2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A work with both novelty and artistic value., February 28, 2010
This review is from: Songs From the Hill (Audio CD)
Songs from the hill is an album that serves both as a showcase of Monk's extended vocal techniques (whispers, gobbles, screams, etc) and an interesting musical work. All the compositions (except track 2, which uses a jewish harp) are for solo performer, which is also Monk in this record. The songs are short and minimalistic. Most of them are impressionistic (in a loose sense) depictions of poetic scenes, none of them have any lyrics, but instead Monk's distinctive vocal sounds. The whole series seems to form a coherent landscape, one of contemplative beauty and solitude. While perhaps not a masterpiece nor the best introduction to Monk's work, Songs from the hill is an artistic achievement still worthy of attention.
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