Customer Reviews

To Be Still-Special Edition

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't write reviews usually, but I thought I would take the opportunity to write one on Alela's new album "To be Still". Some have a hard time defining her genre of music. It's definitely a hybrid of sorts with Pirate's Gospel. A blend of Harry Nilsson and Carol King and just totally folk I would say in this new album. I feel like I'm floating in the heavens when I hear "The Alder Trees". The steel guitar riffs in the "Dry Grass & Shadows" are sweet and hypnotizing. The "To be Still" track is probably my favorite. Her voice just draws me into this whole other world like a childhood I wished I had. Never look back they say, but I can't help it when I hear this one. The recorded track on the album is great, but her live version is even better. I recommend visiting Lavonmatik Session on Youtube. She's playing in a laundromat of all places and sounding so incredible. "White as diamonds" is especially fitting with the harsh snowy winter we've had in New England. The messages on this album are about struggle and perseverance, but if you can just hold on a little bit longer you'll realize the beauty. How relevant - stay strong and be still.

I had the good fortune this past week of hearing a live feed of Alela Diane performing at the SXSW music festival. She was playing the title track of her outstanding second release, "To Be Still". I thought,"This is good...really good. Sounds like Beth Orton a bit...does she have a new album out?" Then I looked at the KEXP song listing and read the name "Alela Diane...To Be Still". This album is so good, so accomplished that I have to think that by year's end, Alela will have much bigger name recognition than presently. Compared with her first release "The Pirate's Gospel", "To Be Still" has banjo, pedal steel guitar, overdubbed acoustic guitars, bass guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and perhaps most of all percussion. It's as if a talented producer came on board, and got together a talented group of musicians. The singing and song writing, too, are stronger (and her singing is magical...she proves every bit as good a singer as her peers like Feist, Regina Spector, Beth Orton, and Neko Case...and that's saying a lot indeed). In fact, while listening to certain tracks on "To Be Still" I'm reminded of Joni Mitchell's self-titled debut...there's a restraint, a poise, a purity that both albums have in common. In short, "To Be Still" is a remarkable folk album that deserves your attention. Highly recommended.

`To Be Still' is the follow up to Alela Diane Menig's critically acclaimed debut `The Pirate's Gospel.' `To Be Still' utilizes a fuller sonic palette in creating the world that Menig's characters inhabit. Although there is more instrumentation on this album, the highlight is still Menig's voice. Menig is quite capable of going from a husky growl to a delicate mew for emphasis that recalls both Karen Dalton and Joanna Newsome.

The music on `To Be Still' was created between 2007 & 2008 and recorded at her father's home studio in Nevada City, California. The recording process for Alela Diane was a rather low key and family oriented affair. Her father played on the album with several of their shared musician friends. Family friend and visionary singer Michael Hurley guests on "Age Old Blues." The album opens casually with a high and lonesome pedal steel on "Dry Grass & Shadows" that sets the weary and ghostly tone throughout the album.

Most of these songs feel like they could have been written 100 years ago, which is an impressive feat for a songwriter so young. "White As Diamonds" and "Age Old Blues" are both spare and mournful. In their simplicity, these songs sound as if they were taken from the Appalachian Mountains. The title track is a calming listen as it yearns for simpler times. As the album progresses, the music and theme becomes heavier both in theme and accompaniment. The moodier side of Alela Diane is evident most notably on "My Brambles" and "The Ocean." "Every Path" seems to be the spectral cousin of "To Be Still" as both songs echo the theme of returning to a loved one.

`To Be Still' is a satisfying listen throughout. It is apparent that each of these songs has been crafted and each benefits from the fuller production

If you want to listen to a beautiful singing voice that is mesmorizing, though-provoking with heart-filled lyrics, then Alela Diane will not disappoint. Listening to her CDs almost takes you to another place, much as a great book does. Her singing and song-writing paint a picture for the listener. Although Alela is most popular in Europe, she will no doubt draw in the rest of the world with her music.

France perhaps appreciates true talent more than the rest of the mainstream, as talented Alela Diane is almost revered in their underground music community - indeed, her infamous "The Pirate's Gospel" album, recorded in humble surroundings before being independently released, is a cult favorite in France, cropping up in unexpected places, and even gracing the lower reaches of the French Top 100 Albums Chart, a feat that is remarkable given how unknown Diane is within her native land, and also that there has been virtually no promotion of any of her material, save for eloquent reviews on blogs and within certain indie music groups.

"To Be Still" is Diane's second proper album; and one that is definitely more `bigger budget'. In terms of musical transition, it isn't a huge difference from her debut record, as certain vital elements - the earthiness, the woodsy whimsical nature of the songs, and the lyricism, are all retained - but what has changed is the production. The rough demo sounds of even the final version of her debut record were very perceptible (and though they had their charms, you couldn't help but wish for a bigger, more nuanced recording from Diane). On this album, Diane's voice again takes center-stage, and the production thankfully does not drown out or mutilate her voice. This is very much a vocal album; one that takes its time to breathe and develop.

Also worth remembering is that Diane, in many ways, is a Joanna Newsom discovery, hailing from the same area but with very different musical sensibilities. It does not befit either artist for one to draw comparisons, as Diane is easily more universal and accessible in terms of songwriting, whereas Newsom is verbose and more complicated to truly comprehend and appreciate. On "To Be Still", there is a sense of vintage Americana with a sense of the Victorian thrown in for good measure. This is most perceptible on songs such as "The Alder Trees", which with its charming hand-claps and song transition do a fine job of straddling two wholly different eras; and on "Dry Grass & Shadows", the steel guitar riffs lend it a rustic air that is immediately captivating. The same can be said of the organic sounding "White as Diamonds" (accompanied by its nature-embracing music video, which one must endeavor to seek out by all means); its moments such as these that also make you realize that despite this being a record of a slower nature; it is never same-sounding or one of those albums that descend into an indistinguishable consolidation of sounds, especially toward the end of their running times.

"To Be Still" also has the distinction of being Alela Diane's finest record to date; or at least at the time of writing. In 2011 she would return with "Alela Diane and Wild Divine"; which was more of a big-band effort more in the vein of Lucinda Williams or Kathleen Edwards; not necessarily a bad thing, but I personally found her 2011 record not really representative of the sound she had come to embody. Whether by chance or fortune, Diane's voice sounds best stripped of most instrumentation, so where burdened with a full orchestra or a band with too many musical instruments, she easily sounds drowned out - something that almost happened on her collaborative record under the moniker Headless Heroes (try getting your hands on that album "The Silence of Love"). As a progressive work stemming from "The Pirates Gospel", this album is virtually flawless, but a standalone work it is almost transcendent. I suppose this will always be her go-to record, in the same way that Newsom and "Have one on Me" are. And that's some pretty fine company to be in.

This is a delicate piece of work best appreciated by fans of Espers, Meg Baird, Paige Aufhammer, Vashti Bunyan, and Hope Sandoval. If any of those artists have made music that appeal to you, then by all means get this. Its one of those records that is, in the most essential sense of the word, timeless.

Five Stars.

Second CD purchase of hers. First was Pirate's Gospel. Great CD, more structured that the PG CD but still maintained that gritty, old time, alt country style. Love it! Great purchase!

I really enjoyed the previous album "Pirate's Gospel" and still play it all the time. But, I was pleasantly surprised by "To Be Still"...it had a slightly different sound- just as beautiful as the other though.

With all the medicore music out there being so popular gifted artist as this remain virtually unknown. Her voice soars with emotion and becomes a instument of its own. Her voice reminds me of a female Tim Buckley. A cd as this transcends time a will still be relevent many years from now.
Bob De Stefano a music collecter for fifty years.

Alela Diane, most of all, has a beautiful, crystal-clear voice. She's a folk-singer-songwriter in a very traditional way and no matter how good this album is, it sounds has it could have been written 40 years ago. This is not necessarily bad, because most of the songs are quite good, but if you are looking for unexplored grounds within the folk framework, this is not your best bet. Still, in a way, this type of songs are timeless, and sometimes it feels good just to lay back and enjoy these simple soothing songs. As standout tracks I would point The Alder Trees and My Brambles.

Alela Diane has everything to become a key figure in modern folk music (if there is such thing). Her voice is amazing, she's a good songwriter, she even looks good. I just feel that she needs to stretch her boundaries when it comes to arranging the songs and production.

The pricey special edition comes with a DVD concert, but it is quite worth the money. As the show rolls, the number of musicians on stage grows, creating new dynamics. I particularly like the drums on the live set - they sound more intense and songs like White As Diamonds really benefit.

Alela Diane is a young and unique singer-songwriter from Nevada City, California who creates timeless music. Her songs clearly hearken back to innovative folk music (both American and British)from the 60's and 70's...and in particular artists such as Karen Dalton, Sandy Denny, and Kate Wolf. Her music however is truly original and she is a new breed of singer-songwriter that is 'Defining' a new generation of folk music. Other recommendations are her debut record 'Pirate's Gospel' (2004), and her version of the 'The Cuckoo' on the various artist compilation 'Leaves of life' (2009).