Possessed (The Klezmatics album)

Possessed
Studio album by
The Klezmatics
Released1997
GenreKlezmer
LabelXenophile[1]
ProducerRobert Musso
The Klezmatics chronology
Jews with Horns
(1995) 		Possessed
(1997) 		The Well: Klezmatics with Chava Alberstein
(1998)

Possessed is an album by the American klezmer group the Klezmatics, released in 1997.[2][3]

Production

The album was produced by Robert Musso.[4] "Moroccan Game" is an instrumental.[5]

The second half contains the band's score to Tony Kushner's A Dybbuk, or Between Two Worlds.[6] Kushner also penned the liner notes.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Chicago Tribune[9]
Robert ChristgauA−[10]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]
Windsor StarA[11]

Robert Christgau opined that "this is a vision band with a genre, not a genre band with a vision."[10] The Advocate wrote that "there's a heaviness to the Klezmatics that's anathema to ordinary klezmer music, which by its very nature and function is escapist, even as it celebrates cultural cohesion."[12]

The Windsor Star stated that "the clarinet wails, the fiddle and horns sing, the beat is incessant, and the Yiddish vocals transcend the language barrier."[11] The Chicago Tribune thought that "Alicia Svigals' violin is a revelation, and Lorin Sklamberg's vocals—which can be as sublime as a cantor's or as sly as a drunk's—evoke the Jewish diaspora in both divine and uniquely American terms."[9]

AllMusic wrote that "while there is plenty of their familiar frenzied spiritual party music, there is also some goregeously evocative minor-key mysticism."[8]

Track listing

  1. Shprayz Ikh Mir
  2. Kolomeyke
  3. Moroccan Game
  4. An Undoing World
  5. Mizmor Shir Lehanef (Reefer Song)
  6. Shvartz Un Vays (Black and White)
  7. Lomir Heybn Dem Bekher
  8. Sirba Matey Matey
  9. Mipney Ma
  10. Beggars' Dance
  11. Shnaps-Nign
  12. Interlude
  13. Dybbuk Shers
  14. Fradde's Song
  15. Der Shvatser Mi Adir (The Black Benediction)
  16. Hinokh Yafo
  17. Mipney Ma (reprise)

References

  1. ^ Moed, Andrea (July 1997). "Best New Music". CMJ New Music Monthly (47): 10.
  2. ^ Ethnic American Literature: Comparing Chicano, Jewish, and African American ... - Dean J. Franco - Google Books
  3. ^ Goodman, Matthew (7 Mar 1997). "London's Bridges: Giving Tradition a New Twist". The Forward. p. 1.
  4. ^ Verna, Paul (May 10, 1997). "Possessed". Billboard. 109 (19): 61.
  5. ^ "High Notes: Three new albums play up the 'acoustic Judaism' trend". Baltimore Jewish Times. No. 5. Dec 5, 1997. p. L17.
  6. ^ a b The New Rolling Stone Album Guide - Google Books
  7. ^ Waldman, Amy (3 Oct 1997). "Klezmatics add life to tradition". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 7.
  8. ^ a b The Klezmatics Possessed Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic
  9. ^ a b Obejas, Achy (9 Jan 1998). "KLEZMATICS". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. 42.
  10. ^ a b Robert Christgau: CG: The Klezmatics
  11. ^ a b "CD REVIEWS". Windsor Star. 24 July 1997. p. C21.
  12. ^ Walters, Barry (Jun 10, 1997). "Gay Jewish roots". The Advocate (735): 65–66.