The Elephant's Baby is indescribably witty, urbane, slick and all around unique. Fader has the proverbial way with words and her imagination is a frightfully bizarre living room full of animal noises, weird lovers, threate... more »ning furniture, strange childhood stories, and the occasional romantic holiday. It's all played out as cabaret (she calls her ensemble The Vaudevillains), part New York 1999 and part Berlin 1927. It's a cabaret act that has gone off its meds. It allows for nursery stories with masochistic leanings, simple love songs that catch you off guard, and a subtle sexuality and blatant carnality that are disarmingly sweet and slyly dark... Arranger and conductor Damon Camona has assembled an orchestra of strings, woodwinds, percussion, reeds and brass that harkens back to the Carl Stalling ensembles of Looney Tunes fame. He has them spinning like tops, turning on a dime and a whim...It bubbles, growls, pops, and snaps, evoking merriment and foreboding in equal measure, lush to a fault, edgy to distraction... [Fader and Carmona] seem to have fed each other's strange sensibilities to produce one of the more unique American Recordings I have heard in recent years."« less
The Elephant's Baby is indescribably witty, urbane, slick and all around unique. Fader has the proverbial way with words and her imagination is a frightfully bizarre living room full of animal noises, weird lovers, threatening furniture, strange childhood stories, and the occasional romantic holiday. It's all played out as cabaret (she calls her ensemble The Vaudevillains), part New York 1999 and part Berlin 1927. It's a cabaret act that has gone off its meds. It allows for nursery stories with masochistic leanings, simple love songs that catch you off guard, and a subtle sexuality and blatant carnality that are disarmingly sweet and slyly dark... Arranger and conductor Damon Camona has assembled an orchestra of strings, woodwinds, percussion, reeds and brass that harkens back to the Carl Stalling ensembles of Looney Tunes fame. He has them spinning like tops, turning on a dime and a whim...It bubbles, growls, pops, and snaps, evoking merriment and foreboding in equal measure, lush to a fault, edgy to distraction... [Fader and Carmona] seem to have fed each other's strange sensibilities to produce one of the more unique American Recordings I have heard in recent years."
"I heard Clare Fader's music on MTV's The Real World last season and it was like a breath of fresh air! I have considered myself a huge fan since then. When watching the latest Real World in Paris (how perfect for her!) I knew from the first notes of "The Wine" that it was her! Fader's singing is sexy and sweet... but also seasoned and well-traveled. She's like an old time cabaret singer from the thirties. The lyrics are sharp, fun, smart and luscious... the musicians and arrangements are grand and adventurous. It's like going on an adventure.. being told an exotic tale of love, wine, sex, and cabin fever! I would say that you will love Fader too if you like Pink Marntini, Paris Combo, Paolo Conte, Django Reinhardt, Andrew Bird, Lullaby Baxter, Tom Waits, Julee Cruise, or Edith Piaf.... Her web site says she and her band The Vaudevillains have a new release coming out soon. I can't wait!"
The Next Big Thing
Michael R. Murphy | new york, new orleans, cincinnati | 07/31/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I respectfully disagree with M.Elkins, I think ELEPHANT'S BABY is for everyone, at least everyone with the merest hint of taste.
THE ELEPHANT'S BABY is both wonderfully retro and perfectly contemporary at the same time (not an easy trick to perform).
Clare Fader's voice is spectacular, the arrangements superb, but what puts THE ELEPHANT'S BABY over the top, and what makes Clare Fader feel like "The Next Big Thing," is her incredible song writing ability. Each song is a well executed short story in and of itself. Her tales are fairly twisted, but in a sweet rather than dark way.
I urge you to buy it now so that when Clare Fader is famous in a year or two, you can say, with haughty delight, "Oh, I've been listening to her for years!""
Wow. Clare Fader is Deitrich for 2003.
Michael R. Murphy | 01/21/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"As a big fan of Paris Combo, Andrew Bird, Tom Waits and Pink Martini, I followed the Amazon trail to find Clare Fader. Where did this album come from?! Who cares, I'm just glad I found it. A modern mixture of dark & quirky cabaret, smoky jazz, circus & muzette music. More please, Miss Fader!"
Alchemy and gypsy jewels
SJM | Durham, NC | 02/03/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Listening to The Elephant's Baby is one of my favorite antidotes to a melancholy day. There's something about Clare Fader's magical little world of cuckoo clocks and candlesticks and morphine and gin that draws me in, and never fails to cast its spell over me. The music itself is a gorgeous shimmer of sound featuring instruments from cello to spoons to tin whistle. The lyrics are enchanting and the arrangments are gently perfect. My favorites include "Sister of Mine", with its air of dark mystery and delicate harmonies, and "Love is the Cruelest Cliche" with its wry humor and ironic wisdom.
The Elephant's Baby has remained near the top of my CD stack since the night I bought it. I can't recommend it highly enough."