Search - Judee Sill :: Live in London: The BBC Recordings 1972-1973

Judee Sill: from songwriter to sweet silver angel

wee! | 08/11/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Two important reasons for buying this recording, and you don't have to be a hardcore fan: the fact that while a bit nervous, she also seems incredibly gentle, sweet, direct -painfully honest in the Jesus Was A Crossmaker introduction- and even funny when presenting her songs. This gives me a more realistic and less scandalous image of Judee, because it's been so widely publicized how troubled she was. Listening to her joking and connecting so vividly with her audience gives you a bigger picture of a complex woman. The public seems so warm and perceptive, too. A second reason: it's a real delight to hear her live because Judee had such high standards regarding her musicianship, lyricism and vocal delivery: not a single false nor exaggerated note, all songs performed with total belief and devotion. Her playing sounds as meticulous as if this were a studio session, and fortunately, the recording has very good quality. Reviewer Brian Greene isn't exaggerating when he says "it seems these songs meant the world to her". She crafted and performed them so carefully, patiently (it took her one year to perfection "Crossmaker") and lovingly that pretty much every recording out there of JS is worth having, really. Her albums have the most special place in my music collection. Up there with Pink Moon, Five Leaves Left, Pet Sounds, Rubber Soul..."

A new look on an unusual talent

mianfei | 09/21/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Judee Sill's two original studio albums, Judee Sill and Heart Food were a most unusual take on the singer/songwriter motif of the 1960s and 1970s. Instead of highly personal or social lyrics, Sill's songs had an intensely mystical focus that related, as she said, to her work as a church organist in a reform school after she was convicted several times as a teenager. She was, as it turned out, unable to redeem herself from the life she led and died at the age of thirty-five in 1979.



Although both her studio albums have a truly mystical, enchanting sound, on this live recording Sill actually maganed to strip it back even further to just piano and acoustic guitar. This has the surprising, even unusual, effect of allowing each note to be totally heard. Even some notes that may have been merely played as overtones resonate in a remarkable manner throughout the recording, and this adds to the already surprising beauty and power of Sill's songs.



A lot of this record is actually interviews, but these, unlike some that are merely irritants, offer a lot of insight into the way Sill lived and how she became a recording artist. There are interviews before most songs but the full interview in the middle of the record offers the best insight I have yet heard into a musician and his/her art.



A worthwile addition to a short, but wonderful and unique career."

Fine performances and fine sound quality

DDC | Oregon | 11/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These performances were available on the web, but they sounded truly horrible - mono, no treble, dropouts and unsteady (and too high, it turns out) pitch. They were probably recorded off the TV speaker when the show first aired. Too murky to really hear any detail in the playing or singing. It was hard to appreciate those recordings as anything other than a curiosity for devoted fans (like me, I guess).



These versions are obviously from the BBCs stereo tapes. These are wonderful performances and the sound quality matches that of any other live album. Highly recommended."