Customer Reviews

Eighty Numbered Streets

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

 

 

Sam Shaber's previous CD showed considerable songwriting talent, a very nice voice, and competent guitar work. Why mess with such a good thing? "Eighty Numbered Streets" shows why. The excellent arrangements and added instrumentation breathe life into the songs and further enhance Shaber's always outstanding lyrics, elegant melodies, and wonderful voice. As examples, this CD repeats two songs from "PerfecT", "All of This," and "Rain and Sunshine." The songs were nice in the "simple, folk" version of the earlier album, but the new arrangements cause them to soar. Ironically, the most compelling selection on the CD has the simplest arrangement. "Bare" is spare. Using impressionist images rather than explicit statements, the song is a testament to personal honesty in writing and performing. Thus, it aptly begins with a few words of studio patter. It is sung with no more than her vocals and guitar, until Jere Flint's cello sneaks in midway through the song. My only objection is the song's opening line, "No poetry, no pillowshams." We know what she means about the pillowshams, but she does herself a disservice with "No poetry". This song, like the rest of the songs on this terrific CD, is poetry of the first order.

Sam Shaber's music is cool, her lyrics smart, and her delivery passionate. As today's singer-songwriters go, she has grown to be one of the best. "Eighty Numbered Streets" is filled with warm songs to friends, to family, and most notably to New York City. Despite the autobiographic roots of this CD, she successfully avoids the self-obsession that plagues many of today's musicians. Energy, honesty, and a wonderfully soulful voice add up to a real gem of an album--contemporary urban folk/pop at its finest.

Shaber's 'Eighty Numbered Streets' is full of the kind of passion, honesty, and intelligence that makes you love music in the first place. This is an album that reflects Shaber's own perceptions on events that we can all relate to. The production is wonderful, careful not to lose the raw feel of a live show or to take away from the singer-songwriter's folky appeal or energy (yes, the two can co-exist happily!). If you're in the mood for some good music, here it is.

Innovative, intense singer-songwriter Shaber has done it again. It's been two years since her "SAMpler" EP, and three since the live tour de force "pERFECT," but rather than just leave them behind and move on, Sam chose to devote part of her brand-new studio CD to improving upon some of that earlier raw material. You might have difficulty at first hearing new versions of familiar, comfortable material, but it's worth overcoming that old happy place for a new one.

Shawn Mullins (yeah, the "Lullaby" guy) was at the board this time, and he and Sam had a full band at their disposal to cook some very deeply-felt material into mature, well-orchestrated songs. These songs comprise an effective album-length document of where Sam's life and imagination have taken her since the vulnerability and codependency of "pERFECT." Only a few years later, for instance, her cute angst over a crush has morphed into wistful musings about how those feelings settle and evolve as the love matures.

Even the songs themselves have changed to an extent. Though I think "Beloved" had its place on "SAMpler," and it's odd at first to hear the "Intalood" from "Beloved" out of context, I think Sam's decision to remove it from that context was very daring and ultimately wise.

As usual, not all the songs are about love. With due respect to Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young, Sam's "Simon Says" is the most moving song so far about the events of September 11, and everybody should have a chance to hear it.

As always, nobody should pass up an opportunity to hear Sam live, and I think "pERFECT" did a great job of capturing her energy on CD. But "Eighty Numbered Streets" is a powerful demonstration of how far a dedicated songwriter can come with only a few extra years of life, love, touring, and Sanka.