A harmonizing voice as sweet as the yellow primrose of spring.
author: Sharon Nichols ~ Chronogram magazine
Little Green Blackbird The Summer I Stopped Whining
(2011, Following May Productions)
“Sing Hallelujah” is the opening track on the premiere CD by Little Green Blackbird, the
recording guise of Woodstocker Kirsti Gholson, and it could not be more appropriately
placed on this jubilant 10-track recording. “Sing hallelujah to know my arms could be the
safest place in all the Earth and sky,” sings Gholson in a harmonizing voice as sweet as
the yellow primrose of spring. She digs into the dreamiest and most painful aspects of life
here on an album that could be recommended to fans of Suzanne Vega, Bar Scott, Sheryl
Crow, Aimee Mann, and other female-based pop ensembles that specialize at the tugging
of soul strings.
Some listeners will know Gholson through her vocal work with the overtone choir Baird
Hersey and Prana. For this project she enlists the talents of locally and internationally
known artists drummer Jerry Marotta, cellist Jane Scarpantoni, and bassist Kyle Esposito.
Additionally, acoustic guitar, piano, and Gholson’s sugar plum-fairy celesta weave
a splendiferous album that positively shimmers, and the magical lyricism here could
stand alone as fine poetry (according to the singer, her inspiration came from such
diverse sources as The Wizard of Oz, Anne Boleyn, and melting ice caps). Gholson is
also known for her firm social advocacy, and a portion of the sales of The Summer I
Stopped Whining will go toward animal protection and human rights causes. If you’re
looking to pop in a CD that will brighten your day and warm your night, look no further.
Littlegreenblackbird.wordpress.com.—Sharon Nichols
Read more...