >well first of all id just like to say that casey's post was great.... it is >honest and from the heart and unfortunately for someone who wanted to say >"wow this is an amazing sarah record".. it must have been hard to write. but >i have to agree. Thanks so much for seeing it this way. I put a lot of thought into that post before I ever sat down to write it ... and it was hard to write. Take care. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= / "If I shed a tear, I won't cage it ... if I feel a rage I won't / \ deny it ... I won't fear love" \ / -Sarah McLachlan; 'Fumbling Towards Ecstasy' / \ \ / "I have my own parties. They involve being barefoot with a piece / \ of fried chicken and a margarita in each hand." \ / -Tori Amos / =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html For This Fire kinda-lyrics write Riphug@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Jul 1997 00:58:26 Europe/London From: Simon Dick Subject: Re: (harbinger) Hello On 15-Jul-97, Sara wrote: >Hi, I'm from Melbourne, Australia, and just wanted to tell you all >that its great to actually find other people who love Paula's music as >much as I. My friend turned me on to Paula, with the song Tiger, then i >got the album and could not stop listening to it! I have actually begun >to think that apart from my friend and I, there are no Paula Cole fans in >Australia. I have only seen one interview with her in a street paper, but >other than that she remains anon, despite all the effort of the two of us. >She recieved single of the week when WHATCG came out here, but still no >one seems to know her. I have never seen her live but i am waiting for >the day she ventures down to Australia! Its nice to know that there are >people out there who like her stuff as much as I do! I know the feeling, I liked WHATCG when I heard it on the radio the 1st time here in the UK, but it took me ages to find out who it was by (much to my annoyance :). Since then I've bought This Fire, so far I've only found 1 shop which had any copies at all locally, none of the others even had a mention of her. To be honest, I would have only bought the single if I hadn't seen her on Top Of The Pops (totally by accident) where I decided that I liked her general attitude (which isn't so obvious from just the song itself IMHO), needless to say that I'm not regretting buying the album :) Has she done any other albums (I hadn't even heard her name before WHATCG came out over here and I only just joined this list. Hopefully she'll perform in the UK sometime soon (fingers crossed! :) - -- Simon Dick IRC: SimD | simd@null.net URL: http://foundation.home.ml.org | sidick@enterprise.net - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html For This Fire kinda-lyrics write Riphug@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 1997 01:09:23 -0400 (EDT) From: HunterXTC@aol.com Subject: (harbinger) lillith at blossom music center... well it is 12:30 am, and i decided hey id better post this review of the show now before i fall asleep and forget.... i had to work half a day, and my girlfriend didnt get home until 5, so we got there just as tracey bonham was finsihing up her set. she had lots of power, was pretty energetic... i was kinda surprised :) as she finsihed on the main stage, the wild colonials played on the 2nd stage. the setup was pretty nice because the second stage was set up on the lawn area, and you could see the performers from the pavillion. i wasnt really impressed with them, they had some energy but i just didnt dig the groove i guess. so i was looking around at the mixing boards for the next act (which i thought was going to be fiona apple) and lo and behold i see phil sullivan!!! it was great to see him again, and he joked with me saying "well i guess that this trip wasnt too far for you- the last time i saw paula was a 2 and a half hour trek to pittsburgh.. but it was great :).. he said the tour was going great, and of course he was as cool as ever- youo rock phil! so anyway it turns out paula did the 7:05 slot and i was totally unprepared for what i got!!! when i saw her in february in pittsburgh, she must have been feeling a bit under the weather, because the paula onstage tonight was simply amazing. her voice was so very powerful, she danced about.... she was having a really great time. another thing that really impressed me was the way she commanded the stage. in pittsburgh, the venue was small and intimate, and she really didint have much room to work. of course the stage at blossom was awesome (yes i did that rhyme on purpose) and paula did throwing stones, mississippi, i dont wanna wait, cowboys, me, and jolene... she may have did one more... yes she finsihed with a rockin version of hitlers brothers too. she was really cute in a reddish pink long skirt and matching halter dancing barefoot, with a gold chain around her waist and chains on her ankles.... the band sounded great and the crowd was really into her.... shes hot, so you folks in michigan and jones beach are in for a real treat!!! fiona was on next, and i must admit i wasnt expecting too much. a couple of people who had seen her late last year on tour had said she was not very good. well they should see her now!!! the lady is a total freak on stage.. she says anything, screams, yells at the audience, and to top it off, she was the only member of her band who wasnt weraing a dress! yes the boys were christened the spice boys by fiona, and they seemed to all be quite comfy in their attire. fionas set was really good, and the version of jimi hendrix's angel was really nice. but god, she has the most expressive eyes ive ever seen... sometimes she was kinda trancing out onstage it was really odd but ohhh so cool. i definately want to see her again! mary chapin carpanter was up next. i had an open mind when she came onstage, but i must admit her set didnt impress me. after the power of paula and fiona, even with a full band she really didnt get it going. until....... she ended her set with sarah, paula, tara maclean, tracey bonham and the 2 girls from september 67 coming out onstage with her to do a jam session..... it was brilliant to say the least... paula did a verse of the song (and for the life of me i cant remember what it was....) as did sarah and mary, but ohhhhh it was so wonderful seeing them all out there having fun. for me, this was the high point of the evening!!!! for all you fashion people out there.. paula had changed into a pair of creme bib overalls and a white tshirt for the jam session. i just hope everyone gets a chance to see the group of ladies onstage together... it was worth the price of admission!!!! the only significant person missing at that point was fiona... maybe she was freaking backstage or something :) at 10:05 sarah hit the stage, and her show is certainly different from the fte tour, which emphasized her guitar work and piano playing... there was no piano onstage for her, she was quite comfortable with her acoustic and occassional electric guitar, but for most of the set she was merely the frontwoman for the band, which was VERY heavy on the lead guitarist's work. she did the majority of her set from fte, only doing angel, building a mystery and sweet surrender from surfacing. sarah's the star of the show.. theres no doubt about that... but the sound was sooo different from the solace and fte tours, esp. the absence of a paino onstage.... oh well maybe when she does the full blown set after lillith things will change. probably my 2nd high point of the show was her encore version of ice cream with just her, ash and brian minato onstage... when the ratio of your audience is about 6 to 1 women, the harmony that radiates when the song was sung was soo great.. even sarah was really impressed. so all in all... it was a great show, the only real downer being the placing of mary chapin carpanter after fiona and paula. im also sorry i missed tara maclean and september 67... god they are really beautiful women (hey the guy in me was coming out by then hehehehe). im very fortunate in the sense that im going to see a whole different set of artists at the pittsburgh show, but this was certainly a fine show... if you havent bought tix for the show when it hits your town... do it now!!! time for bed after all that ranting :) sleepy spanish - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html For This Fire kinda-lyrics write Riphug@aol.com ------------------------------ End of harbinger-digest V2 #11 ******************************