REBECCA HALL: Rebecca Hall Sings!

Rebecca Hall

Rebecca Hall Sings!

© 2000 Listen Here! Records, Inc. (634479203220)

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A dreamy, otherwordly landscape of Appalachia-style ballads and ethereal folk tunes; songs that were written only yesterday, but sound as old as the hills.

tracks

1 Hard Way to Learn
2 See You Soon
3 Man of Poor Fortune
4 Like You Do
5 Not the Same
6 On the Other Side
7 Long Black Shore
8 Winter Is Gone
9 I Know You Rider
10 The Darkest Hour Is Just Before Dawn

notes

In the years since its humble beginnings as a home-recorded and home-burned CD, Rebecca Hall Sings! has turned a lot of heads. Listeners are drawn in, no doubt, by Rebecca's deep, resonant alto, with an irresistible hint of twang. But as the album unfolds, Rebecca's songwriting takes center stage, echoing the timeless themes of Appalachian ballads, the concise storytelling of classic songwriters such as Townes van Zandt, and the delicate arrangements of early British folk-rock. Solely by word of mouth, Rebecca Hall has already gained many admirers--from Radio Thrift Shop's Laura Cantrell, to the Byrds' Roger McGuinn, to fans around the globe.

Rebecca began playing music in 1990, after moving to New York from her native Boston. She performed frequently in the Village, building a repertoire that included early jazz and blues compositions as well as songs by such artists as Nina Simone, Alex Chilton, Hank Williams and Roy Harper. She never thought of writing songs during that time-in retrospect, it most likely was a period of absorbing these varied influences.

Then, as for many a young singer during the sixties folk revival, everything changed upon encountering Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music. Inspired by this collection of ballads, blues and traditional gospel, Rebecca was moved to pick up a guitar and begin writing songs. At around the same time, she discovered the English folk-rock songwriters of the early 1970s; artists such as Nick Drake and Sandy Denny had incorporated traditional inflections into an ethereal folk style characterized by pastoral themes and delicate orchestration. These converging influences resulted in the haunting lyric and melodic sensibilities of Rebecca Hall Sings!

Remastered and repackaged here for wide release, Rebecca Hall Sings! will soon take its place as a classic folk album.

reviews

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  • There Great!
    author: Spencer

    Beautiful! Talented, and Amazing songstress! Buy This CD! I would!

  • author: datdiehl

    Everyone should have this CD! Admittedly, the subjects are heavy, but the music is absolutely beautiful throughout.

  • Oh, good beyond BELIEF!
    author: Daddy's Little Girl

    Hall has one of those voices...except that makes it sound like someone else has a voice like hers, which no one else does...I want to say Sandy Denny, Gillian Welch, Vashti Bunyan...rich, endlessly complex, and she uses it in the very best of taste...the songs are excellent...incredible!

  • Classics, Old and New
    author: Scott Howard

    When I first previewed Rebecca Hall Sings! on Rebecca's Website, I got the same feeling I got when I first heard Gillian Welch, a few years ago, and Iris Dement, a few years before that. Like these folks, Rebecca writes new songs in traditional styles that are so authentic, they cannot be discerned from the classics they are recorded along side. In fact, the only classic on this recording I was familiar with was Darkest Hour is Just Before Dawn, so I am happy to have Rebecca's versions of the others, along with her originals. This recording is very intimate. You feel as if Rebecca is right in the room with you when you listen to it. What a lovely voice! It's complemented beautifully with very sparse instrumentation. Rebecca Hall Sings! is a wonderful, albeit brief, addition to my collection. I expect it will bring me a lot of pleasure while I continue to wait for Iris' next release.

  • Classic and unique
    author: Sarah Meador

    The most amazing thing about Rebecca Hall Sings isn't her singing, sweet as it is. The surprise is that Rebecca Hall wrote it. Oh, she had help with one selection and a couple of tracks are traditional, but without the production notes, you won't know which ones. Hall has created songs that sound timeworn and classic straight off the page. . . . These are songs that beg to be learned by heart, hummed during the chores and passed on through families. In sorrow or exaltation, Hall's clear voice carries an almost spiritual clarity that still leaves room for the songs to be shaped by other voices. Classic and unique, Rebecca Hall Sings promises to become a tradition in its own right.

  • Among the ghosts of Greenwich Village...
    author: Jay Jasch, Rarity Concerts

    These songs take me in my imagination to a time when folk music was happening in the village and up in Harvard Square. Just when you think that old school sound and sensitivity is gone and you start getting used to the new stuff, people like Rebecca Hall, Celia, Gillian Welch and Fred Eaglesmith come along and remind us that the old truths still exist and aren't going away any time soon. Thank god. Buy this record for your mother and all of your friends, but make sure you keep a copy for yourself. An INSTANT classic.

  • author: Gert-ove Fridlund, Hallandsposten (gothenburg, Sweden)

    Remarkably enough, Hall's own compositions (7 out of 10) sound as timeless and strong as the traditional folk songs which can be heard at the end of this album. The sound is always clean and pure. Extraordinarily touching is Rebecca Hall's total integrity. It's certainly hard to imagine a more honest statement. Productions like these are very rare these days.

  • author: Time Out New York

    Sweet-voiced Rebecca Hall will drive you to swoon, not just with her singing but also with her music, which includes Appalachia-style ballads and folk tunes.

  • author: Roger Mcguinn

    I love the sound of Rebecca Hall's voice. It does something to me. There's a sweetness and a worldly wisdom, in perfect balance. Rebecca is one of the few singers I've heard that is able to create that reaction.

  • Instant Classic!
    author: Polly W.

    Rebecca Hall is timeless -- her deep, resonant alto, finely-crafted lyrics, and tasteful, emotive guitar playing tap into the ache of our souls with ease and grace. The characters who live in her songs are lonely, haunted, wandering; Hall's empathy for them is without pretense. Imbued with a understated, yet undeniable presence -- both in performance and on this fine recording -- Rebecca Hall is poised for greatness.

  • lost art
    author: david ford

    accoustic folk is becoming a lost art - thanks rebecca for your fine work.

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