Search - Dory Previn :: Dory Previn

Wonderful

Hugues Orsetti | MANOSQUE France | 08/14/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To see a 3 stars rating for this record was too much of a shock to me, I thought I had to make the best balance I could, in all fairness: 5 stars. This is a first-class singer songwriter here, and for those who wouldn't know Dory Previn, the first comparison that comes to mind is Randy Newman. Except Dory is more vulnerable in her irony. This album is, musically, more captivating than her previous ones. Listening to "Brando", "New Rooms" or "Atlantis" is enough to set the level of quality. Full of magic and emotional singularity, this kind of record can only take a special place in your heart."

Dory's Warner Debut

J. Lees | australia | 08/13/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Dory Previn's self-titled 1974 album followed on from the dense & sprawling 'Mary C Brown And The Hollywood Sign' ('72) and her excellent double live set 'Live At Carnegie Hall' ('73). For her Warner Music debut, she delivered a more straight-forward & elegant set of 10 songs which primarily showed her musicality flourishing, particularly on the orchestral 'Empress Of China'. The album opens with the beautiful 'Lover Lover Be My Cover', the equal of anything from her 1971 masterpiece Mythical Kings & Iguanas album. Interestingly this song dates from the same period. Lyrically, the rest of the album covers fairly familiar territory for Dory including addressing problems with her harrowing family life, strange love stories and social anxieties. 'The Obscene Phone Call' is a highlight in a similar vein to the previous 'Twenty Mile Zone' from her 1970 debut. While there is a sense that Dory is perhaps starting to run out of things to say as an artist, what is expressed here is sophisticated, complex, moving and remains an essential part of her catalogue of original 1970's albums."