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Review: Last Forever
By Christopher Hess
LAST FOREVER
(Nonesuch)
AUGUST 18, 1997:
On Last Forever, songwriter/musician Dick Connette has
created an ambitiously inclusive historical document as well as a beautiful collection
of songs stemming from the traditions that comprise the musics of this country. Like
any historical document, the vision is somewhat narrow, at least in its interpretation,
which is sort of a necessary limitation if the artist is to avoid a diluted and over-generalizing
point of view. Thanks to the instrumentation, the delivery maintains a distinctly
European flavor despite the Bo Diddley beat of "Nursery Rhyme" and the
lead and fade of Leadbelly's "Ain't Goin Down to the Well No More." While
this lends the hammer dulcimer -- and banjo-laced folk arrangements and British-type
ballads an authentic and engaging familiarity, it puts a hollow ring on "Poor
Lazarus," Connette's sojourn into field hollers. Still, the strong points of
this album easily overpower this minutia. The emphasis is on the storytelling, which
is a thread that links all traditional American music. Sonya Cohen, a local artist
connected to these forms through a long line of Seegers, provides the perfect voice;
not perfect in the operatic sense of a pure and flawless tonal range, but perfect
for this project. Her singing is just limited enough to be charming for that reason,
and emotionally evocative enough to convince us of the importance of the Prodigal's
return in the first song and to convey the surprisingly sultry sway that ultimately
makes "Poor Lazarus" a joy to listen to. Too authentic to be revisionism,
too original to be solely documentation, Last Forever is a wonderfully complete
reminder of the places and people that give birth to the music we love and call our
own.
(4.0 stars) -- Christopher Hess
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