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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. Dry Grass & Shadows |
| 2. White As Diamonds |
| 3. Age Old Blues |
| 4. To Be Still |
| 5. Take Us Back |
| 6. The Alder Trees |
| 7. My Brambles |
| 8. The Ocean |
| 9. Every Path |
| 10. Tatted Lace |
| 11. Lady Divine |
Product Description
Review
To Be Still is the follow-up to psych folk revivalist Alela Diane's small-but-oh-so-perfectly-formed debut, The Pirate's Gospel.
Diane hails from Nevada City, California, a former Gold Rush town whose heyday is for behind it but nonetheless can boast amid its 3,000-odd population the father of American minimalism, Terry Riley, former Supertramp frontman Roger Hodgson, folk singer Mariee Sioux and harpist and singer-songwriter Joanna Newsom, who has described the town as, ''swarming with artists and hippies and old prospectors''.
There's certainly gold aplenty to be found in To Be Still, and more than enough to satisfy hippies and artists. There ought to be a sticker on this album advising it should only be listened to in front of an open fire under summer stars and, ideally, sitting cross-legged. Diane is a minstrel who enchants with lyrics all wispy and winsome and a voice as mellow, warm and intoxicating as a patchouli incense burner.
Decorated with what she calls ''more instrumental filigree'' than was on evidence on her debut, To Be Still subtly deploys lonesome fiddle, heart-plucking banjo, keening pedal steel, blood pulse percussion and raindrop guitar to beguile and bewitch in equal measure.
Diane's distinctive bluegrass-tinged vocal delivery - a cracked-caramel amalgam of Vashti Bunyan, Natalie Merchant and Iris DeMent - errs on understatement, the fragile, fraying edges occasionally cracking with dark-hued pain or blooming into a coyote's full-moon wail. The dominant tone is reflective and nostalgic nd deftly describes assorted hymnals to the natural world, the past, family, friends, love and life getting in the way of living.
With pretty much every track a stand-out track, Age Old Blue, a wistful paean to Diane's Scottish farmstock ancestry, with rough-hewn but luminous vocal support from veteran Michael Hurley, the yearning but unrealisable dreams of The Ocean, the brittle chill of White As Diamonds - ''Some hearts are ghosts settling down in dark waters
/ Just as silt grows heavy and drowns with the stones'' - and the dream-induced hyper-real jumble of Dry Grass & Shadows all stand - and reward - repeated scrutiny.
A perfect gem of album from a significant new talent. --Michael Quinn
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Alela Diane's debut The Pirate's Gospel was one of those albums that snuck up on you. Pleasant enough, but seemingly innocuous on a first listen, repeated spins ensured it would entrench itself in your soul and place you firmly under its warm embrace. A mix of old world folk, campfire and shanty coupled to Diane's uniquely affecting voice; it was undoubtedly, for many, one of the records of 2007. Two years on, after a hectic tour schedule and collaboration that have included the wonderful Headless Heroes project, alongside David Holmes, she releases her sophomore effort To Be Still.
Opener Dry Grass & Shadows marks an immediate departure from her debut. Where The Pirate's Gospel relied on the plaintive and often quirky duo of Diane's voice and her acoustic, To Be Still sees her flexing her song-writing muscle, fleshing out the skeletal approach from her debut with traditional instrumentation including fiddles, strings, lap steel and some percussion. Where this works, the effects are enchanting; the aforementioned opener, where lap steel swaddles guitar and percussion to create an enveloping pastoral drone. The breathtaking, cello-backed atmosphere of White As Diamonds, the banjo chug of The Alder Trees and the towering The Ocean are wonderfully majestic and tear at your heartstrings rather than tug at them. On the rare occasion her song craft doesn't hit these heights, you yearn for the bare sound of her debut, the title track in particular, recalls the overworked nature of Iron & Wine's latest output.
However fleshed out these songs are however, Diane's voice is still the lynchpin behind this project and it's still wonderful, perhaps even grown in confidence, her range filling every nuance from hoarse and uncertain to effortlessly soaring. The themes of nature, so prominent in her debut are once again ubiquitous in her follow-up. Even when the themes turn to relationships, family and friends as in the `Rocky Racoon'-esque plod of Age Old Blues, accompanied by some hoary old wolf-hound vocals, the analogies always wind themselves back to the intimate knowledge of her Nevada homelands.
To Be Still is a strong follow-up to an excellent debut. Diane's voice still powerfully touching, while the traditional compositions add an extra dimension to her craft. While the album sometimes feels that it lacks the intimacy and endearing charm of her debut, there is no doubt that these qualities will emerge with time. This is a timeless-sounding record and whether you're a fan or a stranger drawn in by the hype, this is certainly worth a purchase.
Opener Dry Grass & Shadows marks an immediate departure from her debut. Where The Pirate's Gospel relied on the plaintive and often quirky duo of Diane's voice and her acoustic, To Be Still sees her flexing her song-writing muscle, fleshing out the skeletal approach from her debut with traditional instrumentation including fiddles, strings, lap steel and some percussion. Where this works, the effects are enchanting; the aforementioned opener, where lap steel swaddles guitar and percussion to create an enveloping pastoral drone. The breathtaking, cello-backed atmosphere of White As Diamonds, the banjo chug of The Alder Trees and the towering The Ocean are wonderfully majestic and tear at your heartstrings rather than tug at them. On the rare occasion her song craft doesn't hit these heights, you yearn for the bare sound of her debut, the title track in particular, recalls the overworked nature of Iron & Wine's latest output.
However fleshed out these songs are however, Diane's voice is still the lynchpin behind this project and it's still wonderful, perhaps even grown in confidence, her range filling every nuance from hoarse and uncertain to effortlessly soaring. The themes of nature, so prominent in her debut are once again ubiquitous in her follow-up. Even when the themes turn to relationships, family and friends as in the `Rocky Racoon'-esque plod of Age Old Blues, accompanied by some hoary old wolf-hound vocals, the analogies always wind themselves back to the intimate knowledge of her Nevada homelands.
To Be Still is a strong follow-up to an excellent debut. Diane's voice still powerfully touching, while the traditional compositions add an extra dimension to her craft. While the album sometimes feels that it lacks the intimacy and endearing charm of her debut, there is no doubt that these qualities will emerge with time. This is a timeless-sounding record and whether you're a fan or a stranger drawn in by the hype, this is certainly worth a purchase.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Californian songstress, Alela Diane, makes anachronistic, chilly, melancholic acoustic folk, singing for today with the voice of a bygone generation. Tapping into the same sultry, sexy, oppressively humid, tone that Eva Cassidy evoked, Alela plays tumbledown porch music like a broken, abused, fallen angel, whistling an ironic mirthless ditty to her finger-plucked dirge.
To Be Still further explores Alela's ability to bring butterflies to bellies, and with this new release you can almost track her transformation from homegrown local singer/songwriter to touring recording artist. Right from the get-go, first track, Dry Grass & Shadows, laden with it's country steels and indelible sense of wide open plains, finds us pulling out of some backwater truck-stop at 2am, leaving Barstow on Interstate 15, head resting against the glass, Alela's songs of desolation and still waters ringing in our ears.
In the wake of anti-folk and all those who have assimilated the guise of folk musician, Alela Diane's record seems genuine, bare, honest. It's not tinted with the cynical, affected pseudo-psychedelia of recent folk outpourings, feeling more like a long ramble through cornfields and across babbling brooks with a mysterious, beautiful, simple stranger, rather than an evening snorting nutmeg off a rusty cooker with some charlatan in a tie-dyed kaftan. Do you see what I mean?
She's a musically literate Scout Niblett, a fledgling Nina Nastasia, a lone rival to Anni Rossi for release of the month. She's really rather good.
J Capeling
To Be Still further explores Alela's ability to bring butterflies to bellies, and with this new release you can almost track her transformation from homegrown local singer/songwriter to touring recording artist. Right from the get-go, first track, Dry Grass & Shadows, laden with it's country steels and indelible sense of wide open plains, finds us pulling out of some backwater truck-stop at 2am, leaving Barstow on Interstate 15, head resting against the glass, Alela's songs of desolation and still waters ringing in our ears.
In the wake of anti-folk and all those who have assimilated the guise of folk musician, Alela Diane's record seems genuine, bare, honest. It's not tinted with the cynical, affected pseudo-psychedelia of recent folk outpourings, feeling more like a long ramble through cornfields and across babbling brooks with a mysterious, beautiful, simple stranger, rather than an evening snorting nutmeg off a rusty cooker with some charlatan in a tie-dyed kaftan. Do you see what I mean?
She's a musically literate Scout Niblett, a fledgling Nina Nastasia, a lone rival to Anni Rossi for release of the month. She's really rather good.
J Capeling
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I doubt if I'll say anything that other reviewers haven't, I just want to add my voice to the chorus of approval for Alela Diane and her music.
To be honest, I'm more of a rock and blues fan with a minor liking for folk and African music, and it took several listens before this finally sank in and I began to appreciate its full beauty and subtleties. Diane has an unusual and flexible voice which can, at first, sound a little dischordant but it isn't, it's very lovely and unique and you can't mistake her for anyone else. The lyrics are meditative, about feelings and friends and family, introspective but nevertheless communicating.
It's acoustic with the instruments never for a moment getting in the way of the strong voice. The arrangements are relatively simple with everything working in service of the songs. I like the occasional use of a fiddle which conveys a wistful tone and I'd have liked more of it. The songs grow on you, if not necessarily immediate on first hearing, they gradually twine their way around your mind and become unforgettable.
This is one of the best albums I've heard in years and the most beautiful.
To be honest, I'm more of a rock and blues fan with a minor liking for folk and African music, and it took several listens before this finally sank in and I began to appreciate its full beauty and subtleties. Diane has an unusual and flexible voice which can, at first, sound a little dischordant but it isn't, it's very lovely and unique and you can't mistake her for anyone else. The lyrics are meditative, about feelings and friends and family, introspective but nevertheless communicating.
It's acoustic with the instruments never for a moment getting in the way of the strong voice. The arrangements are relatively simple with everything working in service of the songs. I like the occasional use of a fiddle which conveys a wistful tone and I'd have liked more of it. The songs grow on you, if not necessarily immediate on first hearing, they gradually twine their way around your mind and become unforgettable.
This is one of the best albums I've heard in years and the most beautiful.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Truly beatiful, as perfect as music gets.
This is a truly beautiful album from start to finish.
Alela's voice is stunning, backed by a variety of acoustic instruments all played to perfection. Read more
Alela's voice is stunning, backed by a variety of acoustic instruments all played to perfection. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Mr. P. J. Maskell
The spirit of Nick Drake is female
Before the Drake-ophiles attack me... what I mean is that a LOT of male singers have had to bear the "new Nick Drake" tag. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mr. Geoffrey N. Crawford
White as Diamonds
The song White as Diamonds must be one of the songs of the year - a real beauty.
The rest of the CD isn't quite as good, but then I'm not sure what could reach those... Read more
The rest of the CD isn't quite as good, but then I'm not sure what could reach those... Read more
Published on 30 Nov 2009 by P. J. Sharp
A most beautiful voice.
Alela Diane, most of all, has a beautiful, crystal-clear voice. She's a folk-singer-songwriter in a very traditional way and no matter how good this album is, it sounds has it... Read more
Published on 11 Nov 2009 by Joao Nunes
Bloomin' Eck!
Thanks to Marc Riley for this one. Caught "Tatted Lace" the other night on his show and was suitably impressed. Took a punt, bought the album and am enamoured with all therein. Read more
Published on 9 Oct 2009 by Mr. Nhj Barnes
Truly stunning album, complete and faultless
I just had to write about this album, I love so many types of music and am getting into folk music. I do find lots patchy though and albums have their gems but rarely you find... Read more
Published on 11 July 2009 by P. M. Dalton
Everything you loved about the debut...AND MORE!
Alela Diane's debut album, The Pirate's Gospel, was an album I rather unexpectedly liked. Still the unashamedly low-fi recording of it (it had been knocking around for a couple of... Read more
Published on 5 May 2009 by IWFIcon
pure bliss
well what can i say to this! soon as you press play on the cd you know that your in for a treat she's a pure a gem, the pirates gospel was enough to please your ears but this is... Read more
Published on 30 Mar 2009 by David Keeble
The Lady Divine with "those songs for children to sing "
I knew within the first few words sung by Alela Diane that I was going to love To Be Still. It had nothing to do with the instrumentation which I shall get onto but with her... Read more
Published on 14 Mar 2009 by russell clarke
Stunning
It's hard to find the words to express how good this album is. In fact, it's impossible so I'm not going to make the attempt. Read more
Published on 27 Feb 2009 by gsum
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