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Editorial Reviews
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A blueprint for the early-'70s Laurel Canyon sound, Judee Sill's short-lived star was still shining brightly when she pulled into London for a pair of live shows in 1972 and 1973, recorded by the BBC. Sill performing entirely solo, her saintly voice is escorted only by acoustic guitar or piano on a playlist culled wholly from her 1971 self-titled debut and 1972's Heart Food. Only an eager audience's response between tracks and Sill's own timid introductions of what lies next remind you that the album is live. Apologizing for her thick accent, she tells of hearing "Lady-O" on the radio as recorded by the Turtles, her dreams of space-age raptures turning up in "Enchanted Sky Machines," and how "Down Where the Valleys Are Low" channels '50s R&B into a "religious love song." Then she utterly nails the diffident beauty so prevalent on her studio recordings, such as the meandering vocals of "Jesus Was a Crossmaker" and the nursery-rhyming "Lamb Ran Away with the Crown." Sill's nearly five-minute interview with the BBC's Bob Harris is a bonus, and a haunting peek into a future cut far too short. --Scott Holter
Product Description
Nearly 30 years after her passing Judee Sill remains one of the most important and singular talents of the Laurel Canyon scene. Her two releases for David Geffen’s Asylum (1971's Judee Sill and 1973's Heart Food) are critically celebrated masterpieces of orchestral folk. Her songs have been covered by artists as diverse as The Turtles and Will Oldham and her fans include Jim O’Rourke, Devendra Banhart, Graham Nash, Sleater-Kinney and more. This amazing collection of previously unreleased live recordings from the BBC archives features beautiful versions of some of her most well known songs including ''Jesus Was A Cross Maker,'' ''Lady-O,'' ''The Kiss'' and more. Recorded in 1972 and 1973 at the peak of her talent, the tracks on this collection are from solo performances featuring Sill on vocals, piano and guitar. Absolutely stunning.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extraordinary performances, essential for fans,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Live in London: The BBC Recordings 1972-1973 (Audio CD)
This is great. If no new songs, it's still marvelous to get the purity of Judee with just guitar or piano accompaniment. And the interviews are cool too, & informative about her attitude and POV. Some songs like "The Kiss" take on even more beautiful aspects I think. Maybe not the place to start for newcomers to her or
casual fans perhaps, but marvelous to have.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Judee Sill: from songwriter to sweet silver angel,
This review is from: Live in London: The BBC Recordings 1972-1973 (Audio CD)
Two important reasons for buying this recording, and you don't have to be a hardcore fan: the fact that while a bit nervous, she also seems incredibly gentle, sweet, direct -painfully honest in the Jesus Was A Crossmaker introduction- and even funny when presenting her songs. This gives me a more realistic and less scandalous image of Judee, because it's been so widely publicized how troubled she was. Listening to her joking and connecting so vividly with her audience gives you a bigger picture of a complex woman. The public seems so warm and perceptive, too. A second reason: it's a real delight to hear her live because Judee had such high standards regarding her musicianship, lyricism and vocal delivery: not a single false nor exaggerated note, all songs performed with total belief and devotion. Her playing sounds as meticulous as if this were a studio session, and fortunately, the recording has very good quality. Reviewer Brian Greene isn't exaggerating when he says "it seems these songs meant the world to her". She crafted and performed them so carefully, patiently (it took her one year to perfection "Crossmaker") and lovingly that pretty much every recording out there of JS is worth having, really. Her albums have the most special place in my music collection. Up there with Pink Moon, Five Leaves Left, Pet Sounds, Rubber Soul...
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A new look on an unusual talent,
This review is from: Live in London: The BBC Recordings 1972-1973 (Audio CD)
Judee Sill's two original studio albums, Judee Sill and Heart Food were a most unusual take on the singer/songwriter motif of the 1960s and 1970s. Instead of highly personal or social lyrics, Sill's songs had an intensely mystical focus that related, as she said, to her work as a church organist in a reform school after she was convicted several times as a teenager. She was, as it turned out, unable to redeem herself from the life she led and died at the age of thirty-five in 1979.
Although both her studio albums have a truly mystical, enchanting sound, on this live recording Sill actually maganed to strip it back even further to just piano and acoustic guitar. This has the surprising, even unusual, effect of allowing each note to be totally heard. Even some notes that may have been merely played as overtones resonate in a remarkable manner throughout the recording, and this adds to the already surprising beauty and power of Sill's songs. A lot of this record is actually interviews, but these, unlike some that are merely irritants, offer a lot of insight into the way Sill lived and how she became a recording artist. There are interviews before most songs but the full interview in the middle of the record offers the best insight I have yet heard into a musician and his/her art. A worthwile addition to a short, but wonderful and unique career.
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