Judee Sill - "Heart Food"
The sequel to her self-titled debut is the superior of her two legit records released in the early '70's. While "Heart Food" may not be the best place to start of the two, it is certainly the most spiritually rewarding, if you will. Much of this record rather mysteriously encompasses Judee's invented religion of Sillism, as she referred to it. Also, here we have Judee orchestrating the entire affair. On this record as well we observe a rather strong Country Rock vibe, and it is so mellow and peaceful and effortless that it simply cannot be denied. The lyrics are sharper and somewhat less dated on "Heart Food," and are often worth contemplation worthy of Sister Wendy Beckett. Similar to her debut, the majority of what is heard is short and to the point. The best of the Country Rock based material is found on "There's A Rugged Road" and "The Pearl." This is not cut and dry Country Rock like one would hear in a shitty Eagles song, as one must remember that Judee has involved some rather complex string arrangements on these cuts.
There's a powerful R & B vibe on the lyrically potent "Down Where The Valleys Are Low," which makes clear that Judee's diversity is genuine, and her emotional intelligence displayed throughout this album is something that someone like Cat Power can only hope to fake. Judee's the real deal, and her second record is emotionally raw on the whole, but I'm not talking about some screaming maniac like Janis Joplin, because as mentioned in my review of her debut, Judee's musical ear never allows her to stray away from anything less than 100% musically rewarding. Tackling her voice once again, it is quite individualistic, almost like slow molasses, if that's the right way to put it. Any human being with a musical ear will gather to Judee's albums like honey, my babies. There's a slow yet danceable pace to a great many of these songs, which almost makes them off-kilter somehow, naturally trippy. Because, one must understand that Judee is a melodic master, but when it comes to any real substantial rhythmic quality she's a bit out to lunch in that regard.
Moving on to the hit that never was, "Soldier Of The Heart" is quite probably the best song on the record. With Judee's blues-driven piano melody and a beat which sounds like a precursor to Disco, this song is just astounding. Judee even displays a bit of vocal range on this song as she tackles her own unique variation of a falsetto during the song's more whimsical moments. As is often the case, her lyrics are rather vague yet universal. All seems to be a puzzle to solve, but much of what she writes is deeply personal, and yet, doesn't come off like some laughable diary entry. She's definitely inspired and motivated musically by some spiritual strangeness, although religious investigation was common during her time and place, she may have been the only one to dedicate herself to a mysterious religion that she herself invented. Of course, all of this could be legend, but it is interesting regardless. Even if it is pure imagination, it certainly helps her music loop along with a great deal of fervor. The fireside beat of "The Phoenix," is such a delicate and powerful number that it simply can't be beat, and get a load of the curious lyrical content:
On phosphorous wings the Phoenix floated
The fires froze and the sea was hushed
And when I tried to speak, the sun imploded
And the war will rage in my guts,
Till the devil bites the dust,
I never saw him losing a race,
But I think he must...
The only weak number is not surprisingly, the only tune on the album that was not penned by Miss Sill, and that would be "When The Bridegroom Comes," which was written by some lame boyfriend she had at the time. However, we are then quickly moved on to the album's final cut, and it is one of the most powerful and otherworldly songs I have ever heard. Clocking in at roughly ten minutes, which is a rarity for Judee, "The Donor" is a religious mantra of some sort. Judee's skills as a musical virtuoso, and in particular, her ability to arrange vocal performances, shines most of all on this album closer. It is almost like a sacred piece of music by Johann Sebastian Bach, and this is certainly appropriate, since Bach is one of Judee's major influences, which is no doubt another rarity amongst the singer/songwriter genre of the early '70's. Judee was special, and certainly, her small cult of devoted fans knew as much, as did most critics, but for various reasons Miss Sill never caught on in the commercial sense. This is quite troubling in a lot of respects, as she added an interesting layer to the now cliche singer/songwriter genre of the time period, as not everything produced during the time period involved Cat Stevens crying over a rainbow, not that there's anything wrong with that as it serves its purpose, but Judee was so much more.
Labels: Heart Food, Judee Sill
