Thursday 25 September 2008

Low 'The Black Session'

Not a cd this, or an LP, or an official release, but something so fantastic that I have to write about it anyway.

The frustrating thing about Low's last LP 'Drums and Guns' is that it is their weakest to date, not because of the quality of songwriting or performances from Alan, Mimi and BassistNotZak, but because of the god-awful and downright weird production by enemy of this blog, Dave Fridmann. See my rantings about this in my review of the 'You May Need A Murderer' dvd. If you've seen Low live lately, you'll know that played live, these songs are just as beautiful as those on the likes of 'Secret Name' and 'Things We Lost In The Fire'. I always wondered how the album might have sounded without the strange production.

To a certain extent, wonder no longer.

Go here:

http://www.archive.org/details/Low2007-04-23.Black_Session.FM.flac16

Last year, Low recorded a wonderful Black Session for the Frenchman with the impeccable taste, Bernard Lenoir. It is a remarkable recording. Songs like 'Sandinista' and 'Dragonfly' are transformed into brooding, slow, beautiful pieces with trademark harmonies from Alan and Mimi. It is the classic Low album that never was. And if that isn't enough, there are stunning versions of 'Sunflowers' and 'Laser Beam' too. How much better can it get?

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