Covered

Sarah Siskind | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 22, 2002)
• Original Release Date: January 22, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Infrasound Collectiv
• ASIN: B00005Y1FY
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #206,222 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

Singer-songwriter “Sarah Siskind’s songs and her arrangements manage to evoke classical art songs, Celtic balladry, torchy late-night jazz, hippie-era folk music and the uptown avant-garde in equal measure, while coalescing into something entirely new and transcendentally beautiful.” (Craig Havighurst, The Tennessean)

Writing music at a very young age, Sarah released her first full-length album “Horizon Cries” at the age of 14. In her home state of North Carolina, Sarah began performing regionally, and collected awards from Songwriting Associations and various contests. Promoting her first record at 14, she shared the bill on a radio show with other North Carolina natives Maya Angelou and Doc Watson.

Sarah always approached music with a unique edge, and in the years following “Horizon Cries,” she wrote jingles for advertising agencies, wrote music for local television, and taught music classes to preschoolers.

At 17, she released her second full release, “Words In The Air”, half of which was recorded live at a benefit concert for a community in El Salvador that she had visited the previous year.

By 18, Sarah was eager to travel and moved to Seattle, Washington where she continued to develop her writing style and perform live. At this time, she began to play guitar, and influenced by such players as Martin Carthy (Bothy Band) and John McLaughlin, she found her own style in open tunings and driving rhythms.

In 2000, she settled in Nashville, Tennessee. Citing the early 90’s folk-duo “The Story” (Jennifer Kimball and Jonatha Brooke) as one of her greatest influences, Sarah did not hesitate when she was asked to open a local show for the touring Jennifer Kimball. After the show, Jennifer Kimball stated, “When Sarah opened for me, I thought I was hearing the perfect combination of Joni Mitchell and Gillian Welch!” Later that year, Jennifer invited Sarah to Boston to share the stage with her at Boston’s prestigious Club Passim, at which time Sarah was also promoting her third release, “Six Songs of Mine.” Other performances included opening for Peter Mulvey and Cheryl Wheeler.

In 2001, she went into the studio to record the full-length album, “Covered”, which will be released by Infrasound Collective in January 2002. Joining her in the studio were legendary avant-garde/jazz guitarist Bill Frisell and Jennifer Kimball, among others.

“It’s rare to hear anyone with such a strong vision.” – Tim O’Brien, Howdy Skies singer-songwriter

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite., March 31, 2002

By 

Alexis S. Bloor (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Covered (Audio CD)

I stumbled upon this album quite randomly while doing a search for Bill Frisell-influenced artists on CDstreet.com. Never did I expect to find a CD that actually had Frisell's guitar work all over it. And never did I expect to "discover" a new singer/songwriter with so much to offer.

Sarah Siskind's songs are so interesting. She takes relatively basic chord progressions and mixes them up into new and innovative passages over which powerful and unexpected melodies soar. These are truly crafted songs, but they appear to be effortless on the surface. Her lyrics are subtle with a lot of depth in her poetry--it's as though she finds a way to describe an apple without using the word "red". It's just right. Also, and perhaps most importantly, her voice is an amazing instrument--slightly alt. country, but totally unique and very skilled.

Even without Bill Frisell's contribution, I would probably rate this album as a five-star. That being said, Frisell has a way of creating just the right kind of texture for each project he's involved in, and this is no exception. There's is nothing like him.

It's not often that I find a recording that gets listened to over and over and over again, but "COVERED" is definitely wearing out my stereo! For anyone who wants a jump on a great indie artists, this is the CD to buy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why has no-one heard of Sarah Siskind?, May 20, 2005

By 

Z. Parker (Madison, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Covered (Audio CD)

Holy smokes, what a great album. I also discovered this while looking up Frisell. Great songs, realized soulfully but with great taste. Her lyrics are thoughtful, funny, sad, incisive, etc; this music transcends a "singer-songwriter" categorization handily by the wholeness of its vision. Her music manages to be both highly creative and original, and very natural-sounding. Everyone I lend this album to loves it; Sarah Siskind should be a super-star by now. Her voice can be a little edgy at times, which might be a problem for some: to me, it's endearing, charming (seducing). Will Sarah go on a date with me? Buy this album now.