Petra & Bill: no Sell Outs
…and now for something completely different. After talking about pretty much nothing but 1981 for the last few weeks, let’s blast back into the present. Almost. Because I’m recommending a re-issue.
Petra Haden has been getting a lot of ink lately for her side work with The Decemberists and her eccentric a capella interpretation of The Who Sell Out, but these may be only the 2nd and 3rd best of her recent releases. Sovereign Records has just picked up her 2003 collaboration with the great guitarist Bill Frisell. Taking on standards ranging from Gershwin and Mancini to, Elliott Smith and Tom Waits, Petra’s expressive and wondrously harmonic singing combined with Frisell’s thoughtful accompaniment makes for a really compelling and subtle listen.
It was difficult to pick a sample track off this one, but I chose “Floaty” because it samples all the disparate elements that make this so great: Haden’s harmonies, non-showy violin lines and Frisell’s fantastic combination of lush sound fields and restrained edges. Taking layers of multi-tracked sounds and convincingly teasing them into an organic whole, this is an album you should definitely consider purchasing before you go for the showier but ultimately less satisfying Sell Out. That one’s good for a laugh, but let’s face it, you aren’t going to play it that often.
[Soundtrack]
Bill Frisell & Petra Haden – Floaty.mp3
Petra Haden profiled on NPR
A 2-hour Bill Frisell concert, part of the excellent Creators At Carnegie series
