CD Review

Left Field: Still A-Live!
Bill Bly, Deborah Griffin Bly, Elizabeth Emmert, Bill Neely

It's been ten years since I reviewed a great concert by this zany and very talented bunch, and now here's their CD, so you can enjoy this extremely versatile group's unique music over and over. (A cassette version may follow). The voices are marvelous, the harmonies lush and amazing, the accompaniment perfect every time. The songs are mostly original, by various members of the group, plus a few traditional numbers and old standards.

There are rib-tickling selections, like "Think Tank", a tongue in cheek mock-somber parody of Sam Cooke's "Chain Gang"; "Old and Cranky", a funny but poignant 'realistic wedding song', with a memorable chorus; the deliciously irreverent "A Big Mistake"; "Eine Kleine Weltschmerz", a delightfully anguished mixed German and English takeoff on Nietsche's world-weary philosophy; an amusing version of the "Colonel Bogey March"; and the hilarious and oh, so true "Billions of Brain Cells".

Then, out of left field, so to speak, there's "Steal Away", an introspective, beautifully executed interpretation of that fine old spiritual, plus "Jesus on the Mainline", another good old spiritual in a heartfelt and extremely satisfying performance. There's also "What Would I Do?", a mournful little number with gorgeous harmonies; a funky rendition of the Lennon/McCartney "I'm So Tired"; "Maybe I Lied", a big production number; and "Managua, Nicaragua", an ironically cheery selection dating back to 1987, a troubled time in that country's history. Finally, I can't resist a good sentimental song, so I fell in love with "We'll Meet Again", a wonderfully schmaltzy gem from 1939, done to perfection.

This could easily become one of your favorite recordings; it did for me.

---Sol Weber

This review originally appeared in the Newsletter of the Folk Music Society of Northern New Jersey. Permission pending.

If you'd like to find out more about Left Field: Still A-Live!, send e-mail to leftfield@infomonger.com.

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