Safe Inside The Day [CD]

SAFE INSIDE THE DAY is Baby Dee's début album for her new label, Drag City, and it will probably surprise all those who have learnt to love her. This immensely talented artist has already produced timeless music on her Durtro albums (recently collected on THE ROBIN'S TINY THROAT cd), but this is definitely a twist in the tale.

To start with, the mood here is much more dynamic with instruments such as strings, bass, drums and guitar that come to complement Baby Dee's usual palette of harp, piano and beautiful Nina Simone - inflected vocals. Musical references are also more varied, comprising Kurt Weill's Lieder, Gavin Friday's expressionist cabaret and Transformer - era Lou Reed, all elements that add new bite to this singer's already remarkable personality.

But there are other changes. On the MADE FOR LOVE ep (2005) one could detect a definite move towards a bluesier, rawer vocal approach, which comes to the fore on this release: listen, for instance, to THE ONLY BONES THAT SHOW or BIG TITTY BEE GIRL, while other tracks display a mordant vaudeville style, of which a prime example is the marvellous THE EARLIE KING. And, needless to say, the new vocal and instrumental leanings have affected the lyrics too; gone is the exquisite balladry, in favour of assertive parables that sometimes open up to let in softer images, thus producing a sequence of emotional pianissimos and fortissimos, also mirrored in the music. What remains the same is the literary quality of these words, only cloaked in a bluesier register, at the same time more traditional and poetically challenging.

After the initial surprise the album starts to sink into one's psyche, conquering the listener inch by inch. You even find yourself thinking that it seems too short, as three tracks out of eleven are intrumentals (another change!) but this does not detract from the end result: these bistrot/chamber music compositions showcase the group's prowess, beautifully complementing the atmosphere evoked by the songs themselves.

SAFE INSIDE THE DAY is a warm-sounding album, oozing confidence and dealing with the ups and downs of life with great aplomb. We need this attitude, this wisdom, this enduring fascination.

if youre a fan of music with real heart and an admirer of marc almond,coil,current 93,anthony and the johnsons then you will defintely want this,music with real soul and beautiful crafted music,go buy it and put baby dee up there with anthony and the johnsons !
colin in sheffield

I was taken aback by this album. Please do not take notice of the comparisons to Antony, because Baby Dee is nothing like anyone I've ever heard (I'm not a fan of Antony, but I'm a fan of Baby Dee). His/her work is beyond critical judgement, that is, it's something akin to genius. Listening to the album, you are aware that you are in the presence of a genuine eccentric, as would be the case if you were listening to Captain Beefheart, Daniel Johnston, Scott Walker, Klaus Nomi, Syd Barrett etc. There's nothing 'transsexual' about the actual music; I knew nothing about Baby Dee when I listened to his/her music, and so nothing distracted me from the actual work. Baby Dee creates what could perhaps be described as 'outsider music', although it would be wise not to put any tag on a musical vision this original. I cannot talk about individual tracks, because I listened to the album as a single entity, and it worked and captivated from start to finish. Will Oldham produced it, and sings backing vocals on a number of tracks. It's one of the oddest things I've ever heard, and that is a total compliment. Those interested in musical eccentrics and outsiders should own this album, regardless of whether you're interested in gay or genderbending artists. This is a pure artistic statement, and in an age of endlessly derivative inconsequential rubbish, should be revered as such.