Heart Food

Judee Sill | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 1, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino Handmade
• ASIN: B0001MMGEU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #351,862 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Judee Sill's follow-up to her 1971 self-titled debut sadly also turned out to be her final album, yet Heart Food stands neck and neck with its wondrous predecessor as a near-flawless slice of 1970s pop-flavored Laurel Canyon folk. The production and arrangements here are much grander then on Judee Sill, with her original piano- and guitar-driven songs enhanced by strings, church organ, harmonica, pedal steel, kettle drums, and even male vocals. But no matter the song--be it the Brian Wilson-influenced "The Vigilante," the country-flavored "There's a Rugged Road," or the piano-solo delight "When the Bridegroom Comes"--it all comes back to Sill's virginal voice, which twists and teeters in varying octaves and moods, sometimes within the same track. Sadly, her deliberate songwriting style denied her any chance at a third album. Drugs claimed Judee Sill's life just five years after Heart Food, which can serve as an alluring introduction to this brilliant artist or as a proud bookend to her more-appreciated debut. --Scott Holter

Product Description

Judee Sill was a true original. A singer-songwriter with a wealth of influences and a fascination with religion, she referred to her work as "country-cult-baroque." She was the first artist signed to David Geffen's Asylum label, and, along with Joni Mitchell and Carole King, exemplified the breezy "Laurel Canyon Sound" of the early '70s. Sill scored moderate hits with "Lady-O" (originally written for the Turtles) and "Jesus Was A Cross Maker" and released two albums--1971's Judee Sill and 1973's Heart Food--before suffering chronic pain and eventually dying of a drug overdose at age 35.

Sill grew up in Oakland, California, and began playing piano at age three. A troubled family life and brushes with the law landed her in reform school, where, as church organist, she developed the gospel style that would characterize her future recordings. After a stint in college and three down-and-out years of addiction, she cleaned up and began work on her dream of becoming a songwriter. She spent a short time penning songs for the Turtles' production company before signing her own deal with Asylum.

Pleased with the creative direction of Judee Sill, the singer-songwriter again teamed with engineer/producer Henry Lewy (Joni Mitchell, Neil Young) for her follow-up. On Heart Food, Sill's voice is stronger and Lewy's production more resonant. Built around the singer's guitar or piano, the songs are arranged with similar ambition. "There's a Rugged Road," a meditation on Christ's humanity, features country violins, pedal steel, multi-tracked vocals, and a hoofbeat rhythm. The gospel-influenced "Down Where the Valleys Are Low" burns with electric guitar, church organ, vibes, and doo-wop harmonies. The album's closing opus, "The Donor," uses male voices and tympani to build an intense medieval round.

This Rhino Handmade release of Heart Food has been remastered from original source materials and expanded with nine bonus tracks, including the studio outtake "The Desperado" and eight solo demo versions of album tracks.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A LIFE PAINTED INTO SONG..., May 14, 2004

By 

Larry L. Looney (Austin, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heart Food (Audio CD)

...in all its glory, with every ounce of pain, joy, inspiration, struggle, love and anger - that's what Judee Sill has given us. The story of her life contains elements that are all too common in the world of music - and in the larger one as well. A rebellious child of the 60s, Judee defined `tumultuous' - marriage at a young age, time spent in reform school on an armed robbery conviction, addiction to heroin, prostitution to support her habit. Through all of this, and beyond, into the rest of her adult life, she showed an uncompromising strength of spirit that gave her the courage and ability to carry on. She kicked heroin cold turkey in jail - and she found personal meaning in a facet of faith that resonated within her, which surged into her music and conveyed a refreshing and uplifting combination of innocence and certainty pushed ever forward with a yearning for growth without end. It made her one of the greatest and most purely honest of the huge crop of singer-songwriters that filled the bins in the music stores in that era - and it has endowed her art with an edge that makes it as relevant today as when the album was first released, back in 1973.

The spiritual images in Judee's songs spring from her interest and immersion in the more mystical forms of Christian study. The notes in the accompanying booklet mention the Rosicrucian Order - I can see and hear references to elements of the Gnostic Gospels as well. Her religious beliefs were forged from a wide range of sources - she took from each one as it spoke to her, and she made them her own, which is as it should be. Unlike artists who would be considered `gospel' or `religious' singers, however, Judee's work never comes across as proselytizing or preaching - she's singing about topics that mean a lot to her, that have touched her life and brought her hope and strength. There are earthly aspects to her songs as well - just as there are earthly aspects to our lives. No matter how far we reach with our minds and hearts, our feet remain planted on the earth, among our fellow human beings, replete with all emotional baggage. She sings of love in all of its forms - divine, lustful, and everything in between. It's all a part of who we are - human - and Judee was no different. She was, however, blessed with the rare gift of being able to convey her thoughts and feelings in an amazingly insightful and moving way in song.

The arrangements on HEART FOOD are a bit fuller than the ones of her eponymous debut - the string charts in particular (written by Judee) are wonderful, accenting and framing the songs beautifully. The feel of this album runs the gamut from folk to country to gospel, with one track (`Soldier of the heart') boasting a more `rock' arrangement, complete with a bluesy lead guitar line. Her voice is wonderful throughout - what you hear is pure Judee, no tricks, no frills, no cloyed `perfect' pronunciation. As the notes affirm, Judee sang just like she spoke - with an unaffected, natural twang, completely honest and unpretentious, straight from the heart and soul.

The re-mastering job on this extended re-release is beautifully full, crisp and clear - and the article in the booklet (by Michele Kort, author of a biography of Laura Nyro) is informative and balanced. There are nine extra tracks included here - `The desperado', a song recorded during the sessions for the album but left off the final released; plus eight demo versions of various songs, which give the listener an opportunity to hear Judee perform them solo, without any back-up singers or instruments. These demos are every bit as powerful in their own way as the more filled-out versions that were released on the album - which shouldn't be surprising: the power and soul of Judee's music is in her words and music, and even without the trappings, they shine like the rare jewels they are.

This edition, from Rhino Homemade, is limited to 5000 copies (as is their simultaneous re-release of her first album) - I don't know if it will be made available in a pared-down version or not. Judee's work is shamefully not very well-known, so my best advice would be to get this (and the other album) while you can.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Divinely Inspired, April 22, 2004

By 

Thomas Horan (Chapel Hill, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heart Food (Audio CD)

Heart Food is one of only two albums ever recorded by the mysterious Judee Sill, the erudite scion of a wealthy Hollywood family who ended up a penniless heroin addict. Despite the tragic sordidness of her life, Sill's ingenious lyrics are intensely devotional and cryptic, like poetic messages from the contemporary sibyl of some heretical Christian sect. Her vocal range is astonishing and her pitch is perfect. It's like listening to the voice of some lost, wandering saint.

The songs themselves are lushly arranged folk tunes with a strong country influence. Sill characterized her style as Country Cult Baroque, and that's as useful a label as any I can think of. The overall effect is intensely honest and moving.

This album was out of print for years, but Rhinohandmade has now produced a very limited number of definitive reissues, featuring an unreleased song and a set of haunting demos of Sill singing alone accompanied only by her piano or guitar.

If you have a taste for Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen, John Martyn, Joni Mitchell, Scott Walker, or Kate Bush, this record really will feed your heart.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Title Says It All, January 4, 2006

By 

Todd and In Charge (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Heart Food (Audio CD)

This is a landmark album, happily re-released in 2005 with insightful and poetic liner notes from XTC's Andy Partridge. It's easy to see why David Geffin went with Judee as his first Asylum records release way back when: this has a strong "Ladies of the Canyon" feel to it, and sums up everything he was trying to do with that label when he first started it.

It's hard to pick favorites here, every song is a standout -- the opener is a religious ode as fervent and beautiful as I've ever heard; "The Kiss" should be played at every cool wedding or by anyone deeply in love or once touched thereby; and "Soldier of the Heart" is the hit song that never was.

I could go on, but the music here is hard to describe and must be heard, carefully, to understand. It shares the multi-tracking vocal and harmonic style of early to mid-period Joni, and Judee's voice has echoes of both her and "Hotcakes" era Carly Simon, yet the music is organic, unique, utterly real, and ethereal. The arrangements rival Brian Wilson in their complexity and beauty, but are very feminine, warm, and enveloping, with strong religious overtones. It's a high point for the possibilities of the pop album, and should be gobbled up quick before it goes away again.