Invention and Alchemy
Deva K. Kolb | 02/04/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Absolutely fantastic. Deborah Henson-Conant takes the harp to places and heights I never dreamed possible. Her ability as a musician it above top-rate. She has created a whole new level of excellence. As a composer, she is one of the most talented. As a story-teller, she is hypnotic. As a stage presence, she will entertain you in ways you only dreamed of as a child! The CD is wonderful, but the DVD is to die for! The DVD is my most treasured of all my CDs and DVDs! This is worth much more than 5 stars. Deva"
The Hippest of Harpists
Brian Ball | Oakland, CA USA | 11/06/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"When thinking of the harp, several images come to mind: Angels, Clouds, Time Travel Sequences in Film and Classical Music. Now imagine taking everything you think you know about the harp and shoving it in a suitcase. Now take that suitcase and get into your car. Drive to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and throw the suitcase off of the bridge. Whew. Excellent. Now you're ready to listen to Deborah Henson-Conant and 80 of her close friends known as the Grand Rapids Symphony.
The album plays like a live performance meets storytelling session meets transcendence of space and time. Yes, the album gets underway with a story of flamenco guitarists travelling back in time to the Baroque era and musing with true classical musicians.
After the time travelers return Deborah continues with a story of how she first began playing the harp, and how she had intended to play the blues harp (harmonica) instead. What follows is mind-blowing. The blues come alive on "Way You Are Blues", and with her 80-piece orchestral accompaniment Deborah and her harp re-imagine this revered genre in a way that has never been heard before. Literally, this is something to be talked about for a long time to come. What has happened here is one of America's oldest musical styles has been fused with one of Europe's earliest musical styles to form a completely unique style that has not been successfully mimicked or matched yet to this day. Somehow, cleverly no doubt, Deborah transforms her harp into anything she imagines, commanding it with an unconscious certainty that allows for its wielding like a rock star would her axe, shredding the audience to pieces through her songs.
Stories continue throughout the record/DVD (yes, this was also filmed!) and our own leftfield comparisons to Les Claypool on the bass and AC/DC in song structure come to mind on one of our favorites titled, "Danger Zone", which is quite genius really ... With permitted entry into a laboratory filled with bubbling sound effects and well-structured rock music emitting from the most unlikely of instruments, this five minute excursion into the unknown is sure to take the listener on a trip never to be forgotten.
Closing out the album, Deborah brings up an often overlooked perspective of telling those who we are thankful for that we actually are thankful; Especially when the roles that they play in our lives are often overlooked and clouded by our day-to-day hustle. Deborah's example of "The Garbageman" is both humorous and humanizing to both the role and the actor. "I love my garbageman", she proclaims as the performance comes to an end.
"Bold musings, lush accompaniments, culture-rich storytelling and undeniable talent literally drip off of the disc upon opening the packaging" - Brian Ball, Music Editor
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