Search - Catie Curtis :: From Years to Hours-Early Recordings

Diamonds & Pearls

Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 05/25/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Catie Curtis' "From Years to Hours" is an excellent disc. It followed her first cassette-only release "Dandelion." I recently bought this for the second time. -- I don't usually buy the same disc twice, but here's what happened: I now own two copies of the 1991 disc released on Mongoose records. As Catie was working on her self-titled 1997 release for Guardian/EMI, they re-released this CD in 1996. It was subsequently re-released in 2003. However, the cover changed, which is why the disc didn't quite click with me.



The 1991 disc differs in that it has 11 tracks rather than 12. Three tracks on the earlier disc didn't make it to the re-release. They are "Watching the Silence," "If I Could," & "Preacher." "Watching the Silence" is a sweet heartbreak ballad about loneliness with Myanna Pontoppidan's lovely soprano sax giving the melody a sad elegance, "I can take train into town & back again; I can be busy every day, but when I let myself in, the emptiness wins." "If I Could" has that now trademark little break in the voice that betokens great emotion as a friend wishes she could comfort another. In "Preacher" Catie lambastes televangelists, "I am the preacher's wife, I am looking fine cause God loves me -- I'm younger all the time. These diamonds and pearls, they come from above, and you will feel the love. Write to us care of:" On the newer edition are songs "On the Phone with My Sister," "Fisherman's Blues," "Exception to the Rule," & "Oops I'm Sorry."



"Mine Fields" is a great jealousy ballad. "Night So Still" has a haunting melody as the singer looks for assurance in the dark of night. "Hole in the Bucket" has a strong pop melody that urges we not let people who need help fall through the cracks, "How do you tell a woman who is 82 years old, poor & lying in her bed & needing help at home that there is no more money; there is nothing you can do; Just hold on for another year & we'll try to get to you." It's an excellent track. "Same Dream (Desert Storm)" boasts a catchy tune with Billy Conway tapping out addictive percussion as Catie wails anti-war before it was fashionable, "TV nights & radio days, we all get the same news, all from the same place. We're going to war; they say's for peace; so watch a few bombs drop & have a good night's sleep."



"From Years to Hours" is an excellent folk-flavored disc that glimpses the promise of A Crash Course in Roses & My Shirt Looks Good on You. From Catie's most recent disc Long Night Moon, "Strange" has been at the top of my personal top ten this summer, causing me to replay my discs by this excellent artist. Enjoy!

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