Sylvia Hotel

Cheryl Wheeler | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 26, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Philo / Umgd
• ASIN: B00000HXE0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,670 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #33 in Music > Indie Music > Folk > Singer Songwriters

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Since her first independent EP appeared in 1983, Cheryl Wheeler has been keeping her fans content and more than confounding critics who might prefer to pigeonhole her. This gifted singer/songwriter can shift from deep irony to deeper emotion in the space of a single measure. On Sylvia Hotel, Wheeler's comic brio is particularly abundant. Witness her tongue-twisting, starchy paean to the potato (to the tune of the "Mexican Hat Dance"!)--this is most definitely roots music with a difference. Then there's "Meow," an ode to her master-slave relationship with a saucy, self-loving feline: "I see you in Memphis on the Nile in the spring / Swinging through some palace doing your Egyptian king thing," Wheeler growls. But there are also several beautifully serious songs--such as "His Hometown," a keen tribute to some stronger roots, and "Lighting Up the Mighty Mississippi"--that wreak emotional havoc on listeners' hearts. Leavened with essential humor, abiding images, and sublime harmonies (courtesy of Lucy Kaplansky), Sylvia Hotel should break Wheeler out once and for all. --Kerry Fried

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The only thing better is seeing Cheryl live February 4, 1999

By toddw

Format:Audio CD

Once again Cheryl Wheeler has released a selection of songs that at one minute makes you laugh so hard that you are crying and at the next, you are crying so hard that you start to laugh. It talks of everyday issues, of love lost and moving on, it is a deep, touching and often funny work. She has a voice of an angle and the wit of a stand-up comedian. But it is the depth and beauty of her song writing that is her true gift. If you have never seen Cheryl Wheeler sing live, then you are truely missing one of the most magical events in music today. Sylvia Hotel captures a snapshot of that magic with live recordings of Unworthy and Potato but the real beauty of the recording for me comes in the lovely but sad title song, the lonely Lighting Up the Mighty Mississippi and Rainy Road Into Atlanta. Also All the Live Long Day and But the Days and Nights are Long are stand outs. Sylvia Hotel is one of the most satisfying releases in a long time, it is not to be missed.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you, Cheryl! July 24, 2001

By Jonathan Lyness

Format:Audio CD

I bought this album several months ago and really love it. At first listening I would have called it a 3.5 or 4-star album: the production is a tad heavy in places, and Cheryl's voice is smoother and less gritty than in her live performances (aside from the two live tracks). But unexpectedly, this album grew on me in a big way. Cheryl's lyrics are deceptively simple and so insightful about the small pleasures in life. His Hometown and Lighting Up The Mighty Mississippi in particular I find just incredibly moving--I feel like they'll be with me a long time. I guess I can understand why other reviews rated this album lower--a couple of tracks are weaker than the standouts--but every review is personal, and I can only say that Cheryl Wheeler has touched me personally with this album. If you are a fan of wistful, beautiful singer-songwriter music, you just may feel the same way. Five stars, at least.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Best recording yet of Wheeler's intimacy and lunacy... February 12, 1999

By Keith Hampton

Format:Audio CD

The title track to Cheryl Wheeler's last album, "Mrs. Pinnocci's Guitar" is a story about a late-night sing-along where neighbors and friends sat around on the porch and shared what they knew through the medium of music. "Sylvia Hotel" creates the same effect. Wheeler is constantly reviewing and observing the emotions and situations she knows best. If the subject matter seems mundane, her language and subtle phrasing take songs such as "If it Were Up to Me," "Meow," and "His Hometown" from folkie to divinely simple songs that defy classification. One standout is the breathless "But the Days and Nights are Long" (originally titled "Boulder Hotel Room" in concert), which uses a repetition of rhyme and deceptive verse form to lament and resolve lost love situations in all their forms. The inclusion of live tracks and live studio takes on Wheeler's most recent records helps to convey both her enthusiasm and humor that would otherwise only be available live in concert. The only drawback to this album may be an overabundance of pedal steel and dobro sounds, which never quite seem to fit Cheryl's straightforward vocal style. Perhaps a solo 'cello or oboe would have better suited tracks such as "Sylvia Hotel" or "...Nighs are Long." Overall, this is a grand mixture of poignant and lightheartedness that showcases Wheeler's strengths and puts them, finally, in the spotlight.