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Product Description
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In 1994, Kristin Hersh took a sabbatical from her beloved and beleaguered Throwing Muses to record her first solo album, Hips and Makers. Mostly acoustic, entirely personal, Hips' songs touch the core of Hersh's daily life, specifically as it involves her husband and family, topics she rarely explored with her band. Produced by ex-Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye, Hips and Makers infuses the singer/songwriter tradition with a jolt of complexity and authority. Hersh still favors the taut, stream of consciousness lyrics she whittled down to the bone with the Muses, but she never veers into confessional "dear diary" territory, although she does allow peeks into a world where clotheslines, bee stings, and the occasional ghost aren't unusual. Musically more measured and clearly quieter than any Muses disc, Hips showcases Hersh's fluttery voice atop powerful acoustic guitar with flourishes from cello and piano. "Your Ghost," the album's moody and dazzling opener, features backup vocals by R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe and sets the tone for the album: like a family, it's happy on the surface, intriguing when explored. --Shawn Stewart
CD Description
180 grams audiophile vinyl / Insert
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Kristin Hersh's Throwing Muses were one of the few great bands to come out of the USA in the 1980's. Their eponymous debut was doubtless one of the most striking and original records of the decade. That the Muses split after 10 consistently great records was a great shame.
Reassuring then that Hersh came back with a solo debut that proved to be one of the half dozen stand-out records of the 90's. Hersh's uniquely raw and emotive vocals, by turn delicate and vulnerable, then fierce and fiery, plus her great lyrics (a rarity for most "rock" albums) make this a memorable listen.
Accoustic throughout, with intricate guitar and piano rythms and a wonderful opening duet with REM's Michael Stipe on "Your Ghost", every track here is wonderful. Hersh stands unmatched lyrically, sounding more akin to poetry set to music.
Hersh has yet to release a weak record, see last year's Sunny Border Blue for evidence of her still great output, but this is and will remain her finest record. A great place to start on probably the most consistently special back catalogue. Get this, then work through the Throwing Muses work too. Nothing comes close.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I can´t help adding my voice to the long list of praise that so many people have given this record.
This was without doubt one of the finest recordings of the nineties and probably didn´t reach a wider audience only because of the vogue for male-dominated guitar bands at the time.
I was never a fan of Hersh´s band Throwing Muses. It wasn´t that I didn´t like them, I just found them harmless and unremarkable. Then I remember her previewing tracks for this album on the radio one night. Alone she was suddenly a completely different prospect. Her songwriting was richer and she learned how to be spiteful and sing with malice, something that I´d never seen her do before.
This collection of bare, haunting songs continue to captivate me. Michael Stipe serves as a perfect foil on the bewitching,"Your Ghost." My favourite track has to be the bullish,towerng "Me and my Charms." This blends excellently with sweet melodies like,"Velvet Days."
Kristin Hersh has a fantastic vocal range and on this record she also shows herself to be a very able guitarist. She doesn´t need anyone playing along with her, solo she finds the bare emotion that mark this out as truly something special.
If you want to get your hands on a little piece of lost magic, discover this.
This was without doubt one of the finest recordings of the nineties and probably didn´t reach a wider audience only because of the vogue for male-dominated guitar bands at the time.
I was never a fan of Hersh´s band Throwing Muses. It wasn´t that I didn´t like them, I just found them harmless and unremarkable. Then I remember her previewing tracks for this album on the radio one night. Alone she was suddenly a completely different prospect. Her songwriting was richer and she learned how to be spiteful and sing with malice, something that I´d never seen her do before.
This collection of bare, haunting songs continue to captivate me. Michael Stipe serves as a perfect foil on the bewitching,"Your Ghost." My favourite track has to be the bullish,towerng "Me and my Charms." This blends excellently with sweet melodies like,"Velvet Days."
Kristin Hersh has a fantastic vocal range and on this record she also shows herself to be a very able guitarist. She doesn´t need anyone playing along with her, solo she finds the bare emotion that mark this out as truly something special.
If you want to get your hands on a little piece of lost magic, discover this.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I was surprised to see a couple of reviews down here with less than five stars. It's a classic, and it stands the test of time. Yes this album is mainly acoustic guitars and vocals. Therein lies its strength and unity. And I would not compare this to Tori Amos. Kristin Kersh is in a completely different league. I cannot recommend this album highly enough.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Sublime!
I'm not going to contest each and every song with the review that gave this two stars (I'm pretty sure there will ever only be one! Read more
Published on 10 April 2009 by Rincewind's Trunk
Blast from the past
I had this album back in the early 90's and loved it and then for some unknown reason it disappeared from my life. Read more
Published on 10 Feb 2006 by "kittitronic"
kristin hersh=incredible
i bought the album on its release in 1993 & it still gets played at least once a month but just caught her live this month & i cant stop playing it,i can quite honestly say... Read more
Published on 25 Nov 2005 by M. D. Eberlein
The greatest work of humanity in the history of music
This will always be Kristin Hersh's greatest achievement. On this album, Kristin put every aspect of her life on display. Read more
Published on 17 Nov 2001 by M. Brown
Too Much Of The Same - But The Stipe Duet Is Great
It is wise of Kristin Hersh to start this album with 'Your Ghost'. It is the only duet on 'Hips And Makers' - with R.E.M. Read more
Published on 22 Oct 2001 by Bjorn Clasen
Beautiful music for a stormy day
Kirsten Hersh has a soft vocal style but quite hard lyrics and the contrast it quite powerful. THe best track is the duet with Michael Stipe: Your Ghost. Read more
Published on 24 July 2001
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