- Discover more great music in our Proper Music store, and read about the very best of Proper Music's latest and forthcoming releases in Properganda Issue 19 (online flash version).
Jubilee Offer: Patriotic Classics for £2.50 |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s
Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or
view the MP3 Album.
|
Product Description
Q ****
"Leonard Cohen's backing singers operate in the same avant-folk tradition as Jenny Lewis. Inevitably, this means that they'll either be insufferably twee or touched with inspiring madness: mercifully with the firm hand of Peter Asher producing and their super-taut harmonies, its mostly the latter."
CD Description
Beguiling, dynamic performers with hugely expressive voices and plangent harmonies, they are highly skilled multi-instrumentalists and songwriters of originality and intelligence. Ngénues yet thinkers, the sisters' youthful energy and musical training combine in adventurous, lyrical and emotionally enthralling performances.
Their singing and playing (harp, guitar, mandolin and more) draw from the folk and pop traditions of Britain and the United States. Recently, The Webb Sisters were honoured to be touring and singing with one of their idols, Leonard Cohen, and have recorded their new album with multiple Grammy-winning producer, Peter Asher. This is an enhanced CD coming with videos of Savages and Blue And You.
Their singing and playing (harp, guitar, mandolin and more) draw from the folk and pop traditions of Britain and the United States. Recently, The Webb Sisters were honoured to be touring and singing with one of their idols, Leonard Cohen, and have recorded their new album with multiple Grammy-winning producer, Peter Asher. This is an enhanced CD coming with videos of Savages and Blue And You.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
"Love...hate...oh what a fine line we walk" sing the Webb Sisters, as Hattie gently plucks her harp strings. The scene is set for a sequence of songs about separation and troubled relationships, that also have a healing quality (Leonard Cohen devotees - this is our world!). The third album is always a crucial one, but Charley and Hattie Webb need have no worries; they've created a classic.
An outstanding sequence of songs opens the album - namely, "Baroque Thoughts", "Calling This a Life", "Words That Mobilise" and "Savages". The breaks between the songs are minimal, adding to a building momentum. The Webb Sisters previous album, "Daylight Crossing" was a fine piece of work with excellent harmonising and harp playing. However, the quality and variety of the songs on "Savages" raises Charley and Hattie's artistic profile to a whole new level. The songs reveal a great depth of feeling, and showcase the full spectrum of their lyrical, vocal, and musical skills.
The album is produced by the legendary Peter Asher, who also plays guitar. Other notable musicians featured include Roscoe Beck, Russ Kunkel, and Leland Sklar. Eight of the tracks on the album are from the sisters two limited-edition four-track CDs, and now have the advantage of being available for a much-wider audience. If I had to pick one track as a potential single, it would be the mesmerising and beautifully-arranged "Words That Mobilise".
At the centre of the album are three inventive new tracks - the acapella "Dark Sky", a driving country-rocker "Burn" and a more-subtle grower, "Amelie's Smile". The remainder of the album includes the sublime "If it Be Your Will" (with Leonard Cohen's spoken introduction), the moving "In Your Father's Eyes" and the anthemic "1000 Stars". There is also a haunting bonus track, "Yours Truly". This album deserves to be a huge success, and may well become the best-selling album by any of Leonard Cohen's female accompanists. Five stars? More like 1000 stars!
An outstanding sequence of songs opens the album - namely, "Baroque Thoughts", "Calling This a Life", "Words That Mobilise" and "Savages". The breaks between the songs are minimal, adding to a building momentum. The Webb Sisters previous album, "Daylight Crossing" was a fine piece of work with excellent harmonising and harp playing. However, the quality and variety of the songs on "Savages" raises Charley and Hattie's artistic profile to a whole new level. The songs reveal a great depth of feeling, and showcase the full spectrum of their lyrical, vocal, and musical skills.
The album is produced by the legendary Peter Asher, who also plays guitar. Other notable musicians featured include Roscoe Beck, Russ Kunkel, and Leland Sklar. Eight of the tracks on the album are from the sisters two limited-edition four-track CDs, and now have the advantage of being available for a much-wider audience. If I had to pick one track as a potential single, it would be the mesmerising and beautifully-arranged "Words That Mobilise".
At the centre of the album are three inventive new tracks - the acapella "Dark Sky", a driving country-rocker "Burn" and a more-subtle grower, "Amelie's Smile". The remainder of the album includes the sublime "If it Be Your Will" (with Leonard Cohen's spoken introduction), the moving "In Your Father's Eyes" and the anthemic "1000 Stars". There is also a haunting bonus track, "Yours Truly". This album deserves to be a huge success, and may well become the best-selling album by any of Leonard Cohen's female accompanists. Five stars? More like 1000 stars!
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is the most original album I've heard in ages.
I was drawn to this recording having heard of the Webb Sisters through their work on the Leonard Cohen tour over the last couple of years, so I was aware of the quality of their voices and their harmonising abilities. What I wasn't prepared for, though, was the sheer quality of the songs on this offering and the scope,depth and originality which just shines through. From the gentle opening of Baroque Thoughts through the driving rhythms of Saveges and Burn, the jazz-tinted Amelie's Smile to the simply exquisite, perfect closing Goodnight Song, there's barely a note on the whole thing which doesn't please. Lyrically too, there are some pleasing twists: "I won't let the vampires get close enough to bite" in a lullaby might seem out of place but it isn't - it's just an example, and there are surprises like this all over the place. In short, it keeps your attention and leaves you wanting another listen, which when you get right down to it is what it's all about really.
The only track I find even vaguely out of context is the live recording from the Cohen O2 show "If It Be Your Will", which although excellent in its own right, just disturbs the overall "flow" a wee bit, I find: I can see why it's included, of course, but perhaps it might have sat better as a bonus track rather than in the middle.
But that's splitting hairs, really. This recording is an absolute pleasure to hear and a credit to Hattie and Charlie, it's my favourite of the year and for any reader who fancies a listen to some beautifully recorded original music which won't burn your eardrums and leave you wanting a little bit more, I'd thoroughly recommend it.
I was drawn to this recording having heard of the Webb Sisters through their work on the Leonard Cohen tour over the last couple of years, so I was aware of the quality of their voices and their harmonising abilities. What I wasn't prepared for, though, was the sheer quality of the songs on this offering and the scope,depth and originality which just shines through. From the gentle opening of Baroque Thoughts through the driving rhythms of Saveges and Burn, the jazz-tinted Amelie's Smile to the simply exquisite, perfect closing Goodnight Song, there's barely a note on the whole thing which doesn't please. Lyrically too, there are some pleasing twists: "I won't let the vampires get close enough to bite" in a lullaby might seem out of place but it isn't - it's just an example, and there are surprises like this all over the place. In short, it keeps your attention and leaves you wanting another listen, which when you get right down to it is what it's all about really.
The only track I find even vaguely out of context is the live recording from the Cohen O2 show "If It Be Your Will", which although excellent in its own right, just disturbs the overall "flow" a wee bit, I find: I can see why it's included, of course, but perhaps it might have sat better as a bonus track rather than in the middle.
But that's splitting hairs, really. This recording is an absolute pleasure to hear and a credit to Hattie and Charlie, it's my favourite of the year and for any reader who fancies a listen to some beautifully recorded original music which won't burn your eardrums and leave you wanting a little bit more, I'd thoroughly recommend it.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I first heard about the Webb Sisters on BBC Radio 4. The interview was followed by the song "Baroque Thoughts". I instantly said to myself "I've got to have it". I didn't think the album "Savages" would mesmerize me. It did. It's a deeply emotional music; flowing out of real emotions. Delicate melodies and lyrics that make you want to stop the time and re-think your relationships with people and your surroundings. An album for those with open hearts and passion for music. (And an extra message of love from Leonard Cohen).
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Outstanding
Wonderful performers, both vocal & instrumental. Excellent production. Leonard Cohen was right to call them "The sublime Webb Sisters". Read more
Published 1 month ago by David
just lovely
Really good album,great to listen to on headphones,good variety of different sounding tracks.Would recommend this album as its got a laid back sound to it
Published 6 months ago by postie
Wow Love this!
Wonderful easy to listen to ....husband is a big Cohen fan and actually put me off this album when i learnt that they were his backing singers.....But this is pure magic... Read more
Published 9 months ago by A. Pick
Not savage at all
The harmonies of this duo are amazing. The album works as a whole and not singularly. I hadn't heard of the Webb Sisters before they peformed on the tv from Glastonbury. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Matt Emulshun
Inoffensive - but not interesting
I gave this a few listens but was disappointed to find there wasn't a single track that grabbed my attention. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Tom B
Caught in the Proverbial...
I bought the album purely on the strength of one track, Leonard Cohen's 'If It Be Your Will' and it's a real treat. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Roger Vincent
Great talent great music
Ever since the Leonard Cohen concert I have been looking forward to the sisters own music album - it was worth the wait! Read more
Published 12 months ago by Steve Bill
A treat for the ears!
I bought this album after hearing The Webb Sisters on Womans' Hour a few weeks ago--I had never heard of them before. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Kerri
disappointing
I heard these girls live with L.C. and so my expectations were very high, I was disappointed by these 'sound the same,' 'over produced,' tunes. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Existentialist.
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
