Lost Verses Live

Mark Kozelek | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 12, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Caldo Verde
• ASIN: B00242GSFS
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,462 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon performs a veritable 'best of ' selection of songs from his career on his new live album Mark Kozelek: Lost Verses - Live. Live
performances by Mark Kozelek are usually hushed a airs. Concert halls can seem like tiny cafes as audiences give their full attention to the stage and strain to catch Kozelek s every inflection. Mark's previous two live albums, White Christmas Live (2001 Subpop), recorded in Scandinavia, and Little Drummer Boy Live (2006
Caldo Verde), a double live album, both captured this atmosphere perfectly. Mark Kozelek: Lost Verses - Live, is a single, 74 minute disc
bookend to these albums. Recorded live during Kozelek s 2007 and 2008 acoustic tours with Sun Kil Moon/Red House Painters guitarist Phil Carney as
accompaniment, this 14 song set features songs primarily chosen
from the Sun Kil Moon catalog but also includes solo and Red House Painter s material. The album was recorded in intimate, seated settings such as The First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia, The Williamsburg Music Hall in Brooklyn, The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco and the Aladdin Theatre in Portland, finding Mark at his best, relaxed and interacting with the appreciative audience.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You Want Live Albums, You Got It, May 12, 2009

By 

armenianthunder (los angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lost Verses Live (Audio CD)

Much like his previous live releases, this album presents Mark Kozelek at his unadorned best, in quiet, majestic settings like San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts, joined only by frequent collaborator Phil Carney on acoustic guitar. All the tracks (except the cover of the standard "Send in the Clowns" and the Red House Painters classic "Katy Song") come from the Sun Kil Moon songbook (particularly 2008's watershed, stripped-down masterpiece, April), and they generally don't stray far from the original studio recordings. However, some of the newer songs (particularly the slow, intertwining Spanish guitars of "Heron Blue") reveal entirely new depths in this live setting, when slowed down even further. Overall, the atmosphere is less sterile than 2006's Little Drummer Boy, with more audience interaction, capturing the feeling of an actual show, despite having been recorded over a year in a half dozen locations around the world.

Having recently discovered the economic benefits of releasing his music on his own label, Kozelek has issued numerous live solo recordings in recent years, and admittedly, there is not always much to distinguish the numerous recordings, either from their original studio versions, or from themselves, yet most Kozelek fans will tell you that they can't get enough of that sad, sweet voice, and those gorgeous, melancholy, open-tuned songs. However, this listener hopes that Koz is not going the way of the Grateful Dead, issuing studio albums once a decade, and paying the rent with endless live recordings, which will be snapped up by his modest but faithful following. That said, Lost Verses Live *is* a great live album, but one hopes it won't be another five years for an album of new, original material. He is, above all, a phenomenal songwriter, capable of making dynamic albums in full-band settings, his one-of-a-kind voice and able guitar playing augmented by subtle but interesting instrumental shadings. But if Kozelek wants to fill the waiting time with a handful of solo live albums, his fans will probably not mind. At least, not for a while.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, hushed live set from Kozelek!, July 1, 2011

By 

Frank Smith - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lost Verses Live (Audio CD)

I think as time goes on Mark Kozelek will be recognized as a great American songwriter. That the one cover on Lost Verses Live is Stephen Sondheim's classic Send In the Clowns is fitting then, as 40 years from now artists will most certainly be singing Kozelek's tunes. The 14 songs on this 73 minute live set were recorded at 7 different shows from October, 2007 to June, 2008 but it's cohesive in presentation and feels like one marvelous night of music. Most of the songs are from the Sun Kil Moon album April, but the Red House Painters era is represented with the closer, the beautiful Katy Song. This is a spare, yet multi-coloured canvas, to represent Kozelek's music as it's just Mark on acoustic guitar and vocals accompanied by Phil Carney on guitar. Lovely, intimate and inspired, Kozelek presents great songs like Unlit Hallway, Moorestown, Heron Blue, Lost Verses, Harper Road and others with that world-weary voice that wraps it all in a gauzy, autumnal feel. Kozelek is a marvellous guitar player and I don't think he gets enough credit for his prowess on the instrument as a player and composer. Mark Kozelek: Lost Verses Live is an astonishing album from a truly gifted singer/songwriter whose music will stand the test of time.

5.0 out of 5 stars Dreamy, March 30, 2010

By 

Abram Kielsmeier-Jones "Abram" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lost Verses Live (Audio CD)

Two guitars with their lush tones, interlocking perfectly, heavily reverbed vocals... Kozelek's brilliant songwriting. It's all here! As dreamy as folk gets.