SECOND UNIQUE ALBUM MORE PEOPLE SHOULD HEAR
Stuart Jefferson | San Diego,Ca | 05/12/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"39 minutes in length approximately. The sound is very clean and crisp. The vocals and individual instruments are clean and clearly delineated. The booklet lists song titles,lyrics,and musicians (with a thanks to Jerry Garcia-GRATEFUL DEAD),with a nice photo of the duo on the back of the booklet. Once again,the printing is so small that a good magnifying glass is essential for reading any of the above.
LAMB (Bob Swanson-guitar and Barbara Mauritz-vocals and guitar) continues treading the same pathway they started with their first album ("A Sign of Change") recorded at the tail-end of the 60's era in San Francisco. The vocals,once again,take center stage,with the atmospheric instrumental backing complementing Mauritz' vocals perfectly. The core instrumentation includes electric bass,percussion,and keyboards,added to the guitars of Swanson and Mauritz,making,for the first time,an actual group as opposed to a duo with instrumental backing. All the tracks except "Reach High" (written by Jeffrey Cain and Jerry Corbett) were written by Mauritz and/or Swanson.
On this album Mauritz' vocals are a bit more polished,and her inflections a bit more mature and sure sounding. Swanson's guitar playing has likewise grown into a subtly expressive sound,propelling Mauritz along on each track. Their music is hard to categorize. Thankfully,the incorrect description on Amazon's info page about the band being "psychedelic" (their first album) is not found here. There are strains of folk,jazz,chamber music,even a bit of country and gospel mixed in. LAMB have winnowed their sound down to a sharper focus as they continue to mature musically. This is music that demands to be listened to. The attractions are subtle; the sound (and words) of Mauritz,the complementary acoustic guitar,the sensitive playing of bassist Bill Douglass,and the intelligent,sensitive backing of the other musicians-all form an atmospheric,organic whole.
LAMB were never popular,except briefly,and then only regionally,during the late 60's/early 70's around the S.F. area,because their music was esoteric and demanding. For those listeners (like me) who became captivated by this duo's sound,this album is a step forward. It's a unique,individualistic sound that could only have been born in that era of musical experimentation so many years ago. For those willing to go on an exciting musical ride,LAMB will take you places you don't often visit."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1