Jul 13 2005
Jill Barber
Jill Barber’s latest cd Oh Heart became a favourite in our house the first day we heard it. “[S]teeped in old jazz rhythms mixed with a touch of bluegrass twang and gentle folk melody,” her music plays well with Jolie Holland and Gillian Welch’s Soul Journey. Oh Heart, like Soul Journey, is a collection of music best appreciated as a single work — as an album. (Save random-play for MP3s.)
Three songs from her first CD (or EP), A Note to Follow So, along with two songs from Oh Heart, can be heard in streaming audio at New Music Canada. There is also a video for the song, “Oh Heart.”
If you like Jolie Holland or Gillian Welch, you might want to check out Jill Barber. It’s good stuff.
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Oh Heart is not a full-length album, only an EP. You think I would have noticed that. Still, we’re talking quality here — it’s an EP that’s better than most albums (in my humble opinion).
Speaking of Jolie Holland, her friend’s The Be Good Tanyas recently played at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. I just heard a report on the CBC that it was a hell of a show. Bill Frisell, Daniel Lanois, the Rheostatics, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, and Emmylou Harris also performed (along with other artists I didn’t recognize). The ‘best of’ the fesitival will be played on a CBC Radio show called The Circuit on Friday at 7:30pm in all time zones. Tune in here.
Jill’s first EP, A Note To Follow So, is available for download on zunior.com. All eight songs are in MP3 format. Included in the $8.88 CAN price tag are two PDF files for the CD cover & inside notes, for those who wish to burn their own CD.
I saw Jill Barber in concert last night and she was excellent. She played with Ron Sexsmith, sort of. She did her set for about an hour and he did his for about 90 minutes. Ron Sexsmith, although a nice guy and good at what he does, bored me. Jill Barber was so much more engaging and fun and her music and her voice were so expressive and soulful. Really nice.
They were in Moncton last week. I didn’t see them. Caitlyn DID see Robert Munsch, though.