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Elly Roberts reviews
Boy Scout Recordings
- January 2008
- Rating: 8/10
- Vote and comment on this album:
Recording engineer goes to . the other side.
Originally from Kentucky, now Brooklyn based, Dawn Landes brings herroots to the Big Apple with style and credibility. Her strikingly beautifulvoice is a major feature of the simple recordings done at an old fire stationin Red Hook in Brooklyn NY.
Recorded mostly live with seven musical buddies who play instruments as variedas traditional banjos, pedal steel, and harmonica to less trad optigons, thumband toy pianos. The results are quite dazzling; on what can be consideredcontemporary or alt-folk music. Theres a very good batch of songs to get yourteeth into, especially the snapped introduced plucky rocker Bodyguard,a cool opener.
Covering traditional I Dont Need A Man, her hollowed vocals steer thedelightful simple rocker. Theres no doubt, for me anyway, Landes comes worksbest when shes just doing straightforward acoustic ballads such as Tired Of This Lifebecause once again, her pristine singing is in sharper focus. Twilightdoes the same for her, though the pedal steel is a sumptuous addition.
Sugar-coated Goodnight Lover is probably the kind of song that mightcapture the UKs imagination, but other songs, however good they are, maystruggle. Oh..and..dont forget to remember the hidden acoustic cover ofTom Pettys I Wont Back Down that follows the door shutting effect oncloser You Alone. Its pretty impressive.
File under: Very cool country-folk.
Weblinks:dawnlandes.com /myspace.com/dawnlandes
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Bodyguard
2. I Dont Need No Man (Traditional)
3. Tired Of This Life
4. Twilight
5. Private Little Hell
6. Picture Show
7. Kids In A Show
8. Toy Piano
9. Dig Me A Hole
10. Im In Love With The Night
11. You Alone
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.