REVERSE: reVerse, Vol. 1

reVerse

reVerse, Vol. 1

© 2004 reVerse (783707010601)

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reVerse features Lou Reed, Alexi Murdoch, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and more. From avant garde to gospel, lyric narrative to electronica, reVerse bends and blurs genres in a compilation of poems, songs and poem-songs. www.reverse1.com

notes

reVerse reViews: (visit www.reverse1.com for more)

About.com poetry guide Bob Holman ranks reVerse at #4 in his Top 10 Poetry Picks: The Best CDs of 2004. Leonard Cohen's Dear Heather is #2 and the Lenny Bruce Box Set is #5.

Literary Kicks, a Brooklyn, New York, based literary operation reviews reVerse. "I've been listening to the CD for a few weeks now and I'm pleased to say it exceeded my expectations and has given me a new perspective on how poetry, performance and music can intersect." -- Cayrn Thurman, Heartbreaking Business Manager of Staggering Genius, LitKicks.com

Anne Holub reviews reVerse at subsystence.net
"reVerse... begins to show us exactly where words and rhythms have been all along, in poetry." "reVerse reminds us with its mere existence that poetry belongs between our ears and mouths as well as beneath our fingertips."

One of the great assets of (reVerse) is that it contains such a great variety of good poetry, music, and their combination. For my taste, the most innovative ones were those where the music grew out, so to speak, from the words, from the rhythm and intonation of the text. Indeed, I am so fond of music inherent in poetry that I did not really mind that, as in some cases, the text was not accompanied by instruments or by other voices.
-- John Neubauer, PhD, Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Amsterdam

"We love your cd! We have played the whole thing on www.luver.com And it is now in luver's mix..so you are often on luver!" --Frank Moore

"Echo and Shadow, written and performed by Li-Young Lee, does something remarkable; it reaches inside the listener and grabs hold of something in the chest, and, like a warm hand, it holds that "something" for the duration of the track. You'll have to listen to it to experience what I'm talking about. It is a great poem, and the placement of it at the beginning of reVerse optimizes the experience of the CD by sucking the listener in to the mood right from the start." -- C. J. Laity, chicagopoetry.com



Album Description:
From avant garde to gospel, lyric narrative to electronica, reVerse features established as well as emerging poets and songwriters. Bending and blurring genres, this collection of poems, songs and poem-songs includes 14 artists from Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.

reVerse was recorded at Soma Electronic Music Studios, Chicago, and was mastered by Colossal Mastering, Chicago. Wilco band member Mikael Jorgensen was the engineer and a musical contributor on "Skyscraper (Delux)" and "Words are My Salvation."

reVerse Charitable Cause: A portion of the proceeds from reVerse sales go to The Poetry Center of Chicago's Hands on Stanzas program. The Poetry Center hires poets to teach in Chicago's inner-city schools. Throughout the school year students discuss and read poetry, and write and perform their own poems. In the last five years 11,000 kids have been taught through weekly classes. Visit www.poetrycenter.org for information.

reviews

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  • Poetry gets an ultramodern makeover
    author: JimPalmer

    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.

  • Like a shot of creative energy to the heart
    author: Matt McClure

    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!

  • Love it...
    author: Stephen Smith

    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.

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