Customer Reviews

Bound By the Beauty

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For non-fans who have been frightened away from Jane Siberry because of reviewer's descriptions such as "quirky," "exotic," and "obscure," Bound By The Beauty would be a suitable choice to investigate this fascinating Canadian singer/songwriter. The CD is accessible: you can tap your feet and sway with the rhythm (well, most of the time). And Siberry enthusiasts (are we "Siberrites"?) need not be dismayed. Jane's intelligence and touches of humor separate her from the oh-so-serious artists. Her observations and narratives are akin to first-rate poetry: she sees beyond what is visual, and reports in an pictorial style which is beyond that of mere mortals (at least years beyond my simple efforts). In `Something About Trains,' the whistle of a train sent into the silent sky shivers her soul. Jane's "love and heartache" ballads border on hallucinations: "I grabbed your shoulders then I through you as hard as ever" from `La Jalouse.'

Musically inventive? Of course.`Everything Reminds Me Of My Dog' has three verses, two vocal choruses with different melodies, and ends with an extended verse. The lyrics are in the first and second person. A simple piano line holds the composition together. The chorus of `The Valley' ("We will walk in good company") soars straight-up to heaven. Situated in the center of nine celestial compositions is an inspirational Super Nova: `The Life Is The Red Wagon' is a beautiful, melodic and driving anthem of supreme companionship and support. "The life is the red wagon simple and strong, but when the feet are draggin', you pull me and I pull you." Who, except Jane Siberry, could effectively use the metaphor of boundless love and a child's red wagon. Only Jane.

I have never been able to get into any of Jane Siberry's other albums, but "Bound by the Beauty," with its idiosyncrasies perfectly balanced against an organic pop sound, hooked me eleven years ago and hasn't let go. It's in my nature to be suspect of cheery pop songs because of the usual music biz cynicism just below the bright and shiny surface, but the thing that keeps me coming back to this recording is the genuine blissfulness it exudes. "The Life is the Red Wagon," the first of these songs I heard, might just be some cornball feelgood ditty in other hands, but when Siberry observes that "when the feet are draggin'/you pull for me/and I pull for you," I'm buying the whole thing, corn and all.

I remember playing this album for a friend who didn't take to Siberry's voice, which can slip into falsetto or whisper without warning and hence may be irritating to some. Her vocal style has been vindicated to a certain extent, though, since Shawn Colvin appropriated some of her singing techniques, but the loose meter that Siberry employs here to fit her lyrics in and the way she tosses in casual asides at the end of some lines is completely her own. It's an effective approach that draws something from jazz, though only through suggestion. The playing also benefits from that loose feel, effortlessly changing direction or pulling Latin rhythms into the mix in a way that doesn't seem at all forced.

Siberry has a sense of humor, too, and is able to transform something that appears as unwieldy on the surface as "Are We Dancing Now" into the musical equivalent of a good morning kiss. She even gets away with couplets like "I coulda been Miss Punta Blanca/I coulda but I didn't want ta." And anyone who writes a song that blissfully celebrates the Canadian obsession with hockey from the perspective of kids playing on the frozen river is onto something; I still get chills when she sings the line, "They rioted in the streets of Montreal when they benched Rocket Richard, it's true." Somewhere in the midst of all this lurks a kind of Zen simplicity and joy: Siberry writes about trains, her dog, red wagons, hockey, "the hissing of that old steam iron as you press your clothes." There is much reverie here and, by the end of the album, she seems to have made her point: there is also much to love.

Bound by the Beauty was my introduction to Jane Siberry. I was driving my car and heard the title song on a college alternative station. As soon as I got home I called the station to find out who the artist was. Ten years later I am still a fan and consider her my favorite artist.

The special thing about Jane Siberry is that when you listen to her music you feel an intimate bond with her. Her voice is angelic, etheral. Her lyrics are always intelligent, but can also be nostalgic, thought provoking, humorous, self-reflecting.

Each of her albums have a distinctly different sound, reflecting her artistic and personal growth. While she has released subsequent albums that I like better, Bound by the Beauty will always hold a special place in my heart. It has some whimsical songs and some truly heart wrenching ballads.

It's always a pleasure to listen to. Like spending time with an old friend.

without a doubt, listening to this cd is a pure pleasure - deceptively simple, there are moments that make you laugh out loud ("everthing reminds me of my dog" and "miss punta blanca"), fall into a reverie ("hockey"), pick yourself up ("the life is the red wagon"), brush yourself off ("something about trains"), slip into something more comfortable ("are we dancing now?), stand up and bark ("half angel half eagle"), and believe in love ("the valley")....could you ask for more in 42 minutes and 53 seconds?....well, push your damn repeat button, will you?

Judging by the quality of the songs here, this album will forever remain in my top 10 best albums in all genres. Siberry sings about love, loneliness and nature in a most moving way in a style entirely her own.

The songs are infused with a spiritual quality, from the soaring Bound By The Beauty, to the yearning Something About Trains and Everything Reminds Me Of My Dog, including the brilliantly evocative Hockey where the swear words do not detract from this spirituality at all.

Everything ... is the most experimental piece here, The Life Is The Red Wagon is a beautiful ballad, and the jazzy Are We Dancing Now? is the third instalment of Maps Of The World I (No Borders Here) and Map II (The Speckless Sky).

Graceful melodies, poetic lyrics and her crystal voice make Bound By The Beauty a true classic, on a par with When I Was A Boy. Siberry plays guitar and piano, and additional guitar, piano, accordion, bass and drums make up the rest of this heavenly sound. I bless the day I discovered the musical vision of Jane Siberry.

Jane's 3 prevoius releases kinda had her pigeonholed as this electronic Joni Mitchell/Suzanne Vega hybrid. Her odd sense of humor gained her comparisons to Laurie Anderson as well. Here she did something completely unexpected. She tossed out all the synthesizers, took herself and her band to an obscure studio in the middle of nowhere, and also employed a couple of KD Lang's sidemen. The result is a very melodic piece of folk/rock, with that goofball sense of humor that one either gets completely or doesn't. One of the oddest things about her career is the fact that Mimi On The Beach from her No Borders Here album became a huge success in Canada. I saw her once in Detroit at a small venue and it was jam packed with people from Windsor. This record, along with When I Was A Boy, ranks as some of her best. Brian Eno dubbed it an undiscovered masterpiece and was highly critical of Reprise records for not doing anything to promote it. From the opening track which sings the praises of nature to the outright silliness Of Miss Punta Blanca, she certainly has a way with words.

This is one of Jane's most accessible releases, I think, and it has a lot of great stuff on it. Some other punters are not as impressed with Jane's vocal mannerisms as I am, but that's no big deal; you either get into this kind of music, or you don't. "The Valley" is a gorgeous tune, and even fellow Canuck chanteuse k d lang liked it enough to do a cover version of it (k d also covers the lovely "Love is Everything" on her "Hymns of the 49th Parallel" record), but Jane's original version is prettier, more haunting & ethereal. What else can I say aboot this record ? It's swell, and Jane even drops the "F" bomb on the very endearing "Hockey," one of the better songs aboot our national sport.

Buy it, asap.

This is a fabulous album. It seems to move along at an ever increasing speed, through the humerous "Everything Reminds Me of My Dog" and "I Coulda Been Miss Punta Blanca" to the incredibly musical "Are We Dancing" finale. The latter combines a strange languidness with a feverish sense of racing toward a climax. Beautiful, beautiful CD. One of the all time favourites in my collection.

...this album would show up on those "100 greatest albums ever" lists that pop up occassionally in Rolling Stone or on VH1, etc. It is just unconscionable that there would be a mere 11 reviews (as I write this) for such a wonderful album (and some of them are negative - seriously?). Now, I must admit that I was not thrilled with this album when I first heard it. It was very different from what I'd heard before (No Borders Here and The Speckless Sky). Gone were the synths and drum machines and the new-wavish/alternative sound. In their place was something that sounded (to me, initially) like country (something I detest). But I gave it time and found that the album grew on me. It is not country (although some of the tracks are infused with a country-ish feel). It is organic: acoustic (mostly) guitars, piano, accordion. This music has depth and an ineffable beauty. After all these years, I find I am still deeply moved by these songs.

"If there was fire at my house and I could only save one CD - this would be it!" I read this in a review for this album and it promted me to buy it. I now second those words wholeheartedly.