Customer Reviews

Translucent Soul

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4 star:		(1)
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This is Ellis's "Blood on the tracks". It is lyrically on a par with his previous masterpiece "Carnival of voices" and is even more lush musically. The song "Angel in Manhatton" is my favorite: a song about faith in the everyday ordinary. The most catchy song is "The world ain't slowing down", with the images rolling pass the mind's eye (I get the sensation, like joy and fustration; Like getting caught by a tropical rain). This song takes me back to childhood ("Weren't you the kid who just jumped on the merry-go-round?") in much the same way as Frost's poem birches, and yet like Frost is more complex again. If you have ever been alone in a stange town late at night and found the food store to be the only form of entertainment ("I'm a one-man line in a twenty-four hour store") you'll identify with "Take me down". Unlike others writing songs today Ellis IS a poet: this is what gives him the edge over those others. His self-taught guitar style with lilting melodies discovered in the six strings of his altered guitars (Different tunings, Different Strings) have a prosody with his lyrics that can silence a room in performance. Buy this album and expose yourself to art.

Let's be clear here -- this is not the live Ellis Paul experience -- this is Ellis viewed through the polished production crystal of Jerry Marotta, adding a different richness to Ellis' polished, direct live performances. His material displays a great mix of sadness with an eye on a brighter future (e.g. "Seven" and "Live in the Now"), lyrcially and musically. Plus, as he likes to joke, the disc includes his one man Grammy category, Best Lesbian Pop Song By a Male Singer Songwriter ("She Loves a Girl"). Finally, track 12 (a hidden bonus) gives you a feel for Ellis' live sound pretty well. He has a live disc scheduled for release in 2000 -- watch for it. (To be fair, Ellis and I use the same producer/engineer.)

This remains my favorite Ellis Paul CD, even though it is now four years old....it is still the one I prefer when I need someone to simg me to sleep after a difficult day. His beautiful voice is at its best here, its most unencumbered and clearest as he sings these twelve beautiful, intimate songs....it may not be the usual, crowd-pleasing jocular Ellis (which I also adore), but as I said, for the most part, is still my favorite when I have time to really listen to him and think about what he's saying through his lyrics. A must for any serious Ellis fan.

If there is a theme to Translucent Soul, it is one of loss and healing, but Ellis Paul's poetic lines subtly offer solutions and encouragement for dealing with the emotional turmoil that accompanies loss. The listener is presented with 12 beautifully written songs that include a bonus track. It's difficult to choose only one favorite.

Ellis' sweetly intense voice aches to be heard with little or no accompaniment. The beautifully soft instrumentation on Translucent Soul lets that voice be heard while the percussion, electric guitar, bass, mandolin, keyboard and zamfir compliment his unique voice without overshadowing it. On several tracks the bass line is so gorgeous that the listener's ear pulls it from the background into the forefront of hearing. This is the case on "I'm The One To Save", "She Loves A Girl", "The World Ain't Slowing Down', 'Angel In Manhattan', and "Translucent Soul". "I Don't Cry Anymore" and 'Translucent Soul" both contain beautiful electric guitar solos by Duke Levine. The sweet strumming of Ellis on acoustic guitar is at its finest on "I'm The One To Save" when we get a glimpse of loss as he writes "I'm in an emotional prison of the self-inflicted kind". Loss of relationship is evident in the beautiful ballad "Seven" as he writes "I'm letting go cause holding on is killing me"; again in "Bring Me Backwards" as he writes "you stand there bleeding but the blood is mine" and additionally as he asks in the song title "Did I Ever Know You?'

For all the loss, there is just as much healing. Believers in angels as well as cynics will soar along 5th Avenue on "Angel in Manhattan" as Ellis writes "would a little faith come to harm you?" while Dar Williams adds ethereal background vocals. We're reminded to "Live In The Now" as Ellis writes "life is what happens when you're busy making plans". And in "The World Ain't Slowing Down" it's difficult not to sing along on the chorus as he sings "it's a carnival calling out to you. And it sounds like a song...".

In keeping with Ellis' earlier releases, he touches on social issues in the hauntingly beautiful "She Loves A Girl" dealing with same-sex love. The background harmony he adds to his own voice provides an exquisite sound reminiscent of Seals and Croft and the healing continues as he writes "use your love like a suture/ that's a good place to begin". And finally the title track, Translucent Soul, touches on a universal theme of friendship and unconditional love as he says to the listener to "embrace what we have in common; celebrate what sets us apart."

In "Take Me Down" Ellis writes "take me down to where I'm whole; where everybody knows me; deep as the soul can go". Translucent Soul does just that. It speaks to the heart and takes the listener to a place that we all know.

I did not discover the music of Ellis Paul till the summer of 1998.
Since then, I have enjoyed every song and have taken every opportunity to hear him play live.
Translucent Soul takes the listener on a very personal journey. It shouldn't matter who you are or where you're from, these songs take you to the same magical place. Tracks like "The World Aint Slowin' Down" are transforming. When it hits you just right, it can mean everything. James Green, author of "If There's One Thing I've Learned."

amazon.com through the software '...if you like this CD...' led me to ellis paul and his translucent soul. a masterful album, particularly the opening piece of work, 'take me down'. yes, i will be acquiring the rest of paul's albums, starting with 'stories'.

I heard Ellis Paul for the first time on NPR, and bought his disk soon after. It is really good (for details, please see previous reviews). I played it for my fiance (who normally doesn't like male singers) and he loved it, too. This is my favorite kind of music -- light melodies paired with thoughtful, intelligent lyrics.

I have been recently introduced to Ellis Paul through the loss of a friend. Paul's mellow voice and music help to sooth a sad soul. This CD was a terrific find.

A more soothing and thought-provoking listen has been a long time past. Ellis's voice is clear and precise, and each song on this album is a dip into still waters, which sometimes run deep... sometimes not so much. My favorite is actually the untitled and very short hidden track. Take a listen!

The measure of a disc, for this listener, is how the music insinuates itself into the subconscious. When one begins to use lines from songs in one's conversation, the music has transcended the temporal and taken on more resonance -- like good literature. This has been the case with Ellis Paul's music, again, for this listener, and I suspect for others. The latest offering, Translucent Soul, is masterful, evocative, by turns painful and playful. Its compositional richness is instantly apparent. Its deeper meanings -- musings on truth, commitment, and identity, among other themes -- blossom during the hours when the conscious mind is idling, when life slows down for reflection. Ellis Paul is a joy to listen to, to think about, and to share with those for whom you care.