Customer Reviews

Infamous Angel

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I saw Iris Dement open for Nanci Griffith about 7 or 8 years ago. While I normally can't even recall an opening performer's name, I actually remember the 4 songs Iris played, 3 of which are on Infamous Angel. I ran out and bought the CD as soon as I could, and am still listening today. If anyone can find a more dead-on analysis of the question of religious beliefs than "Let the Mystery Be", I'd love to see it. And, speaking of religious experiences, I have one everytime I hear Iris harmonize with Emmy Lou Harris on "Momma's Opry". "Our Town" is a beautiful, touching song similar in theme to Bruce Springsteen's "My Hometown", where the singer recalls better days of her hometown while she prepares to leave. Finally, Iris' mother's lead vocals on the closing "Higher Ground" is a near perfect example of those folks who sing their beliefs loud and proud, with voices so pure and simple that they dwarf those more classically trained.

I am hardpressed to think of a CD I enjoy more than this.

We pass our days with things to do and places to go - this is our lot in life. This is life. But now and then you make a 'wrong" turn on a street and pass a shop from which you barely hear something that seems familiar and are drawn towards its source. You walk into the middle of "Let The Mystery Be" as Iris' CD is playing from speakers on the wall. It is not a record shop, but a poutpourri little store. "Who is that singing," you ask the lady with the beautiful long silver hair behind the counter. "Thats Iris Dement," she says. I say, "I never heard of her,". The lady says, "Then today is your lucky day". She points to a chair by the counter and says, "Have a seat and listen to this; you are about to take a journey." I do as she says while she turns to the cd player and forwards to "Our Town".

The song finishes and the lady with the long beautiful silver hair looks at my expression and says, "You don't have to say a word - you have just become DeMented," she says with a smile as she writes down Iris' name and the title of the CD "Infamous Angel" on a notepad and hands me the slip of paper. She says, "I think most music stores carry her cds." You don't sell cds at all," I ask in disappointment. "Sorry, but no, I don't. If I stocked this one, though, I'd probably be out of stock most of the time, anyway." I buy some candles out of politeness, thank her for allowing me to listen to the music and race to a place and within less than an hour I own "Infamous Angel". Now, were it a tape or a record, it would have long since lost its essense from repititous play, but Iris Dement's songs are what cd technology were designed for - you can not stop yourself from overplaying this album, nor would you want to! Iris DeMent's songs and voice fill longings I didn't even know existed in my heart! Should you buy this CD?..Good God yes! and don't even bother looking at the sticker price..and then share it with anyone you can!

I first heard Iris DeMent on British television on the "Transatlantic Sessions" and was overwhelmed by the unaffected lyrical beauty of her performance. Emmylou Harris was also featured on those sessions and she joins Iris on a track of this CD. All three of Iris's solo albums are worth having but this, her first, is undoubtedly her best. If you like Joni Mitchell, Buffy Sainte-Marie and other female singer/songwriters in the folk/country/protest tradition, then you really must hear Iris DeMent, for she is the greatest of them all. The first track on this album, "Let the Mystery Be", deserves classic status and the CD is worth buying just for that song. I could have done without the final track, which is Iris's mother in a performance that I would have thought only a daughter could enjoy (although I note some other reviewers liked it). Still, that leaves 10 tracks of great songs from this unique and very special voice.

I have to admit up-front to being a devoted Iris DeMent fan. I first saw her at the now defunct Folkways Coffee House in Peterborough, New Hampshire in the early 1990s, and she performed most of the songs in this album. From the opening number of "Let The Mystery Be", with Iris advising us that she's happy not to wonder or worry about what God"s plan for her is, one almost immediately recognizes the wondrous gift He has given us with Iris DeMent. This album is an evocative, ethereal, and memorable excursion into the existential dilemmas of contemporary life, and is a treasure for anyone who loves the unique of country and folk music that Iris DeMent bridges so artfully. All of her music here is original and special, and over the last decade she has matured from her beginnings to become a most singular and precious folk treasure. Here she mixes her deep natural religiosity with an awesome practicality in her verses, as in the opening cut "Let The Mystery Be" to "These Hills", in which she waxes sentimentally about her love for the hill country she calls home. From "Sweet Forgiveness", a touching ballad, to the title cut of "Infamous Angel", Iris manages to wring honest, beautiful and special qualities from each of her compositions. Indeed, this whole song cycle is terrific, and I only hope she continues to produce such special and original music for all of us who love her music and her sweet gentle vision of a life well lived and well loved. Enjoy

When I first got this CD about a decade ago I treated it as a bit of a guilty pleasure. A short time later, Iris Dement performed in a church in Berkeley, and I came up ticketless when the show sold out within 24 hours. Then I understood the universal appeal of Iris Dement. She has a simply unique voice, absolutely without artifice, that's somewhat reminiscent of the high lonesome sound of Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Hank Williams, or Kitty Wells. She's a wonderful songwriter whose songs speak of the human condition: love, death, redemption, foregiveness, family. "Let the Mystery Be" has sweet lyrics and an infectious melody, but the subject is no less serious than the meaning of life itself. "Our Town", a nostalgic glimpse of the past, acknowledges that "nothing good ever lasts". "After You're Gone", which she wrote when her father was very ill, can move anyone to tears who has lost a loved one. The title track, "Infamous Angel", deals with home; where you're always welcome to return, even if you have strayed. I've listened to this CD hundreds of times in the past 10 years and still love it. No longer a guilty pleasure, I recommend Iris Dement to everyone.

This is definitely an album that any country music lover should have in their collection. Be prepared, however, for something a bit unusual. There is a raw honesty to the way that Iris DeMent sings that's a million miles away from Nashville. But it's that lack of polish - and the subject matter of hometown life and family - that gives it all so much charm.

The songs are great - particularly the title track, as well as "Let the Mystery Be" and "Hotter than Mojave".

I've seen Iris in concert in the UK and her vocal performance live is just as good as on CD. She tends to be a little shy and retiring on stage though.

I agree with one or two of the other reviewers that subsequent albums haven't been quite as hot. Don't let that put you off this one though.

I first heard this lady while driving through the high desert in the Four Corners ... our driver put this cassette in and asked me if I'd ever heard of Iris Dement. When I said that I hadn't, he smiled a sort of Cheshire Cat grin and turned up the volume. Some how I was whisked back to the little town where I grew up, where there were church socials on most weekends, folk music was still pretty popular, and "country music" was nothing like what's now called "Country and Western". As we drove through the mountains my eyes filled up time and time agin, each time threatening to spill tears down my face, spoiling my carefully cultivated macho image. With the first song ("Let the Mystery Be") I was a goner. Her songs reminded me of how much I used to love listening to John Prine, and all the other folks who play that old-time undoctored music. She also appears in several cuts of John Prine's "In Spite of Ourselves" CD, and the sound of the two of them in duet makes me love her music even more.

Iris DeMent has put together a sparkling treasure chest of songs that evoke times and places and best sentiments of mountain community. Imagine Carol King, Joni Mitchell and Carley Simon without the annoying added layers studio glitz that spoil their vocals and bury their lyric message. Every time you play this deceptively subtle CD you get something more out of it.

Iris DeMent has one of the most beautiful country voices I've ever heard. The songs on this CD are sweet, simple and sound like they could have been written fifty years ago.

I bought this CD after hearing "Our Town" played as the final song on the television series Northern Exposure. If you enjoyed that series you will love this CD. It will make you feel like you're sitting in the Brick with Maggie, listening to Chris on KBHR, waiting for Holling to bring you a beer.

Every so often I hear a CD that makes me sit back in awe - and listening to 'Infamous Angel' was one of those occasions. Iris Dement has a voice that is so Country but so unlike the usual and her songwriting is brilliantly simple but astute. Her music is a mix of folk, bluegrass, gospel & honkytonk and here she's backed by a top band that includes Emmylou Harris, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Al Perkins, Roy Huskey Jr. & Jim Rooney. Standout tracks: 'Let The Mystery Be', 'These Hills', 'Hotter Than Mojave..', 'Our Town', 'Mama's Opry', and the wonderful title track.
Iris Dement's 'Infamous Angel' is Essential Country.