Customer Reviews

Homesick Songs

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4 star:		(1)
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Homesick Songs is a collection of joyful songs with a definite Klezmer feel.

As noted on the liner notes; "This CD is a collection of love songs, not for people but for places: towns, cities and countries left behind in Eastern Europe"..towns that were once Jewish and where the residents once spoke Yiddish.

I especially enjoyed the vocals of Annette Ezekiel, and Nikolayev where she is featured is my personal favorite.

I would have loved to have the exact text of each song and its translation into English, but the liner notes do give a summary of each song and more information about some of the songs can be found on the Golem website. http://www.golemrocks.com/html/home/

Piercingly lovely music you will find nowhere else. The musicianship is excellent, the taste perfect, and the research - as illustrated by the field recording that begins Track 3 - commendable. Ezekiel is the reigning genius of Golem, but it is Diskin's transcendent vocals that will make your toes curl in delectation. When fine material and execution combine, as on Tracks 2 and 12, the result is ... who has the words? (Did I mention the linguistic virtuosity of Golem's vocalists? They should get an NEA grant, just for starters.)

If you think you know everything about jewish music, Golem will prove you wrong. It is not an homogeneous album though - it's got its ups and downs. But though some songs are only average, the songs that are good are *REALLY GOOD*. If you want to sample it, buy Odessa, a very energetic piece. If you like it, buy the rest of the album. You can't go wrong.