“No Further Instructions” is one of the three albums Howard Fishman released simultaneously in 2010 (together with “The World Will Be Different” and “Better Get Right”). The three albums are entirely different, but consistent in their high quality. They are highlights in Howard Fishman’s career and highlights in my CD collection. “No Further Instructions” is about Fishman’s experiences when travelling through rural Romania, with photographer Michael Benanav, who took the beautiful photos in the booklet. The album has an eastern European feel to it, somewhat like the wonderful soundtrack of “Everything is Illuminated”. Lots of violin and accordion. To me, the first two songs are the album’s standout tracks: “In Romania” and “Through the Countryside”. Both are so perfect that I can listen to them over and over again. Other highlights are “The Pensione Owner’s Song”, “Tonight”, and “You Voice”. It’s time more people start discovering the work of this extraordinary singer-songwriter-musician, who appears to easily blend so many different musical traditions in a completely unique style of his own. In a fair world, Howard Fishman would be a world-famous star.
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