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Reviewed By:
Mary Ellen Gustafson
Rating:
4
If you read the interview with Sam Rosenthal, you have already discovered that "black tape for a blue girl" is essentially Sam - and whatever friends and guest musicians join him for a particular album. Oscar Herrera (vocals, guitar, tamborine) is the only person to appear on all six releases. However, on "remnants of a deeper purity," the same 4 musicians accompany Sam on every song - an unusual occurance. Besides Oscar, the other guests are Lucian Casselman (vocals), Vicki Richards (violin), Mera Roberts (cello), and of course Sam (electronics & harmonium).
"remnants of a deeper purity" has a dark, ambient, sound throughout, and the lyrics touch on subjects normally not brought up for public scrutiny - such as feelings of remorse following the breakup of a relationship and abortion ("redefine pure faith" and "fin de siecle). "with my sorrows" tells the story of lovers parted by slavery, but hope of being reunited, while "for you will burn your wings upon the sun" is a story of a lover's betrayal. These themes continue through the album - a sense of searching for answers with an underlying hope that things past can serve to teach a lesson and re-invent a person who can re-experience life and the beauty of existance.
Overall, the tone of this album is meloncholy and the lyrics are deeply soul searching. With deep tones overlayed by strong vocals from Oscar and Lucian, and rich cello and violin instrumentals, the results are mesmerizing in their own way. Quoting Sam, "With this new release, "black tape for a blue girl" draws together all the diversities of their past ten years, becoming the consummate modern day chamber orchestra whose maestro is our own inner soul. "remnants of a deeper purity" is an album of rebirth - the internal analysis and exploration that paves the way for a major upheaval, a realignment of balances, search through the fragments of a past, paring experiences down to their essence, revealing the deeper core, the shattered filaments of truth and experience that will yet re-entwine to form a new highwire of ecstatic life."
If all of this sounds very deep and serious, "remnants of a deeper purity" is just that. A thought provoking, sometimes depressing, trip through the human spirit, and all it has experienced and hopes to in the future. This is not happy, light music, but it is beautiful in a dark way and contains masterful instrumental and vocal arrangements. Although "remnants . . ." is a very powerful album, it may not be for everyone. The listener must be willing to experience, through the music and the lyrics, the travels of a tortured soul to it's ultimate goal of hope and re-birth.
However, if you are a fan of important music that will be around for a long time, this album should join the ranks of other greats of musicianship and soul searching.
