Wonderful Wooden Reasons ~ Featured Reviews Fools & Orphans, The Amber Sessions and The Last Drive In

http://wonderfulwoodenreasons.homestead.com/reviewsGtoI.html

The Clockwork Cabaret~playlist 5.08.08 Sway

 

Playlist:May 08, 2008

Fad Gadget – Collapsing New People

Combustible Edison – Vertigogo

Adam Ant – Strip

Wolfgang Press – Mama Told Me Not To Come

Django Reinhardt with Stephan Grapelli – Swing Guitars

Squirrel Nut Zippers – Got My Own Thing Now

Vernian Process – Her Clockwork Heart

Dinah Washington – Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby? (Rae and Christina Remix)

Two Man Gentlemen Band – Let’s Make A Sandwich

Smothers Brothers – Laredo

Squeeze – Take Me I’m Yours

The Jam – A Town Called Malice

Beat Circus – The Ghost of Emma Jean

Leon Redbone – Lulu’s Back In Town

Voices of McDowell – All Quiet Along the Potomac Tonight

Pogues – If I Should Fall From Grace With God

New Model Army – What A Wonderful Way To Go

Slick Pelts – Hell from the Hills

Tom Waits – Metropolitan Glide

Eddie Izzard – Bees and Wasps

Johnny Cash – Personal Jesus

T Bone Burnett – Shake, Rattled and Rolled

Phranc – Mrs Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter

Andrew Sisters – Coffee Song

The Slow Poisoners – Curtains!

Siouxsie and the Banshees – Something Wicked This Way Comes

The Decemberists – We Both Go Down Together

Jo Gabriel – Sway

Jay Munly – Spill The Wine

Le Mystere de Voix Bulgares – Shope Shope

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:3tdkVHkRKlMJ:www.clickcaster.com/clockworkcabaret+%22Jo+Gabriel%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=110&gl=us&client=safari

 

The Unreachable Sky re-issue 2008 thru Ephemera!

I will be reissuing The Unreachable Sky through Ephemera Records Summer 2008, as an exclusively instrumental album with 2 NEW! added tracks as a bonus~!

Jo Gabriel featured/ORGAN SHOW playlists

: Organ show with Sean O on RESONANCE 104.4FM, Sunday APRIL 6th 2008, 9.00pm – On your FM dial all over London and worldwide via www.resonancefm.com.  2: JO GABRIEL – Masque Of The Red Death (Dancing Goat) – She from New York, she recorded these two stunningly beautiful albums of four track in an empty theatre, both of them radiate with colourful warmth. Piano led instrumentals laced with wonderful textures and delicious detail – www.jogabriel.com or www.myspace.com/jogabriel 11: JO GABRIEL – The Sun King (Dancing Goat) – See track two, this time a track from her Amber Sessions album… both the albums are reviewed in more detail with this week’s Organ 18/Outro: JO GABRIEL – Passing/Arriving (Dancing Goat) – See track two, another track from her Amber Sessions album, this time just a final taste to leave you with….

My beloved Organ ~reviews of The Amber Sessions & Last Drive In!

I have been honored by two incredible reviews by Sean at Organ Magazine! I apologize for having disturbed Biddy the Cat whilst he was trying to jot down his impressions of the music!

But cat’s are resilient creatures and tonight Biddy shall pick several songs to play on RESONANCE 104.4 FM London every sunday night at 9pm

http://www.resonancefm.com world wide

Here they are~ bless you Sean and Biddy~!

http://www.organart.demon.co.uk/neworgan253.htm

Moments Like Drops~ SepiaChord playlist 4.13.08

Sepiachord

Apr 13 2008 1:51 PM    Playlist for the Week Ending 4.13.08 Zoe Boekbinder – Vermillion: Little Johnny  Paul Mercer: Ballet Mecanique Festival: Return Black Heart Procession: The Waiter #4 The Other Flesh: (Bring Down the) Summer Rain Kronos Quartet: They Are There! The Magnificent Seven: Los Chants de Maldoror David Thomas: Dan Dan Huxley Vertical Cabaret Nouveau: Acquiesce Baby Gramps & the Back Swamp Potioners: Goblin Fruit Seelenblut: The Need for Less Sex in the World Jill Tracy: The Water Flows so Slow The Scarring Party: Anywhere Ex Reverie: The Crowning Naevus & Rose McDowall: Restraining Order/Fish Heads and Olives Medley  John C Reilly: My Son John Bill Campbell & the Bittersuite: The Sea The Tossers: The Crowning Robin Holcomb: Dead Horse Jo Gabriel: Moments Like Drops Ethel Mermaid: I Was a Fool in Love ECPE: Sunrise Kim Vermillion: The Day We Met Fern Knight: Magpie Suite, Part III Spiritual Front: There is no Mud in Joyville Attica! Attica!: Motion Sickness Nick Cave: Fire Down Below Violent Femmes: Good Feeling Martin Carthy & the UK Group: The Mermaid Decemberists: The Legionnaire’s Lament Oval Portraits: Crying Windows Lloyd James: Little Sap and Varicose Thomas Nola et son Orchestre: Gloomy Sunday The Kinks: Gloomy Sunday Ilya Monosov: Winter Lullaby Bob Neuwirth: Haul on the Bowline

Masque of The Red Death~ninthspace review of track off The Last Drive In

Jo Gabriel: Masque of the Red Death, Ninthspace review off The Last Drive In

Filmmakers looking for a spooky but engaging soundtrack to accompany their Times New Roman opening credits (complete with sweeping shots of barren landscapes only broken by highway) need look no further than Masque of the Red Death. Taken from Jo Gabriel’s album The Last Drive In, this instrumental appropriates its title from the film of the same name. The key to its success is that it doesn’t attempt to ratchet up tension, or reach any conclusion – any tension that exists is created solely by the listener. Instead it drives onwards, quietly, mercilessly, the piano riding over macabre synth drones which hint at what might happen if you choose to deviate from the given path. And of course we always do.

Ninthspace review of The Amber Sessions

I am feeling very honored by this extremely eloquent,substantive and flattering review of my Amber Sessions!

Hail to Ninthspace for lavishing me with their attentions~

http://www.ninthspace.org/blog/archives/2008/04/07/jo-gabriel-the-amber-sessions/

Amber~SepiaChord Playlist 4.06.08

Sepiachord

Apr 6 2008 11:57 AM     Playlist for the Week Ending 4.6.08 Painted Saints: The Lament Black Heart Procession: Outside the Glass Miss Moonshine: It’s Only a Paper Moon Festival: Valentine Alessandro Moreschi: Ave Maria Life Toward Twilight: The Mirror Ex Reverie: Wooden Sword Kim Vermillion: Organ Donor’s March Velvet Underground: The Murder Mystery Eric Dahlman: Geysti Hiche Gesank Buchleyn Huxley Vertical Cabaret Nouveau: The Ballad of Lettice Finding & Oscar Cutlet Fern Knight: Loch Na Fooey Scarring Party: Leslie Ann Merrimac Nichols Family Gospel Hour: The Angel’s Would Have Wept ECPE: Oh Suannah Jo Gabriel: Amber Make a Rising: How’s ’bout a Love Supreme Jill Tracy: Petrified

Ninthspace review of The Last Drive In…

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Jo Gabriel: Waking The Dark NinthSpace review April 1st-

Waking The Dark sets the scene on Jo Gabriel’s album The Last Drive In – nine tracks of solitary terror. I think that’s the plan, but to my ears, using the piano as a centerpiece for such evocative ambience results in something rather beautiful although this doesn’t manifest itself until many hours after that first listen. Subsequent listens are more welcoming.

This opening piece, like all its companions, appears to pair structure with improvisation. The repeated phrases which shift key are emphasised by a subtle organ drone which follows them around, sometimes joined by strings. These movements turn incredibly pretty at times. Upsetting and unsettling this balance are occasional flourishes of keys and synth pads which draw the music back to its primary intentions.

Amber~SepiaChord playlist for 3.30.08

Sepiachord 

Playlist for the Week Ending 3.30.08

Orion Rigel Dommisse: A Giver
Make a Rising: Bradfords’s Big Boat Ride [Beyond (The Dawn)]
Kim Vermillion: First the Bees…
Nichols Family Gospel Hour: From Mourning to Morning
They Might Be Giants: Lady is a Tramp
12 Rounds: Where Fools Go
David J: Antarctica Starts Here
Ilya E Monosov: I Open My Arms
ECPE: Farther Along
Orchards: Bless Me Moon
Jo Gabriel: Amber
Ex Reverie: The Crowning
Vermillion Lies: Shark Serenade
Life Toward Twilight: The Mirror
Combustible Edison: Pink Victim
Ugly Cassanova: Diamonds on the Face of Evil
Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys: Dark Anne
Luna Tart: Put Down Roots
Tiny Hat Orchestra: Epilogue
Scarring Party: Eye
Those Darned Accordions: Hamsterman
Fire on Fire: Amnesia
Grey DeLisle: Turtle Dove
The New Dress: Where Our Failures Are

Mistress Of Time~ SepiaChord playlist 3.23.08

Yorga’s Songs of Hunting~SepiaChord Playlist 3.16.08

Masque Of The Red Death~3.11.08 The Clockwork Cabaret 103.5FM

Those lovely Davenport sisters played Masque Of The Red Death on their fabulous radio show!

The Clockwork Cabaret 103.5 LP FM Carrboro and Chapel Hill NC

http://www.clockworkcabaret.com/

Playlist 3.11.08

Magnetic Fields – Born On a Train
Gogol Bordello – Start Wearing Purple
Kraftwork – Europe Endless
Switchblade Symphony – Sheep
New Model Army – Aimless Desire
New Model Army – I Love the World
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Little Johnny Jewel
Tom Waits – What’s He Building?
Unextraordinary Gentlemen – Open Arms Empty Air
Theme from Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines
The Smiths – Cemetery Gates
Einsturzende Neubauten – Sand
Nick Drake – Pink Moon
Thomas Dolby – One of Our Submarines
The Tuna Helpers – Blueberry Head
They Might Be Giants – Seven
Jo Gabriel – Masque of the Red Death
The Decemberists – Chimbly Sweep
Ethel Merman – I’m an Indian Too
Alarm Will Sound – Prep Gwarlek 38
Puppini Sisters – Walk Like an Egyptian
Scott Joplin – Something Doing
Tiger Lillies – Never Marry a Man
Dolly Parton – Silver Dagger
Rasputina – If Your Kisses Can’t Hold The Man You Love
Man Man – Skin Tension
Reverend Glasseye – God Help you Dumb Boy

Fade To Black~SepiaChord playlist 3.03.08

DeadofNight reviews~ The Amber Sessions and The Last Drive In

Neo classical/Goth pianist and vocalist extrodinare Jo Gabriel has TWO releases out this month that you’ll be hearing a lot of during my broadcasts of The Dead OF Night.

“THE LAST DRIVE IN” and

“THE AMBER SESSIONS” are both available through her website at  http://www.jogabriel.com/

The Last Drive In is a collection of instrumentals that invokes the feeling and atmospere of those late night horror movie matinees, bringing to mind that other worldly sense of being one step beyond the imagined borders of our reality. Jo seamlessly interweaves both accoustic piano and synth sounds, mounting both tension and drama within the context of every composition to really transport the listener. Where so many artists merely try to achieve that balance of atmosphere and driving sense of movement Jo succeedes and creates and audio soundscape that is above and beyond what you’d ever expect.Track four “There’s A Crack In The Wall” will be featured during my next broadcast, tune in and hear it for yourself.

The Amber Sessions…
Within the context of this body of work the listener is treated to a myriad number of explorative textural movements in sound and composition, at times stark and dissonant, other numbers will simply floor you with a haunting melodic touch seldom heard in so far as it’s vulnerability and artistic scope. Each track on this EP (It’s actually 13 tracks in length)has a unique perspective unto its own. There’s an underlying sense of restless exploration where no definitive is settled on and happily so. This CD is a place you’ll want to get lost in for a while, not caring if you ever find your way back.

I’m not big on rating systems and I don’t think there’s a definitve number of stars you can award work like this, each CD is a truth unto itself and worth owning however, you don’t have to take my word on it, go to Jo’s MySpace page and give her work a listen…

http://www.myspace.com/jogabriel

WDBX 91.1FM

Wind and Wire review~ The Unreachable Sky 2003

Wind and Wire

Review by Bill Binkelman

Full review: http://www.windandwire.com/february/the_unreachable_sky.htm

Review of The Unreachable Sky (2003)

“… Here’s an intriguing album comprised of both instrumental and a few vocal tracks. Jo Gabriel plays piano, electric guitar, and keyboard samples and is possessed of a singing voice that reminds me of a combination of Joni Mitchell and Tori Amos; she has that combination of raw human emotion and a multi-octave range that either appeals to a person or doesn’t. I doubt that anyone who hears her on the several vocal tracks will have a neutral reaction. Myself, I found her style intensely intimate and well-suited for integration with the somber and minimal piano-driven instrumental songs …”

“… While some songs feature prominent use of sampled instruments, Gabriel’s piano is far and away the main attraction here, and she has the chops to make it worthwhile listening. If you usually find “new age” music piano to be too sweet and undemanding, you won’t have that reaction here, trust me. Yet, seldom is The Unreachable Sky inaccessible or abrasive. Unconventional, yes, but not overly formidable …”

“… On the whole, though, The Unreachable Sky is worthwhile if you enjoy moody piano music, along with some sampled keyboards (mostly strings) and a few vocal tracks here and there. I don’t know that you could classify this as ambient music, and it sure isn’t new age or adult contemporary. In some ways, it cleaves closer to neo-classical, especially with how Gabriel plays her piano (her technique really is quite good). There are also some avant garde elements and a bit of Projekt-type goth/shoegazer mixed in there as well …”