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Reviews for
Amsterdam
©2001, Truckstop Records #Alp323/Truck23
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Caught in a time warp, the Lofty Pillars' Amsterdam (Truckstop, 2001) mirrors the experience of the Penguin Cafè Orchestra, attempting a fusion of old-fashioned sounds and modern aesthetic values while offering performances worthy of classical music.
Krassner sings in a plaintive tone that is reminiscent of Leonard Cohen. Wil Hendricks on piano, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, Jen Paulsen on viola, Jessica Billey on violin, Kyle Bruckman on english horn, and many others make up an impressive chamber ensemble.
"Amsterdam" manages to find a common ground between classical [music], Brecht-ian cabaret, Broadway showtune[s], lounge music and exotica, and Krassner's tale soars with a magic melancholy that bridges fairy tales and obituaries. "Mothers Arms" is a superb aria that unravels at a "stoned" pace, as if in [a] trance, with the cargo of sorrow of a spiritual (imagine Simon & Garfunkel's "Sound Of Silence" at one-tenth of the speed).
Despite the mesmerizing arrangements and the clockwork execution, this is ultimately the work of a singer songwriter, and Krassner cannot completely hide the family tree he comes from. Desire-period Dylan is an influence on the soulful litany of "Sons Of Solemn Men", and the 7-minute ode "Field Of Honor" is the best Blonde On Blonde track that Dylan never wrote. "Down The River" has the metaphysical pace of the Band's gospel/country hymns.
The tender and gloomy "Guest Of Dishonour" raises the same spectres of the first Cohen album. And "Longing" almost mimicks "Bird on a Wire".
On the other hand, "Three Men" showcases the epic fluency of a Nick Cave.
Overall, this is a rarity: an album that is both truly enjoyable and highly creative. Krassner is one of the most important singer songwriters of the new century.
-Piero Scaruffi, Billboard.com
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