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Review by Dan Popp January 30, 2005 (7 of 9 found this review helpful)
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Performance:  Sonics:  |
Great albums are collections of great songs and inspiring performances. All of that is subjective, of course, but surely we can hold up some attempts at "art" against others and come to some relative judgements about their merits?
The lyrics of a David Elias could be put next to those of a Paul Simon or a Joan Baez and some comparison could be made? The melody, the vocal performance, the recording quality likewise?
Here are some lyrics from Elias' "The Window":
"I am a mirror I am the side of some old barn
I cannot hear you I am far farther than long gone
Patience and practicals may never have been
That is the means of emulation
In the season of the fall" ("Season of the Fall," cut 10)
This is a more-or-less typical verse from the material on this album, although some verses do rhyme - at least some of the time. The meter often falters and fails completely. And is it just me or does anyone have a guess as to what he's singing about? If there is a fine line between profundity and nonsense, Elias unapolagetically strays well over that line. A great lyric is more than just a string of poetic phrases, such as the disjointed images that greet us on "The Window."
David's singing voice is not much over a whisper, and even that often peters out before the end of the phrase. This may or may not be a problem - sometimes the unconventional bleat of a Dylan or Willie Nelson serves the song just fine. But he should not be labelled a great singer.
Sonically, in stereo the instruments sound "good" or at least realistic. The vocal mic has a bit too much character for my taste and is almost always mixed too hot (loud). This is what an above-average indie record sounds like. If you think the record companies and mastering engineers are killling music, you will dig this a lot. I personally miss the polish of a major-label release.
After listening to this disc, one gets the impression that David Elias is probably a really, really nice guy. A little goofy or loopy maybe, but engaging in his own laid-back way. I can certainly hear why this work appeals to some people. The 5.1 image may put it over the top. But in my view it is unjustified and in the end unfair to Elias to class this among the great singer/songwriter recordings out there. He may have the right musical stuff, but if so, we'll have to find that out on a later attempt.
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Review by muzikwebgal October 3, 2003 (4 of 4 found this review helpful)
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Performance:  Sonics: |
Muzik Reviewz.com
by Mary Rudy
David Elias and his CD 'The Window' is the most spectacular and superb piece of art I have ever heard. Like a fine painting, he has taken and put all the strokes of the brush to the canvas and the outcome of this is the production of 'The Window'.
An Art collecting friend once commented that every home should have at least one piece of art in it, that is when you come to appreciate the talents, love and energy that an artist puts into his work. Well Folks! This is that piece of art you need, and believe you will appreciate every second, every minute, every instrument, every verse, every lyric.
David has the most unusual voice I have ever come across, he has a softness yet almost angelic-like sound and at the same time he brings in a bit of raspy tones. You can not help but fall in love with his voice. David Elias totally grabbed my heart and soul with his vocals, instruments and lyrics. What a awesome experience.....
There is NOT one part of this CD that is NOT done with professionalism. The musicianship that is responsible for the success of this splendid cd is:
David Elias - guitar, vocal, harmonica.....Sally Van Meter - dobro, weissenborn, lap steel.....Matt Flinner - mandolin, bouzouki.....Ross Martin - electric and baritone guitars.....Eric Thorin - upright bass.....Marc Dalio - drums and percussion.....John Magnie - accordion and keyboards. We can not let this review go without mentioning the excellent Producing by David Elias and KC Groves....and the DSD Recording by Gus Skinas.
Each musician did super work on this CD and deserves to be commended for giving their 'TOTALLY ALL' to this project. The engineering of this CD is outstanding and of course this is not your typical standard CD, it's a SACD (super audio cd). Which is based on a new high resolution recording technology called DSD, you can read more on it at http://www.sony.com/sacd
I truly loved every single song on this cd, but the one that really pulled me in, was the title track 'The Window', with all the instruments I was totally astounded at the outstanding clarity of each one. It grabbed me and took me away. I closed my eyes and honestly felt like I was right there in the studio. And with vocals like David Elias possesses, it's not hard to be taken away, believe me.
I can not say enough about this cd and the musicianship that is involved. Let me put it this way before bringing this review to a close, if David Elias and those involved in the creation of this masterpiece, David Elias and his 'The Window' Crew would walk away with every single music award possible in every single category. That is how strong I feel about the making of this excellent written, engineered, instrumental expertise, and the talents, energy, stamina and love for his music that David Elias has within his being. Please do yourself a humongous favor, go to the David Elias Website at: http://www.davidelias.com to take a listen and then purchase the Art Masterpiece of Music that you need.
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