Sign of Change

Boy, did this album ever hit me out of left field. Barbara Mauritz's vocal stylings contain the control of a jazz singer, the emotion of a blues singer, and the plantive, moody cry of a singer of keening folk songs, all rolled together. She's also a good instrumentalist, playing tambourine, guitar and piano, along with the majority of the composistion credits. LAMB's " A SIGN OF CHANGE" contains songs with a great range of stylings, from slow folklike dirges, which could pass for a song like AUTOPSY from the second FAIRPORT CONVENTION album, or when the instrumentation (ie flute and string chart) is denser, to one of the slower numbers from NICO's first album. A couple songs (ADVENTURE OF INCREDIBLE MR. SANDMAN, for example) mixes her controlled, sonorous vocal quality with a mildly psychedelic bowed cello, and guitar work. Those provide the moments resonating with HOPE SANDOVAL vocal qualities: dark, mystic, long sustained vocalizations floating over the SLOW as syrup tempo. Other numbers could have come right off NINA SIMONE's early 1967 album THE BLUES. (tho I dont hear blues as much as I hear jazz in both their voices). Especially the album's last song, the seven minute long WHERE I'M BOUND, places Barbara's voice over her piano stylings (not quite as sophisticated as Nina's, but captivating none the less). PREACHERS HOLIDAY also workes together blues, folk and jazz, with lots of space within the arrangement, and POWERFUL upright string bass playing, to give a song that moves the listener thru many places, due to the way the tempo picks up, when Barbara incorperates her Tambourine weave, into the song. The composistions thruout provide proof that sophisticated, arresting, simple arrangements can still chill you to the bone, while providing psychedelic flights of fancy to the mind. Altho the album cover suggests wild psychedelia, the overall sound falls close to Tim Buckley around his HAPPY SAD period.

Like Tim Buckley, Barbara Mauritz and LAMB didnt remain within this folk jazz idiom. By July 1971, when the film FILMORE:THE LAST DAYS was recorded, LAMB provided two songs for the film. I even bought that DVD, less for the Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead/Santana numbers, than to hear LAMB live. But Ms. Mauritz had chosen to move into a pseudo-JANIS JOPLIN raunchy bluesrock style, and the sensitive, sophisticated tunes from this album were replaced by BLOOZE rock, that had little individuality. So, altho she could have developed this style, and ended up with the depth of artistry found in some downtown underground jazz trio, it wasn't to be. So if you want to hear more of LAMB playing music found on A SIGN OF CHANGE, I have no idea where it's to be found. However, I'd recommend this album to fans of MAZZY STAR, FAIRPORT CONVENTION, TIM BUCKLEY, or even NINA SIMONE's 1967 work. One more hidden gem from San Fransesco's glory days, who's days in print are sure to be numbered.

As stated elsewhere, this is original 70's San Fran Lamb, NOT UK Lamb. First time on Cd domestically

First of three albums, this was released 1970, followed by 2nd album Bring Out The Sun, and 3rd album, Cross Between, none of which have yet been available on CD.

Great vocals, dreamy folky bluesy jazzy swirl of songs, minor key, classically tinged, very melodic; not too different than Tim Buckley's Blue Afternoon, Lorca, etc. with a little bit of the haunting Jefferson Airplane (Triad, Wooden Ships, Lather, etc,).

Very dry production, but Barbara Mauritz's awesome voice and band's acoustic chamber pop attack give this a dreamy otherworldly feel.

A true forgotten gem...

36 minutes in length approximately. The sound is very clean and clear,with the vocals out front and the instruments having their own space in the mix. The booklet lists titles,lyrics, song times and musicians. It's to bad that the lyrics are almost microscopic (at least a good magnifying glass would help),because they're important in fully appreciating this album. The booklet is a reproduction of the original album,which is why the lyrics are so small-it's not a 12"x12" album cover.

If there's another album/group that better typifies the wide-ranging musical tastes in late 60's/early70's San Francisco,I don't know what it could be. LAMB (the core members were Bob Swanson-guitar and Barbara Mauritz-guitar and vocals),played a cross primarily between ethereal folk/jazz vocals,and similarly atmospheric musical arrangements. The vocals and the instrumental backing were woven seamlessly into a very deep,subtly immediate whole. During this time period,the Bay area was known for encompassing folk,jazz,blues,country,rock,and r&b-or any combination of the above. There were a number of bands (like LAMB) who played around the area,but never became popular outside their region. But that didn't matter. What mattered was the connection between musician and listener. This is one of those albums. You should probably disregard the "psychedelic band" description on Amazon's info page. They were psychedelic only if you REALLY stretched that frame of reference to it's fullest extent.

All the songs on this album were written by Mauritz and/or Swanson. The accompanying musicians (playing cello,viola,flute,English horn,double bass,and various string and wind instruments) fleshed out the words and Mauritz's vocal style perfectly. The thoughtful lyrics had a solid foundation,which in this instance,is particularly important. Mauritz could sound cool,yet at times very emotional,and the musical backdrop followed her effortlessly. At times the group (especially the double bass) had a jazz sound from the late 50's/early 60's. Yet just as easily they could sound like some of Tim Buckley's jazzier flights of fancy. There were also strains of gospel singing in Mauritz's vocal inflections and timing,which gave her voice a warm,human quality. While the instrumental backing had a unique sound and could follow her anywhere,Mauritz brought an organic feeling to these songs,and it's easy to hear her connection with those songs.

This album needs several listenings to fully appreciate the music. This band was unique (even for their era) and their music takes some effort by the listener to fully appreciate it's depth of feeling and the emotion that's packed into these songs. For those that "get it",there's much to like here. And just like the long ago era when I first heard LAMB,a number of people weren't pulled in by that remarkable voice and the sympathetic backing,and that's fine too. I'm just glad this music is still available for those who can still be drawn in,even today.