I took a chance on this CD since the word poetry brings back middle school nightmares and being made to feel stupid because I didn't understand a poem.  If this is poetry i'm not scared anymore.  I can listen to this over and over and enjoy almost every moment.
                            Read more...
                        

                            
Okay, so there are about a million poetry and spoken word CDs out there. And there’s a decent amount of good music out there, too. And there have always been recording artists who’ve tried to bridge the gap between the two art forms. But reVerse is different. Very different. So different that it defies definition. And you need to hear it. 
	ReVerse doesn’t so much blend music and poetry as it uses music to throw poetry into sharper relief. The poetry on this album isn’t sung (unless you count Marvin Tate’s funny and vicious “Take Off Your Shoes (And Run)” as singing, and I wouldn’t). It stands alone, and it doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is: it’s poetry, not lyrics. The music—such as Wilco’s Mikael Jorgensen’s companion music to Sherrille Lamb’s “Words Are My Salvation”—serves almost as the wall of the gallery upon which the poetry hangs. It’s important, but you hardly notice it. It supports, but it doesn’t detract. 
	That’s a consistent theme throughout reVerse: it’s the poetry that’s on center stage, and if that’s the point the producers meant to make, it works. ReVerse hangs together almost as a single piece, which is no mean feat, considering the range of voices on display here. And it’s a pretty dazzling array of talent that executive producer KC Clarke (also one of the poet/performers) has assembled: icons like Beat master Lawrence Ferlinghetti, former Poet Laureate Mark Strand and Lou Reed rub shoulders with younger stars like Alexi Murdoch and Richard Fammeree, to give you a hint of what you’ll find. Even though each piece maintains its autonomy (not to mention pulling together a range of talent like that must have been like herding cats), it’s the album’s unity of vision that sticks with you. It’s meant to be listened to at one sitting, at least the first time you hear it (although later on, go back, pull out your favorite pieces and listen to them individually. They deserve it).
	So what is it—spoken word? Pop culture poetry for connoisseurs of electronic music?? Or something else altogether? Ultimately, what reVerse is depends on what you want to get out of it—it’s either poetry that you’ll actually enjoy listening to, even if you can’t dance to it; a way-hip sonic/linguistic experiment; or an aggressively contemporary rethinking of the relationship between poetry and music. It’s relevant and important poetry with a soundtrack. It’s not for everybody, but if you get it, you’ll get it.
                            Read more...
                        

                            
Great music, soft words, harsh tones, strokes that cut, sounds that drive and calm...A gret buy. For anyone who suffers from creative impot...creative block, or for just the lover of poetry.

CD Baby is SoLaR!
                            Read more...