LETTERS HOME

This is a unique album. First of all, the full length 12" LP plays at 45rpm. That gives it an extremely full sound (at least on my turntable). The music is quite reminiscent of The Art Bears and Henry Cow (no surprise there). And the songs are dominated by Lindsay Cooper's reeds. Zeena Parkins adds her harp and accordion, and fits in perfectly.

Vocals are performed by Robert Wyatt (who appears on five of the nine tracks), Dagmar Krause, Sally Potter and Phil Minton. The different singers add a variety of flavors to the album.

My favorite tracks are: the frenetic A Dragon At the Core, the dark (of course) Dark Matter and Waited/Justice with what I presume is Parkins' "prepared harp" adding bizarreness.

While this may be difficult to find, to any hard core RIO fan, it's worth the hunt.