Quote:
| @Head case – What 2 cds would you start an Over the Rhine collection with? |
I guess my bias is for alternative music; alternative in terms of the musical, lyrical, vocal overall Gestalt of the album. These 2 fit this, with some of the best art work ever released on cd (the best artwork from Over the Rhine was the mammorth album booklet of their first album, which they subsequently couldn't afford to reprint, and just sold the cd without the liner notes).
1. "Good Dog Bad Dog" (with the extra track - the re-released version (their 3rd album). The original version is more of a collector's album). This album was the defining moment in their artistic career, with Ric Hordinski's amazing guitar work taking an intricate turn.
2. "Patience" - their second album which was recorded to perfection, highlighting Karin Berquist's ethereal voice and the band's incredible uniqueness. Everything about the short album; from the opener 'Jacksie', through to Circle of Quiet, and How does it feel (to be on my mind) is just startlingly original. The Little Genius talks on a modern classical vein that would embarrass any modern day player of Liszt, and the elegiac 'Rhapsody' captures the quintessential post-modern vein of the band in their heyday, closing with the spoken word of 'Grey Monologue'.
There's never been an album like it, nor one since, from Over the Rhine. After their 4th album, when Ric Hordinski departed, the band's releases such as "Ohio" have been hailed as one of the best releases of the decades, well before Sufjan Stevens jumped on the bandwagon and started singing about American States. Over the Rhine sang about their home in Cinncinnati.
What really blew it for me was Karin Berquist taking on that modern jazz pretentiousness and her feigned articulation of just about every word to the point of sounding forced and unnatural. Admittedly, this kind of singing has gained her a far greater audience, like Norah Jones, Katie Melua, Madeleine Peyroux fans than in the early days of their "Patience" or "Good dog bad dog" albums when they were the essentially cult indie band, hidden like a jewel which led to a surprise (by joy) in discovering.
After those 2 albums - 'The Darkest Night of the Year' is beautiful, but unfortunately, semi-instrumental. "Eve" and "Ohio" (a double album of 20 tracks, from which 10 perfect tracks can be culled) would follow next in my books.
.jpg)
