Customer Reviews

Parallelograms

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Here's a superb long-lost gem from the end of the 1960s, a perfect example of the more thoughtful & optimistic sensibilities of that time. Linda Perhacs' voice is haunting, playful, yearning, sensual, or soaring, just as each song demands. There's intelligence & a certain otherworldliness in her songs, along with an occasional streak of whimsy & mischief. An album just made for solitary listening, it will take you to a sunnier place (with patches of cool, mysterious shade) ... and isn't that what we all need at times? "Chimacum Rain" & "Hey Who Really Cares?" are standout tracks, along with the wonderfully spacey title track, which just shimmers with eerie beauty. Highly recommended!

Parallelograms, Linda Perhacs' one and only album is well worth the price of admission. It's great if mutual interest allows you to get into Perhacs, but other than that, pay no attention to the Joni Mitchell comparisons. This album grooves on something really separate from Joni--there's something spacey, ethereal about Perhacs' delicate vocals, the music's subtle, trippy arrangements, and the way she deals with the subjects of her songs. My personal favorite highlights are Chimacum Rain (check out the overdubbed vocals . . . this track really sets the tone for the album as reflective, and tinged with psychedelia), Paper Mountain Man (real groovy character sketch), the almost modal chant of Parallelograms, and the immediately accessible Hey, Who Really Cares? Throughout, the music matches the lyrics--Call of the River verges on tone poem, and on the rest, acoustic guitar flourishes illustrate moods and Perhacs' idiosyncratic observations. The bonus tracks (as bonus tracks usually are), are not essential, although they do add to the singer's mystique, encompassing ALL of her recordings, EVER. I recommend this album to fans of acoustic singer/songwriter fans, and especially those who like when performers bend the genre and get a little weird--Parallelograms certainly isn't content to rehash what's already been done. It looks like the CD issue is getting scarcer--I'd urge prospective buyers to pick up a copy before it's prohibitively expensive--I think you'll find it's worth your money.

This album is a breath of fresh air away from the current crop of talentless people in the charts and headlines. An intoxicating set of songs, beautifully sung and created with real attention to detail which we haven't heard since Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark or perhaps Judee Sill's Heart Food. Sometimes one gets the sense that certain substances had been consumed - particularly on listening to the opening Chimacum Rain, Linda intones 'I'm spacing out...' - but it's really on the title track Parallelograms where we hear something wonderfully otherworldly. But the entire album is a multi-faceted gem, well worth anyone's attention. Beautiful.

It's surprising how many mediocre artists sell so many records, and how really interesting artists disappear into obscurity. Linda Perhacs is no exception. Blessed with a beautiful clear voice, a batch of lovely songs and a mind willing to experiment, she has produced a stunning work which has long been lost to the world but thankfully been brought to light again.

The album has a flying start with "Chimacum rain" which sets the tone for the rest: layers of stunning vocals and a sympathetic & effective backing. "Paper mountain man" is less unique but still very good, and reminds the listener of Heart. Songs like "Dolphin", "Call of the River" and "Morning colors" especially remind me of Tim Buckley's great Happy/Sad & Blue afternoon period. Least succesful in this great set of songs is "Moons and cattails", which sounds too contrived & less 'spontaneous' if you will. The title song "Parallellograms" has surprising lyrics (a lot of mathematical words) and a daring experimental break, which also hints at Tim Buckley's work - the unique and superb "Starsailor".
For me, winner in this fine collection is "Hey, who really cares": nothing strange or daring there, but very gentle, melancholic & simply beautiful.

In all this album is head above many works sold by the millions and it deserves a far greater audience. Happily, it seems that Linda Perhacs has decided to enter the world of music again and will produce a new album (only her second since the end of the sixties) by the end of this year. Hopefully this new album (if it is as good as the first one) will cause a more deserving response.

Man did I miss the boat... what was in the water between 1965 and 1975?! This is one of those albums that I instantly knew I was going to love, just by looking at the cover. I just knew... ok this girl is cool lol!

The opener "Chimacum Rain" is just one of those songs that stays with you for days after listening to it. The meandering vocal melody over a soft, pensive guitar arrangement has such a simple power to it. Multi-tracking the voice makes this song wash over the listener the way a soft drizzle of rain would. MAGIC! The rest of the album is just as wonderful. Each song is distinct, and manages to retain its own personality while remaining part of a whole. Linda's voice is one of the best I've heard on any folk recording. She has the playful, bouncy phrasing of early Joni, with a soaring tonal beauty that at times is reminiscent of Joan Baez. Linda Perhacs has this unique ability to sound optimistic yet never naive, haunting while never depressing. She is the kind of girl that I could fall in love with 1,000 times over!

As I was reading through the CD jacket I noticed that special thanks were given to both Mikael Akerfeldt and Peter Lindgren from Opeth, as well as Steven Wilson from Porcupine Tree who has produced three Opeth albums. I was really happy to see that because I'm a huge Opeth fan (have been for many years now), and it's nice to know that they were involved in the reissuing of this amazing album. Anyway, I highly recommend Parallelograms to anyone who has stumbled across this page, or anyone curious about Linda Perhacs. It is a truly wonderful album, and more people need to know about it!

With her hauntingly beautiful album, "Parallelograms," Linda Perhacs offers each listener a stunning gift: a magical journey into the world of psychedelic folk music as the gods meant it to be. Her lyrics and music mirror a love of nature, along with the personal and most intimate parts of her soul. Listening to her, one is continually struck by the perfection of Linda's voice; you cannot help being emotionally moved. This wonderful CD personifies perfection...with taste, warmth, sensitivity, feeling, perception, and all the womanly virtues.

When it comes to this singer/composer, I confess to a large dose of bias that might influence my objectivity about "Parallelograms," or at least render it suspect. You see, Linda and I are dear friends and were high school classmates together in Mill Valley, California. Some reviewers claim that Linda was a Love Child of the 60s, but in high school she embodied all the attributes of the classic "girl next door;" all the boys wanted to date her, and all the girls wanted to be like her. Linda was head cheerleader, an honor student, sang lead in the school musical ("Pajama Game"), and was homecoming queen. By any measurement, she was a sensational 17 year-old girl. Now, years later, she is an even more beautiful woman, still brimming with talent and spiritual insight. It wasn't by accident that "Mojo Music Magazine" picked "Parallelograms" as one of its 67 all time best lost albums. Let's hope Linda favors us with another masterpiece---soon.

A lot of people compare Linda Perhacs to the early works of Joni Mitchell. This is somewhat true in some cases, but the truth of the matter is that Parallelograms is a lot more haunting and distant sounding than any of Mitchell's albums. As a love child of the '60s, Perhacs recorded only one album that, even today, very few people have a great deal of information about; some aren't even sure about the exact release date. But in addition to being somewhat of an oddity, this is unquestionably one of the better folk releases of the 1970s. Perhacs voice is paired perfectly with gentle acoustic guitar and other occasional instruments. The lyrics are from left field at times, but they always have the most pure and innocent quality. Luckily, Perhacs was located sometime in the late `90s and master tapes were used to re-release this beautiful classic to a new generation. Amazing!

Sometimes the genius of an album can be overhyped by it's obscurity. It is maybe hard to tell if people can be objective or does it even matter when your presented with this stunning set of songs. 'Call of the river' and 'Delicous' are maybe my two favourites but you simply can't go wrong any of the tracks here. Variety is a key ingredient. Listen to 'Moons and Catails' then 'Paralelograms' then 'hey who really cares' this is not simply strummed chords and some stupid lyric. The vocal arrangments are gorgeous as evidenced by the title track (why can't people write intelligent backing vocal anymore. This album is pure sex.

...is a joy forever. Linda Perhac's voice is pure and true; this album is a long-lost treasure from the sixties and yet, like the work of Nick Drake, the songs are both timeless and contemporary. "Hey Who Really Cares" is one of the most poignant and moving tracks I have ever heard; and is just crying out to be included in an important mainstream movie soundtrack. Inventive harmonies, spiralling guitars, trippy touches, and above all written from a woman's point of view, light some candles and allow Linda's pitch perfect voice to enfold you. Linda, if you're reading this, please please record some more music as the world is a lesser place without your talent.

This one and only album from Linda dates back to 1970. It has since been remastered with extra tracks that offer insight into Linda's musical experimentations with different instruments and production. The music is really well written and is some of the best psychedelic folk music I've heard. Recommended by none other than Mikael Akerfeldt of the band Opeth, I had to give this a try. As usual Mikael is spot on with this recommendation. Parallelograms comes off as a beautifully crafted "acid trip" type of folk music with little surprises inserted throughout to add interest to what is already, quality music. If you're familiar with the mind bending works of bands like Comus, you'll love this.