For the first time since the earliest recordings,
Sam Rosenthal assembles and employs a set combination of musicians throughout a
Black Tape for a Blue Girl album, with
Oscar Herrera and
Lucian Casselman returning on vocals and other instruments, along with longtime associate
Vicki Richards on violin and
Mera Roberts on cello. The end result succeeds like no other
Black Tape release before it, the logical extension of
Rosenthal's musical and lyrical foci into a lengthy, commanding, and beautiful experience. Using the two string players throughout with his
electronics in a carefully blended effort, punching up the general
orchestral heft of his music to new heights,
Rosenthal's work this time hits a consistently rich vein; the connections to
rock music have never been so tenuous, and to
progressive and
electronic efforts so strong. Two of
Herrera's performances deserve special notice:
"With My Sorrows," ending with a captivating quick take on an old Spanish poem, and
"For You Will Burn Your Wings Upon the Sun," a nearly 30-minute piece with
Herrera's brief vocal section providing the central punch of the track. But
Casselman steals the show with the final track,
"I Have No More Answers" -- a simply perfect mix of the strings, vast-sounding
electronic atmospherics, and piano with
Casselman's lovely voice singing an especially touching
Rosenthal lyric, it is
Black Tape's finest song yet. ~ Ned Raggett
