A moving tribute to Wyatt's music
Mortrude Sluurp | Poughkeepsie, NY | 03/14/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Soupsongs is an effective and very good - almost great - CD. Lead by Annie Whitehead and her trombone, the group traverses Wyatt's music from his groundbreaking 'Rock Bottom' through his newest 'Shleep' (missing only his middle period - i.e., 'Nothing Can Stop Us'). It is a revelation to hear how Whitehead's trombone is an effective substitute for many of Wyatt's unique vocalisms.Another tremendous aspect of the CD is Julie Tippets - especially on 'Alliance' and 'Gharbzadegi.' She digs into the bluesy aspects of these tunes and establishes them as her own. She makes the link between Wyatt's music and jazz/blues very obvious - pointing up how flexible his melodies are to different treatments.It is just these 2 cuts that illustrate one of the problems with some 'tribute' albums (this one suffers a bit from it, only due to expectations not met) - they are TOO faithful to the original versions of the songs. Wyatt's music easily admits to any number of re-orchestrations and arrangements, but this CD doesn't go as far as it might on this score. This is a VERY small quibble, given the exceptional results they have achieved here.The recording is LIVE and it makes one wish s/he had been there to hear this group's tribute to Wyatt (he was in the audience) in person. Wyatt remains a remarkable talent. Whitehead and her group convincingly show why."
Very nice!
Hugh Effow | North of 45 | 08/22/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I have always thought of Robert Wyatt as an ambient-minimalist kind of composer in the same vein as Philip Glass or Brian Eno. This CD vibrates in another direction: it sounds to me like jazz à la Tony Bennett or Diane Krall. No kidding! They have taken a moody ambient song like Sea Song and made it into what sounds like a jazz standard. Well done! Surprising! Equally as good as the original. Well recorded too! The ladies truly shine on this one."