Customer Reviews

Abracadabra: The Asylum Years - Judee Sill / Heart Food

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Regardless of the shoddy slipcase that totally LOOKS budget (and really, I didn't buy this set for the slipcase) - this is an essential item in any serious music collector's library. Judee Sill went overlooked in her lifetime and it really is dumbfounding as to why when listening to these CDs. She's got a plain, yet completely touching voice -- slight twang, and remarkably similar to the motherly Kate McGarrigle -- and this voice cannot lie when lyrics are sung through it. She believes what she is singing about, and I love that. Everything you've read about her arrangements and tunes are true: they are grand, understated at times, overstated never, and utterly get under your skin even after just the first play. To get her brilliant two albums in one set for a very low price is a gift. The booklet is fabulous, great photos of Judee with sensitively written liner notes and great detail into the mastering of these CDs (particularly about 'preserving' the distortion in the masters.) The material on these discs are the exact same as the two Rhino Handmade discs released a few years ago. [and believe it or not, a bit of a better mastering job!] so stop staring at those $50+ copies here on Amazon -- unless you are a true Judee Sill COLLECTOR in the sense that you need every edition pressed ever, this is what you want. You get her two timeless records, and those great great demos and that STELLAR live performance all here for next to nothing. Lovely, brilliant, about time!

I bought her first album when it was released years ago. This was the age of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and so many other wonderfully talented singer-songwriters. I thought Judee would be a star right along all the rest of them. Her spaced-out spirituals were haunting and mysterious to me. Her troubled life ended her singing career after two albums, however, and she seemed to disappear. I never purchased her second record and looked for it for years in used record stores. I continued to listen to the album I had and later read about her early death. It made me sad. I was happy, however, to learn that she wasn't forgotten when I saw her two albums re-released with great additional tracks on CDs a few years ago. Now Judee's music continues to take me to far away places. She is a classic hippie-chick songwriter of the early '70s. Listen to songs like "Lopin' Along Thru the Cosmos" or "The Phoenix" and you'll get the flavor of the times. These folk spirituals are colorful and lyrical. Her voice is pure and simple.

a complilation like this should have been assembled by rhino years ago. instead, rhino handmade released limited editions of sill's first and second asylum recordings as individual packages, both of which included studio "demos", and live performances as added bonus cuts.
the reissue producer gives a technical statement of how this compilation differs from all previously released versions of both albums in terms of distorted vocal levels that were/are part of the existing master tapes. for those familiar with the recordings, the distortions were part of the mixing and mastering process, and thus cannot be corrected. enough said.
the music is some of the most gorgeous, powerful, and haunting recorded material i have heard from anybody. let the music of judee sill take you away. the packaging is beautifully assembled. for those of you who could not buy the rhino handmade series, here is your chance to have most of what was issued on those limited releases.
at the price of this admission, you must pick up a copy immediately.

I discovered Judee Sill in internet activities. Buying this 2-CD set was my first opportunity to hear her singing at a volume and sound quality that I can appreciate. On some Warren Zevon web page, I found words and chords for "Jesus Was a Cross Maker," a Judee Sill song that was on his `Mutineer' CD in 1995. The original version by Judee Sill that I found at MySpace.com introduced me to her abilities as a Gospel pianist, which are particularly powerful on the renditions of "Enchanted Sky Machines" that are on Disc One of this set.

"Crayon Angels" has one of the lines that gives me one of the biggest Judee Sill laughs I've had in the last month. After the false prophets caused her heavenly visions to disappear:

"the angels came back and laughed in my dreams,
I wonder what it means."

The tragic loss of Judee Sill has been recounted by nearly every review (on Amazon and elsewhere), so rather than recapitulate the narrative of absence, I want to focus on the music itself, in particular Sill's guitar/piano, voice, and lyrics after a brief aside about influences...

On numerous occasions, Sill claimed to draw inspiration from three sources: Pythagoras, J. S. Bach, and Ray Charles. Whether this anecdote made good fodder for the press (and certainly a lyricist of Sill's ability could come up with a good aphorism) or a serious musical statement remains unclear to the present day. Pythagoras--ancient mathematician, philosopher, and music theorist--devised a tuning system based on string ratios with immeasurable influence on Western music. In evoking this particular name, Sill may be acknowledging the eldest roots to musical practice, or perhaps she is interested in the mystic/religious aspects of Pythagoreanism. Similarly, J.S. Bach was devoutly religious man, who dedicated all of his compositions to the glory of (his) god. Bach was also a keyboard virtuoso, genre-crossing composer, and pedagogue. Known as one of, if not the master of fugal writing/counterpoint, Bach wrote music of amazing complexity, and his influence emerges in a number of Sill's compositions: the fugato ending of "The Lamb Ran Away with the Crown," or the polyphonic climax of "The Donor." Even some of her accompaniment figures on guitar and piano exude brief, glittering passages of Baroque inspiration. Sill's piano licks on a number of tracks bear the imprint of soul/r&b/gospel legend Ray Charles. For evidence, listen to "Soldier of the Heart" and "Jesus was a Cross Maker."

Vocally, Sill is less flexible than some of her contemporaries, but the "severity" of her singing, its nasality, the near absence of vibrato, and the perfect articulation of each pitch paradoxically imbue her singing with vulnerability. Sometimes, it seems her insistence on communicating through melody, accompaniment, and lyric leaves her more exposed than Sill intended or listeners expect. Make no mistake, Sill is an excellent, intelligent, and expressive singer, but her voice (like Nico, to draw one parallel) exploits the affective potential of austerity over excess.

Judee Sill's lyrics rank among the best of any popular musician. Like Joni Mitchell, she finds the universal within the particular then renders eloquent portraits with an economy of language that is as startling as it is poignant. In "The Phoenix," for example, she sings "Ever since a long time ago I tried to let my feelings show. I'd like to think I'm being sincere, but I'll never know," an unexpected twist akin to the sort of surprise that appears in Joni Mitchell's "All I want," when she says "I hate you some. I love you some. I love you when I forget about me." She employs religious-mystic-Christian imagery in a number of her songs, and like Laura Nyro, her relationship with a Christ-like figure and some kind of devil maps as easily onto romantic scenarios as it might on spiritual quests, redemption narratives, or struggles with demons (including, apparently, Sill's long-time drug addiction). Meaning hides just behind the language, and in these ambiguous or liminal spaces, she invites us to construct our own meanings.

If it hasn't come across yet, I must say: I like Judee Sill very much. I consider her two albums, collected here, and the second compilation of unreleased material (Dreams Come True) major works of the singer-songwriter genre whose influence, thanks to these reissues, is finally beginning to be understood.

Back in the late 1960's and into 1970, I hosted a late night radio show on KPFK in Los Angeles. The program director there liked to showcase artists and I was a very willing host. I had Joni Mitchell, Hoyt Axton, the British group Pentangle and other folk and pop artists stop in and share their music and stories with the late night audience. It was in early 1970 that Judee Sill stopped in and played for the show. I was overcome nearly instantly, and was at a loss for words, even though I was supposed to interview her. All I could do was ask if she had more in her book of songs. And she did, oh yes. A very enchanting, haunting and troubled soul, all wrapped up in a modest, quiet young woman with her long hair mostly hiding her face, and a voice like an angel with a twang. I guess I was smitten.
She came back a couple of times, and brought her first album on her second visit. I still have it, signed by her. The second one came to me a few years later while working at KLRB in Carmel. I wrote her and invited her to come by the station, but I never heard from her. I know why now, as she had withdrawn from the music business, and sadly died a few short years later. A true heartbreaker, I was so sad to not get to see her again. The music she left behind is very unique, clever, and entrancing. This recording combines both of her albums and many great extras. Now, if only I could find the video she made in 1973, it might be more than I can handle.
I highly recommend this recording. She was one of a kind.

I love the music, but the copy I received (from Amazon) was missing some pages from the liner notes. I wanted to exchange it for another copy, but Amazon said no. I tried contacting Rhino, and they never did anything. How can I get the liner notes without having to buy a whole new CD?

What a talent.She is easily up there with Joni Mitchell and Laura Nyro,yet she has literally 'passed away' from public consciousness.Her songs should be better known and recorded by other artists.What strikes me are the religiousness(perhaps this told against her in the 70s) and the classical underpinnings to her music.She has a very ascetic appearance,and yet beautiful,lush,sweet harmonies.She is pared down and totally transparent, so the music pours from her as a perfect vessel.Catching her 1st time on BBC4 series of 'singer-songwriter's' in 2010 sent me after her CDS.'Heart Food' is obviously her best.A masterpiece. She uses her voice as another instrument.

Released before Dylan recorded his religious albums,these steal the glory on his ones,which although very good and showing another side to Dylan,cannot compete with Sill's gospel-influenced piano tones and spiritually uplifting lyrics,and her Bach-flavored metric forms and suites.Along with her delicate finger-picking guitar work her piano has a bluesy,church-like quality which she extends when playing live(Enchanted Sky Machines).Her religious lyrics show feelings of repentance and rapture.The voice angelic.Her song intros in live sessions and performance are very dry and witty."The lower you go down to gain your momentum from,the higher up it will propel you"(Jesus was a cross-maker) when she found both that Jesus was a cross-maker and she'd also had a relationship with a man who had broken her heart."He's a bandit and a heart-breaker, rhymes with Jesus was a cross-maker,even that wretched b------was not beyond redemption".

Her voice on Heart Food had become stronger,remaining unembellished;her voice is over-dubbed or given vocal backing.The basis for each arrangement was guitar or piano, on which was layered a tasteful collection of strings, her acoustic guitar backed by country-style violins,pedal steel guitar and other instruments.She herself conducted the strings.My favorite song is `Pearl',counselling herself to avoid drugs and `wait for a pearl just round the bend'.'Down where the Valleys are Low' is a masterpiece with female,backing session singers'harmonies,organ, bluesy electric guitar,tambourine,50s rhythm and blues for the spirit.

She uses occult ideas of the animus in her songs,singing of various Cowboy Angels of Soldiers of the Heart.There is also a fight between good and evil in her songs,her songs are like prayers to drive out curses of bad-luck and ill-omen.'The Donor' is a meditative,religious requiem with a religious mantra as chorus,'Kyie Eleison',sung in harmony with the male voices.A mystical piece.Her performances are precise,her singing pitch-perfect.Despite its critical acclaim,her album received scant attention and fewer sales.After a car crash,her life took a turn for the worse and she died of a drug overdose in 1979.Yet her music still rises on `phosphorous wings'(The Phoenix)over riding pain with beauty.Truly for me a discovery,a missing link to the sounds of the Canyon musicians of the 70s.Get 'Abracadabra:The Asylum Years-Judee Sill/Heart Food'.

I bought this album a few years ago and it's never strayed too far from my disc player. Judee was a singer/songwriter of the highest order. Her lyrics were very creative and more interesting than many of her contemporaries. She also wrote some of the most hauntingly beautifuI songs of her era... "The Kiss" is one example.
I would recommend this double album for anyone that's a fan of artists like Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills and Nash, mellower later period Beach Boys, Nick Drake, Simon and Garfunkel, Vashti Bunyan, Fairport Convention etc. etc. ...You won't be disappointed.

An artist more heard about than heard. The rave reviews for Sill's music are undeserved. Maybe she is a critic's darling because of her heroin addiction and subsequent prostitution. Save your money.
P.S. Some people were upset by my comments it would seem. I find her Noo York Squawk intrusive and the mannered style of singing somewhat similar to Rickie Lee Jones in the grip of the grape. The melodies (?) are uncertain to say the least and I truly wonder why she has garnered such rave reviews over the years. Sorry folks it doesn't do it for me.