Living Road

Lhasa De Sela | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 10, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nettwerk Records
• ASIN: B0002JE90Q
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,407 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #39 in Music > World Music > Latin Music > General AAS
  • #71 in Music > Dance & DJ > World Dance

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Already a star in Canada and France, the gifted singer/songwriter Lhasa sets her sights on America with this remarkable multi-cultural effort. The Living Road, the follow-up to her 1998 debut, features her smoky vocals (in French, English, and Spanish) in front with wonderfully understated support that draws upon Mexican folk styles, French chansons, Spanish ballads, and modern-sounding songwriters like Joe Henry or Jim White. The accompaniment is exceptional, but it's Lhasa's voice and lyrics that set her apart. Whereas fellow Mexican-American singer Lila Downs dives into large cultural and political issues, this modern-day torch singer sings about intensely personal experiences and inner thoughts--much of the lyrics are sung in the first person or directed toward another, as if she's writing a letter to a lover. Her sensual phrasing perfectly fits the intimate subject matter, particularly when she sings in French, while her husky timbre exudes inner strength that beyond question. Six years is a long time between albums, but The Living Road was worth the wait. --Tad Hendrickson

Product Description

Lhasa is probably best known for her appearance on the Tindersticks album Waiting For The Moon. If you haven't heard Lhasa, think of Leonard Cohen-like lyrics sung in French by a female with backup music that sounds like Tom Waits. World. 2003. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent successor to "La Llorona.", March 29, 2004

By 

Sarah - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Living Road (Audio CD)

Lhasa de Sela's sound is the unique product of a bohemian upbringing: born in the US to an American actress/photographer mother and Mexican college professor father, the family (including Lhasa's three sisters, three half-sisters and three half-brothers) traveled throughout the USA and Mexico on a bus. At age 13 Lhasa began singing, taking lessons from a jazz singer in San Francisco. Lhasa's influences include Billie Holliday, Chavela Vargas, Tom Waits, Cuco Sanchez, Maria Callas, Victor Jara and Jacques Brel. Lhasa was also influenced by the passing landscapes, the stories and fairytales told by her mother, as well as the Latin, Arab, Eastern European and Asian music she would listen to.

In "The Living Road," chanteuse Lhasa builds upon the musical foundations laid on her debut "La Llorona," combining moody vocals with a heavy sprinkling of Latin, klezmer, jazz and world influences. "The Living Road" was written seven years after the release of "La Llorona," after Lhasa had moved from Montréal to France in order to perform with her sisters, who are circus performers. The twelve songs are a mixture of English, French and Spanish lyrics. The unique instrumentation present on her debut makes a reappearance here, with the addition of xylophone, bells, mariachi trumpets, maracas, slide guitar and more.

Lhasa's new album is truly a voyage of discovery. Where "La Llorona" centered around the mythical Wailing Woman, "The Living Road" is a metaphor of life as a road. "That's what inspires each of the songs on the album," says Lhasa. "The mysterious force that doesn't let us box ourselves in, that compels us to keep changing. The road is alive, we can't freeze or stop it. And we know can't."

My personal favourites include "La frontera," with a very traditional mariachi sound, the repetitive yet addictive "Small Song," "La marée haute," and "Pa' llegar a tu lado," with its melancholy waltzing rhythm and Satie-like piano bassline. The musical mood is somewhere between a torch song, Mexican folk, Spaghetti Western, and circus music. An excellent sophomore album with all the sparkle and wit we've come to expect from Lhasa. This album was nominated as one of Amazon.ca's Top Albums of 2003 by critics and customers alike, and it's easy to hear why.

34 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lhasa, Lhasa..., September 16, 2004

By 

M. Myers (Jax, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living Road (Audio CD)

I loved Lhasa's first CD and lived threw the 1997 Ice storm (Quebec) with it. This second CD was a pure pleasure when I saw it in the store. I didn't know she came out with a new CD. I had been living in Florida for 2 years, and international culture is not a priority here. This album is a piece of Montreal that travels in my car all the time. The mix of French, English and Spanish is the everyday reality in Montreal... Que de souvenirs.
This is an amazing album, with passion, emotions... The music is great and the lyrics are even better.

Le premier CD de Lhasa m'a aider a passer au travers de la tempete de verglas qu'on a eu au Quebec en 1997. Quel joie quand j'ai vu son nouveau CD au magasin. Habitant la Floride, je ne suis plus au courant de ce qui ce passe au niveau de la culture internationale. Donc, pendant mon voyage a Montreal, j'ai decouvert qu'elle avait sortie un nouvel album. En plus, c'est un melange de Francais, anglais et espagnol... Montreal me suit partout en auto avec ce nouveau CD de Lhasa. Elle est vraiment super! Les paroles, la musique... C'est indescriptible, parce que c'est unique a Lhasa!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LA CHANTEUSE, November 3, 2005

By 

Hathor "une femme" (Argentina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living Road (Audio CD)

I discovered Lhasa by chance, and I instantly adored her music. Here's a singer out of the commonplace. She's very personal and her musicians are great as well. I find her lyrics are fantastic, she expresses no hypocrisy at all; but frank and profound thoughts, moods and emotions. If I were to describe her music in a word I would say it is intense.

J'ai découvert Lhasa par hasard, et j'ai adoré sa musique instantanément. Elle est une chanteuse hors du commun. Elle est très personnelle et ses musiciens sont très bons aussi. Je trouve que ses paroles sont fantastiques, elle n'exprime aucune d'hypocrisie, pas du tout; mais franches et profondes pensées, humeurs et émotions. Pour décrire sa musique en un mot je dirais que c'est intense.

Descubrí a Lhasa de casualidad, y su música me encantó instantáneamente. Esta es una cantante fuera de lo común. Es muy personal y sus músicos son muy buenos también. Creo que sus letras son fantásticas, no expresa hipocresía alguna sino francos y profundos pensamientos, estados de ánimo y emociones. Si tuviera que describir su música en una sola palabra diría que es intensa.