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News From Babel - Letters Home CD (album) cover

LETTERS HOME

News From Babel

 

RIO/Avant-Prog

4.23 | 77 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer
3 stars When HENRY COW broke up in the late seventies, Dagmar Krause, Fred Frith and Chris Cutler continued on with ART BEARS. When that band called it a day, Cutler formed NEWS FROM BABEL, but no Fred Frith this time. Having said that, Lindsay Cooper, a former member of HENRY COW arrives and takes on that role as composer, while Cutler as usual provides the lyrics. Those lyrics are still pro communist here, and I still have zero attraction to his words. But I get why their music is so depressing when those words are your life. Funny how few pro communist musicians want to move to Russia or any other like-nation .

Of all the original RIO bands UNIVERS ZERO is easily my favourite. HENRY COW impresses for their instrumental work and compositions, so that's the appeal to me. I feel though that by 1986 the instrumental part of this album has left me unsatisfied. Still challenging I will say, but Frith not being here is a big part of why I feel like this one is lacking. I could say the same for NEWS FROM BABEL's debut, I just find it more tolerable with Dagmar singing throughout, instead of several singers singing in that depressive manner. On "Letters Home" we get Robert Wyatt, Sally Potter and Phil Minton singing or mumbling sadly, while Dagmar sings on the final two tracks here.

While most feel the two NEWS FROM BABEL albums are 1A and 1B, the vocals keep me from feeling that same way. I was so glad to read Silly Puppy's same thoughts, feeling this album is a full star below the debut, and mentioning the vocals as a big reason. Zeena Parkins adds harp and accordion, while Bill Gilonis is shown as a guest adding bass. Actually all the vocalists are shown as guests, so a trio here of Cooper, Cutler and Parkins. Thankfully a short one at just over 35 minutes.

Mellotron Storm | 3/5 |

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