''Strange Conversation'' is an album by

singer/songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk-acoustic tradition, although this role has transmuted thr ...

Kris Delmhorst Kris Delmhorst is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Originally from Brooklyn, New York City, United States, she now lives in Western Massachusetts, is an active member of the Boston folk scene, and tours internationally. She has rele ...

, released in 2006.

History

Multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Delmhorst takes on setting some works of famous poets to music along with her own original compositions. The lead off track is named after Italian composer

Baldassare Galuppi Baldassare Galuppi (18 October 17063 January 1785) was an Italian composer, born on the island of Burano in the Venetian Republic. He belonged to a generation of composers, including Johann Adolph Hasse, Giovanni Battista Sammartini, and C. ...

. Inspired by and quoting heavily from the

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...

poem

A Toccata of Galuppi's "A Toccata of Galuppi's" is a poem by Robert Browning, originally published in the 1855 collection ''Men and Women''. The title refers to the fact that the speaker is either playing or listening to a toccata by the 18th-century Venetian compos ...

, Delmhorst reflects on the composers times and style: "And the minor third so bitter, the six chord like a sigh,
suspension, solution, asking must we die, must we die must we die?
And the seventh says well fellas, life might not last, but we can try…" ''Strange Conversations'' was recorded at the same time as Delmhorst's follow up CD, '' Shotgun Singer''.

Reception

Critic Joe Viglione of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

called ''Strange Conversation'' "an impressive and ambitious work that is evidence of the sophistication enveloping the Kris Delmhorst catalog and one hopes that these important musings get noticed beyond the cult that realizes something very special is happening here."

Track listing

All songs by Kris Delmhorst unless noted. #"Galuppi Baldassare" – 4:15 #" We'll Go No More A-Roving" (

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

, Delmhorst) – 3:04 #"Light of the Light" – 4:34 #"Since You Went Away" (Delmhorst,

James Weldon Johnson James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871June 26, 1938) was an American writer and civil rights activist. He was married to civil rights activist Grace Nail Johnson. Johnson was a leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peop ...

, Olson) – 3:06 #"Strange Conversation" – 3:36 #"The Drop & The Dream" – 3:04 #"Invisible Choir" – 3:44 #"Pretty How Town" (

e. e. cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...

, Delmhorst) – 1:57 #"Tavern" (Delmhorst,

Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. She wrote much of he ...

) – 3:42 #"Water, Water" – 2:40 #"Sea Fever" (Delmhorst,

John Masefield John Edward Masefield (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate from 1930 until 1967. Among his best known works are the children's novels ''The Midnight Folk'' and ''The Box of Delights'', and the poem ...

) – 3:43 #"Everything Is Music" – 3:55

Personnel

*Kris Delmhorst – vocals, acoustic guitar, fiddle, piano, cello, background vocals *Kevin Barry – electric and acoustic guitar, lap steel guitar, dobro, piano, background vocals *Mark Chenevert – clarinet, tenor sax *Lorne Entress – drums, percussion, background vocals *Dave Harris – trombone, tuba *Paul Kochanski – double bass, background vocals *Mike Peipman – trumpet *Chris Rival – organ *Tom West – Hammond organ

Production

* Produced by Kris Delmhorst * Engineered and mixed by Chris Rival * Mastered by Dave McNair * Photography by Megan Summers *Translation by Coleman Barks *Artwork and design by Brian Turner

References

External links

Official Kris Delmhorst websiteSignature Sounds Recordings
{{Authority control 2006 albums Kris Delmhorst albums