Judee Sill Heart Food Genres:Country, Folk, Pop, Rock Judee Sill was a true original. A singer-songwriter with a wealth of influences and a fascination with religion, she referred to her work as "country-cult-baroque." She was the first artist signed to David Geffen's Asylum ... more »label, and, along with Joni Mitchell and Carole King, exemplified the breezy "Laurel Canyon Sound" of the early '70s. Sill scored moderate hits with "Lady-O" (originally written for the Turtles) and "Jesus Was A Cross Maker" and released two albums--1971's Judee Sill and 1973's Heart Food--before suffering chronic pain and eventually dying of a drug overdose at age 35.Sill grew up in Oakland, California, and began playing piano at age three. A troubled family life and brushes with the law landed her in reform school, where, as church organist, she developed the gospel style that would characterize her future recordings. After a stint in college and three down-and-out years of addiction, she cleaned up and began work on her dream of becoming a songwriter. She spent a short time penning songs for the Turtles' production company before signing her own deal with Asylum.Pleased with the creative direction of Judee Sill, the singer-songwriter again teamed with engineer/producer Henry Lewy (Joni Mitchell, Neil Young) for her follow-up. On Heart Food, Sill's voice is stronger and Lewy's production more resonant. Built around the singer's guitar or piano, the songs are arranged with similar ambition. "There's a Rugged Road," a meditation on Christ's humanity, features country violins, pedal steel, multi-tracked vocals, and a hoofbeat rhythm. The gospel-influenced "Down Where the Valleys Are Low" burns with electric guitar, church organ, vibes, and doo-wop harmonies. The album's closing opus, "The Donor," uses male voices and tympani to build an intense medieval round.This Rhino Handmade release of Heart Food has been remastered from original source materials and expanded with nine bonus tracks, including the studio outtake "The Desperado" and eight solo demo versions of album tracks.« less
Judee Sill was a true original. A singer-songwriter with a wealth of influences and a fascination with religion, she referred to her work as "country-cult-baroque." She was the first artist signed to David Geffen's Asylum label, and, along with Joni Mitchell and Carole King, exemplified the breezy "Laurel Canyon Sound" of the early '70s. Sill scored moderate hits with "Lady-O" (originally written for the Turtles) and "Jesus Was A Cross Maker" and released two albums--1971's Judee Sill and 1973's Heart Food--before suffering chronic pain and eventually dying of a drug overdose at age 35.Sill grew up in Oakland, California, and began playing piano at age three. A troubled family life and brushes with the law landed her in reform school, where, as church organist, she developed the gospel style that would characterize her future recordings. After a stint in college and three down-and-out years of addiction, she cleaned up and began work on her dream of becoming a songwriter. She spent a short time penning songs for the Turtles' production company before signing her own deal with Asylum.Pleased with the creative direction of Judee Sill, the singer-songwriter again teamed with engineer/producer Henry Lewy (Joni Mitchell, Neil Young) for her follow-up. On Heart Food, Sill's voice is stronger and Lewy's production more resonant. Built around the singer's guitar or piano, the songs are arranged with similar ambition. "There's a Rugged Road," a meditation on Christ's humanity, features country violins, pedal steel, multi-tracked vocals, and a hoofbeat rhythm. The gospel-influenced "Down Where the Valleys Are Low" burns with electric guitar, church organ, vibes, and doo-wop harmonies. The album's closing opus, "The Donor," uses male voices and tympani to build an intense medieval round.This Rhino Handmade release of Heart Food has been remastered from original source materials and expanded with nine bonus tracks, including the studio outtake "The Desperado" and eight solo demo versions of album tracks.
CD Reviews
A LIFE PAINTED INTO SONG...
Larry L. Looney | Austin, Texas USA | 05/15/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"...in all its glory, with every ounce of pain, joy, inspiration, struggle, love and anger - that's what Judee Sill has given us. The story of her life contains elements that are all too common in the world of music - and in the larger one as well. A rebellious child of the 60s, Judee defined `tumultuous' - marriage at a young age, time spent in reform school on an armed robbery conviction, addiction to heroin, prostitution to support her habit. Through all of this, and beyond, into the rest of her adult life, she showed an uncompromising strength of spirit that gave her the courage and ability to carry on. She kicked heroin cold turkey in jail - and she found personal meaning in a facet of faith that resonated within her, which surged into her music and conveyed a refreshing and uplifting combination of innocence and certainty pushed ever forward with a yearning for growth without end. It made her one of the greatest and most purely honest of the huge crop of singer-songwriters that filled the bins in the music stores in that era - and it has endowed her art with an edge that makes it as relevant today as when the album was first released, back in 1973.The spiritual images in Judee's songs spring from her interest and immersion in the more mystical forms of Christian study. The notes in the accompanying booklet mention the Rosicrucian Order - I can see and hear references to elements of the Gnostic Gospels as well. Her religious beliefs were forged from a wide range of sources - she took from each one as it spoke to her, and she made them her own, which is as it should be. Unlike artists who would be considered `gospel' or `religious' singers, however, Judee's work never comes across as proselytizing or preaching - she's singing about topics that mean a lot to her, that have touched her life and brought her hope and strength. There are earthly aspects to her songs as well - just as there are earthly aspects to our lives. No matter how far we reach with our minds and hearts, our feet remain planted on the earth, among our fellow human beings, replete with all emotional baggage. She sings of love in all of its forms - divine, lustful, and everything in between. It's all a part of who we are - human - and Judee was no different. She was, however, blessed with the rare gift of being able to convey her thoughts and feelings in an amazingly insightful and moving way in song.The arrangements on HEART FOOD are a bit fuller than the ones of her eponymous debut - the string charts in particular (written by Judee) are wonderful, accenting and framing the songs beautifully. The feel of this album runs the gamut from folk to country to gospel, with one track (`Soldier of the heart') boasting a more `rock' arrangement, complete with a bluesy lead guitar line. Her voice is wonderful throughout - what you hear is pure Judee, no tricks, no frills, no cloyed `perfect' pronunciation. As the notes affirm, Judee sang just like she spoke - with an unaffected, natural twang, completely honest and unpretentious, straight from the heart and soul.The re-mastering job on this extended re-release is beautifully full, crisp and clear - and the article in the booklet (by Michele Kort, author of a biography of Laura Nyro) is informative and balanced. There are nine extra tracks included here - `The desperado', a song recorded during the sessions for the album but left off the final released; plus eight demo versions of various songs, which give the listener an opportunity to hear Judee perform them solo, without any back-up singers or instruments. These demos are every bit as powerful in their own way as the more filled-out versions that were released on the album - which shouldn't be surprising: the power and soul of Judee's music is in her words and music, and even without the trappings, they shine like the rare jewels they are.This edition, from Rhino Homemade, is limited to 5000 copies (as is their simultaneous re-release of her first album) - I don't know if it will be made available in a pared-down version or not. Judee's work is shamefully not very well-known, so my best advice would be to get this (and the other album) while you can."
Divinely Inspired
Thomas Horan | Chapel Hill, NC | 04/22/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Heart Food is one of only two albums ever recorded by the mysterious Judee Sill, the erudite scion of a wealthy Hollywood family who ended up a penniless heroin addict. Despite the tragic sordidness of her life, Sill's ingenious lyrics are intensely devotional and cryptic, like poetic messages from the contemporary sibyl of some heretical Christian sect. Her vocal range is astonishing and her pitch is perfect. It's like listening to the voice of some lost, wandering saint. The songs themselves are lushly arranged folk tunes with a strong country influence. Sill characterized her style as Country Cult Baroque, and that's as useful a label as any I can think of. The overall effect is intensely honest and moving. This album was out of print for years, but Rhinohandmade has now produced a very limited number of definitive reissues, featuring an unreleased song and a set of haunting demos of Sill singing alone accompanied only by her piano or guitar. If you have a taste for Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen, John Martyn, Joni Mitchell, Scott Walker, or Kate Bush, this record really will feed your heart."
One of the greatest records ever made
dubub | usa | 03/25/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"For me HEARTFOOD by JUDEE SILL is one of the most beautiful and ming boggling records ever made..its as great as any other record by anyone anywhere...where do those lyrics come from? the chords? The arrangments?LYRICALLY she has no peer..what an amazingly sad tragedy that this record is hardly known.THE KISS is as beautiful a song as ive heard, time simply stops when i even thing about that song ..i dont even have to hear it ,all i have to do is think of it to feel its power.The only other track that does this to me is REMEMBER THE MAINTAIN BED written by woody guthrie and achingly sung by jeff tweedy on mermaid ave vol 2(wilco finest moment.and i love wilco) ..beleive every word youve read on this site about this record..AND GOD BLESS JUDEE SILL. ps..ive just got DREAMS COME TRUE the new judee sillcd of unreleased material...and its gonna blow your mind"
Simply Beautiful
R. Janis | Chicago, IL United States | 07/24/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Trust the other reviews on this fantastic album. I knew nothing of Judee Sill until the recent reissue campaign of her two Asylum albums by Rhino Handmade (along with the new set from the never-completed third album, "Dreams Come True" by the Water label), and all the praise is well deserved. I've listened to "Heartfood" about ten times or so, which isn't nearly enough to appreciate her substantial gifts of composition and arrangement. Only adding to the pleasure of hearing this terrific album is Rhino Handmade's expert handling of this reissue, complete with extensive liner notes, and additional tracks and demos. To be honest, my purchase was based on 50% curiousity and the other half solely on Rhino's involvement. They never disappoint. But more than anything, Sill's is a voice well worth discovery, and the heart-melting "The Kiss" is worth the purchase all on its own. Also essential are Sill's first, self-titled set (also on Rhino Handmade) and the above-mentioned "Dreams Come True". A fitting tribute to an artist shamefully relegated to the margins for too many years."
Chasing the Sun
Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 04/24/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It's fairly incredible that for as amazing as "Heart Food" is, it remains largely unknown and under-appreciated. However, its brilliance will not let it fade. Copies of the lp have fetched high prices; and Rhino's limited re-release is welcome as this classic set joins the digital age. Sometimes compared to Laura Nyro's "New York Tendaberry," Joni Mitchell's "Blue," or Carole King's "Tapestry" as one of the seminal sets of female singer songwriters in terms of its influence, there is no questioning the amazing & inspired brilliance of this set.
For me, the shining jewel in the crown of this accomplishment is the glorious "When the Bridegroom Comes." She takes bridegroom imagery from Matthew, Chapter 25 & Revelations 17 ("And the Spirit & the bride say, Come") and combines this into a moving piece of religious metaphor for the human acceptance of the will of God. This is such an inspiring track that it sometimes gives me chills of anticipation with its clarity and vision.
The musical flow and surging keyboard on "Down Where the Valleys Are Low" is stunningly original, "Till the heaven's song begins the holy fires a-burnin' & the harmony is set to weave a silver sermon." "The Phoenix" is a lovely track with Sill's voice that comforts like a warm embrace, "Guess I'm always chasin' the sun, hopin' we will soon be one." The lovely piano intro on "The Donor" and the breathless "kyrie eleison" chorus is some of the most gorgeous music ever created! Sill's unique sense of harmony and musical construction makes her an under-appreciated master. One wonders how her earthly path might have changed and what music might have been produced if this incredible set had found the broad audience it so richly deserves. Classic! Bravo!"
