Search - Essra Mohawk :: Primordial Lovers Mm

An amazing voice makes an overlooked classic

mianfei | 11/16/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When the brilliant Joe S. Harrington listed "Primordial Lovers" at #87 in his Top 100 Albums, I was curious in part because it was one of only a mere handful of female artists on the list, but also because the album had been out of print since before I was born and even when it became available as part of "Primordial Lovers MM" I had trouble obtaining it. After waiting for a copy to be sent to me by Rhino Handmade, I remarkably found a copy in a Melbourne record store for forty-five dollars and bought it instantly.



"Primordial Lovers MM" containing Essra Mohawk's self-titled third album as well as "Primordial Lovers" itself is a true classic owing to her unique voice, which was described by The MOJO Collection as "erotic". That is indeed a fitting description for a voice that must rank as one of the finest in any genre of music. One might compare it to Annie Haslam, but whereas Haslam could never develop any sign of anger, Essra Mohawk quite frequently does. Generally, though, her voice is deep but always extremely melodic. On such songs as "Lion on the Wing", "Full Fledged Woman" and "Summertime", Essra Mohawk truly wraps her voice around the song to make it a focal point in a manner no other singer can do. "I Have Been Here Before" with its airy, beautiful organ and piano, along with "It's Up To Me" and "It's Been A Beautiful Day", show a softer, yet amazingly natural and melodic, side to Essra Mohawk's voice, whilst the fiery "Thunder in the Morning" rocks in a manner few women ever have before or since and shows she could sing harder material without losing her remakrable vocal qualities.



"Spiral", the second track, shows Mohawk going into the purest ecstasy at the end in a manner predating a similar finale in Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" by fifteen years, whilst "Jabberwock Song", based on Lewis Carroll, is truly entrancing and mysterious like almost no other song so accessible and even catchy. Only the overlong "Looking Forward to the Dawn" disappoints on "Primordial Lovers", and whislt some of the songs on her self-titled release are not as memorable as one might like, the later songs on that album are really gorgeous, especially "I Cannot Forget".



If you can still find "Primordial Lovers MM" by a stroke of luck, consider yourself blessed. There is no voice like Essra Mohawk, and she has the songwriting to make for a wonderful listen."

Excellent

William R. Nicholas | Mahwah, NJ USA | 07/03/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Picture Carol King with very essoteric lyrics and jazz inflections. That gives you some idea of what you get with Essra Mohawk.



She is a great panio player, writer and lyrisist. A lot of these songs, "More than a Women," "New Skins For Old," have the same drive as, say, Kings "I feel the earth move." But Carol King does not address such topics as reincarnating as an animal, something Mohawk does on "New Skins......." The writting is so good, she actually makes the idea plausable.



Other tracks, like "Been Here Before," are looser, spacier. This song features a jazz horn section, mixed back to create an almost ambient feel. Mohawk was not a big star, but was associated with Zappa, and had access to some of the best backup bands around.



This is singer/songwritter music, but made by a truely origonal eccentric. Don't come to this expecting a glossy, laid back 70s sensstivity fest.



This women could blow David Gates and James Taylor out of the concert hall with one A7 chord.

"

Essra Mohawk - Primordial Lovers CD

justinetime | The End Of The Rainbow | 03/08/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rhino Handmade Release of the enduring Essra Mohawk LP from the 70s - actually 2 LPs on one CD in a limited /numbered edition. It's getting harder and harder to find, well worth the money & will probably become one of your treasured CDs."