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$14.99 CD
$9.99 MP3
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ERICA POMERANCE
You Used to Think
(ESP Disk)
"Koanisphere"
"The Slippery Morning"
Long overdue for re-mastering and re-release, ESP-Disk now returns the all-but-forgotten Erica Pomerance and her wonderful You Used to Think to the center of any discussion of idiosyncratic music of the late sixties. You Used to Think came out in 1968, and with excellent musicianship and an endlessly varied sonic palette, the album epitomizes the creative output of unorthodox, genre splitting music so well documented by ESP. Gail Pollard sets a distinct tone with his flute fluttering behind Pomerance's vocals, as she tackles a variety of styles, from folk songs like "Julius" to the jazz of "The French Revolution." She can bring to mind conventional folk-pop singers, including young stars like Neko Case or Joanna Newsom, or even Joni Mitchell, and at other times she takes things a bit further out. Comparisons are easy, and appropriate, to the recent "rediscoveries" of Vashti Bunyan and Karen Dalton as well as the renewed interest in "outsider folk," which ESP so fastidiously captured throughout the sixties and seventies.
With a number of fine guitarists from Billy Mitchel to Ron Price, and saxophonist Trevor Koehler pushing the envelope on already progressive songs, the music on this disc ventures into uncharted combinations and collaborations. The album harnesses the energy of a performance, definitely reaching for inspiration in avant-garde opera, jazz, and folk. Still, each song holds up under the microscope, from tribal chants to folk romance. Pomerance maintains a singular grasp on a vision of unrestrained creative output, and her music draws on ragas, folk, classical arrangements, and jazz while remaining centered around an impassioned voice and iconoclastic songwriting that pushes lyrical wits and poetry into the outer realms. Improvisation keeps the album vitally alive, and grounds Pomerance in jazz, free and explorative. You Used to Think is psychedelic in scope, and any fans of the ESP catalogue (particularly the Fugs), or those who are generally interested in hidden gems of the music universe, this one is finally available with a great re-mastering and an unforgettable sound. [BCa] |
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