Blasting the foundation into the stratosphere
Gregory C. Pappas | Boulder, CO United States | 01/28/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Hats off to Ann Dyer's wonderful reincarnation of the beatles classic. Music must change and this is a perfect way to drive the point home. While many musicians are content to do placid covers or reworks of the Beatles seminal songbook into the jazz idiom in a sort of commercial tribute, Ann and her Fairy's just decided to tear the roof off. They take no prisoners as each song is deconstructed and reformed around it's lyric essence. All the inventive musical precision of the players and singer do not detract from the original. There is a clear respect to the Original Past Masters. This album's concept as well as commitment to do something truly original is biggest breath of fresh air this listener has inhaled since Dread Zeppelin! Peace and Namaste."
Ann Dyer redoes the Beatles' "Revolver" as avant-garde jazz
Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 11/29/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Ann Dyer was one of the hits of the 1994 Monterey Jazz Festival and this 1999 album that provides, as the title indicates, a new spin on the Beatles' classic "Revolver" album from 1966 was her second release. "Revolver: A New Spin" puts Dyer firmly in the new wave of jazz singers who mines rock and roll for songs to cover and are just as happy to do John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison songs as they are the classic popular songs of Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Cole Porter. The result is a scintillating fusion of rock and avant-garde jazz that should impress open-minded listeners of both jazz and the Fab Four. Dyer and her musicians make some bold choices, but for all of those who were less than inspired by the covers on the "I Am Sam" soundtrack, "Revolver: A New Spin" definitely represents the road not taken. I was interested to learn that Dyer has studied Hindustani vocalizing because I mistook some of her efforts on songs like "Tomorrow Never Knows" as reflecting the Eastern influences that Harrison was starting to bring to the Beatles at that time. I found myself enjoying the longer tracks, such as the moody "Eleanor Rigby," which now has some tango elements, and runs almost nine minutes long. If those tracks prove too be too much, then something amidst the slowed down "She Said, She Said," the rather simple funk of "Good Day, Sunshine," the cabaret feel of "For No One," and/or the avant-garde version of "Taxman" might be more to your tastes. You just have to be open to the idea of reinterpretation, which is certainly central to the idea of jazz."
Great concept and execution
Martin P. Breslow | Reston, Virginia USA | 07/05/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I agree with everything the Amazon editor and the Supper Chief set. Fans of Patricia Barber, Holly Cole and Cassandra Wilson will love it. After listening to this album all I could say is wow!"