#peter sears

[krispyweiss]

Aoife O’Donovan Plays (Most of) Bull Frogs Croon at WGBH; Finds EP’s Missing Potential

Just before the world shut down and her tour was suspended after one show, Aoife O’Donovan and a string quartet performed (most of) Bull Frogs Croon (and Other Songs) at Boston radio station WGBH.

Just released on video, the live-in-studio performance is another example of music that sounds its best in the moment. Accompanied by violinists Jeremy Kittel and Alex Hargreaves, violist Mario Gotoh and bassist Ethan Jodziewicz, O’Donovan makes the title song cycle - with words from late Oregon poet laureate Peter Sears - breathe more fully than it does on the EP.

The quarter-hour set ends with “Lakes of Pontchartrain,” leaving “Pretty Bird” as the only unplayed number from the extended play.

Perhaps it’s the quartet’s make-up. Maybe it’s that fact the songs had more time to marinate. Or maybe it was just the thrill - so soon to end - of taking this music on the road and being in O’Donovan’s hometown.

Whatever it was, this is the performance that saw Bull Frogs Croon reach its obvious potential and confirms Sound Bites’ suspicions that studio sterility - not the material or the players - is what held the EP back.

Read the original review here.

6/29/20

[myrecordcollections]

Visit Original Link

"I'm Bad" was the first American album by Kim Fowley after 1968's "Outrageous" (with the Swedish LP "The Day The Earth Stood Still" in between). Released in 1972, it finds Fowley perfecting his wild, crazed, rock & roll outlaw persona, at times invaded by the spirit of Captain Beefheart. He gathered a mighty fine set of musicians for the band, including Mars Bonfire (Steppenwolf) on guitar and Pete Sears (Jefferson Starship, Hot Tuna) on bass.

[0rph3u5]

Martin Barre  Better Lying Down

[krispyweiss]

EP Review: Aoife O’Donovan, Jeremy Kittel and Eric Jacobsen - Bull Frogs Croon (Instrumental)

Losing the lyrics and forsaking the parenthetical (and Other Songs), Aoife O’Donovan re-recorded the title suite of her 2020 EP, which is now Bull Frogs Croon (Instrumental).

Pairing her acoustic guitar with Jeremy Kittel‘s violin and husband Eric Jacobsen’s cello, O’Donovan uncovers the potential that never quite surfaced in the original recording featuring words by former Oregon poet laureate Peter Sears. Jacobsen’s cello takes over the vocal melodies and O’Donovan’s guitar adds a folksy touch to the otherwise classical proceedings.

Like (and Other Songs), (Instrumental) is centered around “Night Fishing,” “The Darkness” and “Valentine.” Unlike (and Other Songs), which sounded unnatural and forced in places as O’Donovan married poetry to music, (Instrumental) is as naturally soothing as an isolated pond; a calming oasis in an otherwise-unsettled world.

Grade card: Aoife O’Donovan, Jeremy Kittel and Eric Jacobsen - Bull Frogs Croon (Instrumental) - A

10/19/20

[krispyweiss]

EP Review: Aoife O’Donovan - Bull Frogs Croon (and Other Songs)

Setting poetry to classical music is a mammoth undertaking - one Aoife O’Donovan undertook with varying degrees of success on Bull Frogs Croon (and Other Songs).

Named for a three-song cycle with words by late Oregon poet laureate Peter Sears and performed by O’Donovan (guitar, vocals), violinists Jeremy Kittel and Brittany Haas (Crooked Still, Hawktail), violist Mario Gotoh (“Hamilton,” Silk Road Ensemble) and Punch Brothers/Hawktail bassist Paul Kowert, the EP is rounded out by two additional tracks - the traditional “Lakes of Pontchartrain” and Hazel Dickens’ “Pretty Bird” - revistied from O’Donovan’s past catalogue.

Everything comes together on “Bull Frogs Croon: Part iii. Valentine,” where sparse poetry mixes with strings that leap upward to flit around O’Donovan’s acoustic guitar and create a stunning amalgam of classical and folk music.

Big frogs croak, baby frogs slither/I’d rather go broke than not be with her/bull frogs croon, slugs wiggle wider/I'd live in ruin to lie down beside her, O’Donovan sings at the high end of her range.

The preceding “Bullfrogs” pieces - “Night Fishing” and “The Darkness” - are less engaging; pretty enough but sounding slightly forced as the denser prose tries to squeeze inside the delicate music.

The EP’s “other songs” - both covers dating to O’Donovan’s Crooked Still days - are similarly dichotomous, with “Lakes” gorgeous and fetching as always and a droning rendition of “Pretty Bird” still searching for a proper arrangement.

Grade card: Aoife O’Donovan - Bull Frogs Croon (and Other Songs) - B-

4/16/20

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: Aoife O'Donovan - "The Darkness" (Live, Feb. 22, 2020)

Saving the best for last, Aoife O'Donovan sings a powerful, four-second note at the end of "The Darkness" to signify she means business with her new music.

Performing the still-officially unreleased track from the forthcoming Bull Frogs Croon (and other songs), out March 6, O'Donovan and the Live From Here house band give the full-group treatment to a number that's set to appear on an EP consisting of string-quartet performances.

As such, this one is likely more musically plump than the studio version will be. But the classical elements of the composition, accompanying poet Peter Sears’ words, still percolate to the surface, courtesy of co-composer Jeremy Kittel's violin. And while the music is slightly esoteric, O'Donovan's vocals - particularly on the coda - are a sound to behold.

Grade card: Aoife O'Donovan - "The Darkness" (Live - 2/22/20) - B+

2/26/20

[centraloregoncoastnow]

Meet Oregon's New Poet Laureate

Meet Oregon’s New Poet Laureate

Elizabeth Woody Named Oregon Poet Laureate Governor Kate Brown has named Elizabeth Woody of Warm Springs and Portland to a two-year appointment as Poet Laureate of Oregon. Woody will be Oregon’s eighth poet laureate since 1921. She succeeds Peter Sears, who has held the post since 2014. Woody will provide at least six and up to twenty public readings per year in settings across the state to…

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[pigmenting]

I see too my own loneliness. It's not too big and it breathes easily. Soon, it may pretend it's rain. Rain blurs the water. There is nothing wrong. with rain.

Peter Sears, from "Night Fishing"