A brand new but low-key release from Richard Shindell sees him revisit 12 songs from his repertoire, combined with one-new song they all make up this superb collection.
Often a little more open sounding and stripped back than the original recordings, these readings have evolved over many live performances and many of the songs are presented in a new light.
The reworked version of ‘You Stay Here’ gives the whole song a different feel and rhythm, ‘Are You Happy Now?’ benefits from the clearer recording, ‘Reunion Hill’ is presented in its very best form with compelling vocals taking centre stage. Best of all is ‘The Last Fare of the Day’, a truly beautiful song that really shines here with the simple arrangement of guitar and violin.
Although the arrangements are a little more open, he’s brought together a superb group of musicians for the album including Larry Campbell, Viktor Krauss, Marc Shulman, Sara Milonovich, Lincoln Schleifer and more to create this unique new album.
Track listing
1 You Stay Here
2 Transit
3 Fishing
4 The Last Fare of the Day
5 The Ballad of Mary Magdalene
6 Beyond the Iron Gate
7 Are You Happy Now?
8 Satellites
9 Sparrow's Point
10 Fenario
11 Waiting for the Storm
12 Reunion Hill
13 The Next Best Western
review 4 Nov 2011
