Review: Gwen Knighton's Box of Faries
Harold Feld
audiophile, so don't expect neat technical comments about mixes and so
forth.
Box of Faries is Gwen Knighton's first solo CD. Filkers may recognize
Gwen as the harper of Three Weird Sisters and several of the songs on
the TWS CD "Rite the First Time" are written by Gwen and on which she
does lead vocals.
Not surprisingly, the solo album has a qualitatively different feel.
Musically, Gwen's harp work takes center stage, although she is
occasionally supported by others (most notably on "Last Run").
Vocally, she performs alone. None of the rich harmonizations that
mark TWS. It's Gwen, the harp, and the listener and the experience is
suitably personal and intense.
The other significant difference between BoF and RTFT is the choice
ofsongs. BoF has not of the humor that threaded RTFT. Such frivolous
numbers as "Boys Want Sex in the Morning" and amusing pieces as
"Absolutely Bonkers" or "Dumb Dumb Dorothy" are totally absent from
BoF.
Instead, BoF swings from the romantic to the cynical with the
occasional dose of contemplative or high fantasy. The romantic
numbers ("Common Land," "Free Fall") are lyrical. The closest to
humor is "My Fairy Tale," which is dark in its humor and quite cynical
in its outlook. It seems the essence of joy and optimism, however,
when compared to the other "Fairy Tale" piece, "Cinderella Sleeps."
These are not, one should understand, criticisms. The cynicism of
these pieces is nicely offset by the contemplative works (of which
"Ghosts" is the best) and the high fantasy pieces. One does not feel
the need to slit one's wrists at the end or swear off dating forever.
But don't come to this album expecting humor. At best there is
whimsy.
Musically, the dominating influence is Gwen's harp, the "box of
fairies" of the title. Gwen plays the wire strung harp, which
provides a clear and piercing sound that resonates in a way that the
nylon harp does not. Gwen's dexterity with the instrument is simply
astounding. At times she moves with such speed and with such clarity
on individual notes that it sounds like a hammer dulcimer rather than
the harp. The ability to produce these hard, striking sounds gives
the music a steady rhythm beyond what one expects in a harp. Gwen's
penchant for complex word choices and a feeling of slight syncopation
in some of the lyrics (notably "Last Run," which alters the
syncopation to great effect in the course of the song) is accented by
the striking of clear notes for emphasis.
At the same time, te metalic sound of the harp when chording,
moderated by effective damping, produces an ethereal feel on the high
fantasy numbers.
The only questionable song I find on the CD is "Joan of Arc." An
extrordinarily ambitious piece with a grusome sustained metaphor. The
song feels as if it is struggling for significance on several levels.
This may be one that gradually becomes my favorite as a listen to it
more often and work it through.
Of the other songs "Last Run" probably should have been nominated for
a Pegasus for last years "most spine chilling." The ending
consistently creeps me out on numerous re-hearings -- which makes it
my favorite, of course. It is also the most succesful I have ever
seen of the "write a song about a roll playing character" genre. One
need never have played Shadowrun or have any sense of any of these
characters to feel the emotional charge and utter darkness of the
song.
A runner up for most grim and cynical is "Cinderella Sleeps." The
supporting harp work keeps this piece moving nicely and Gwen's strong
but lonely voice hbas a somewhat plaintive feel as the listener is
taken to the land of unhappily ever after. The romantic songs "Common
Land," "Love Song for a Friend," and "Free Fall" manage at the same
time to sound lyrical and everyday. The sincerity and breathlessness
of romance comes through in these, and the harpo dances lightly in
these numbers.
the High fantasy pieces, "Stepchild" and "Lullabye" are perfectly
enjoyable and good pieces of workmanship, but they do not offer
original insight in the manner of the other pieces. The performances
are string, and the use of the wire harp adds an archaic or mythical
feel.
In short, I strongly recommend this CD. Hopefully, it will inspire
other harpers to experiment with the wirestrung harp. And hopefully,
we will hear a lot more of Gwen Knighton -- both as a solo and with
Three Weird Sisters.
Harold Feld
Dave Weingart
>Of the other songs "Last Run" probably should have been nominated for
>a Pegasus for last years "most spine chilling." The ending
>consistently creeps me out on numerous re-hearings -- which makes it
Hey, it was on MY ballot :)
OTOH, I also stole it for my set at FKO, and made Gwen play it repeatedly
at MilPhil, so I'm biased.
--
73 de Dave Weingart KA2ESK Quinze Filk Festival (15th UK Filkcon)
mailto:phyd...@liii.com Feb 7-9,2003, Ipswich, England
http://www.liii.com/~phydeaux http://www.contabile.org.uk/
ICQ 57055207 qui...@contabile.org.uk
Perrianne Lurie
for ourselves? Is there a URL or do we have to wait for the next con?
Perrianne Lurie
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA
"Alas! The onion you are eating is someone else's water lily."
bucc...@pipeline.com
Margaret Middleton
>for ourselves? Is there a URL or do we have to wait for the next con?
ask bre...@bsutton.com
She's another of the Wyrd Sisters; should know pricing and shipping costs.
MSMinLR(at)aol.com (Margaret Middleton)
Shameless Plug for our local con: http://www.rockon.org
Help make a Quilted Artifact to sell for Interfilk:
http://members.aol.com/msminlr/ifquilt.htm
Dave Weingart
>And how do those of us who were NOT at the con obtain this masterpiece
>for ourselves? Is there a URL or do we have to wait for the next con?
You could come visit me and listen to my copy ;)
James J. Walton
On Fri, 8 Nov 2002, Dave Weingart wrote to Perrianne Lurie:
> You could come visit me and listen to my copy ;)
Will this visit be properly chaperoned?
Mark A Mandel
: I hope to do reviews of all the CDs I acquired at OVFF. I am not an
: audiophile, so don't expect neat technical comments about mixes and so
: forth.
: Box of Faries is Gwen Knighton's first solo CD. Filkers may recognize
To make it easier for people to find this: Presumably that's "Box of
F<ai>ries", yes?
-- Dr. Whom, Consulting Linguist, Grammarian, Orthoepist, and
Philological Busybody
a.k.a. Mark A. Mandel
--
To reply by email, remove the obvious spam-blocker from my edress.
bi...@bsutton.com
:>>And how do those of us who were NOT at the con obtain this masterpiece
:>>for ourselves? Is there a URL or do we have to wait for the next con?
:>ask bre...@bsutton.com
:>She's another of the Wyrd Sisters; should know pricing and shipping costs.
That's Three Weird Sisters, please - there's a marvelous duo out of Canada
called Wyrd Sisters and we don't want to get folks mixed up.
Currently, the CD is available from those filk dealers who have ordered it.
As soon as all the paperwork clears it will be available of Amazon, CDBaby,
and CDStreet.
Or, you can send a check for $16 plus $1.30 p&h to:
Box of Fairies
c/o Bedlam House
3605 Sandy Plains Rd suite 240-424
Marietta GA 30066
Bill
--
Bill Sutton | Posting by and for myself alone
GAFilk 2003 | "'Tis said the newsgroup is a fine and private place
Jan 10-12 2003 | But none, I think, do there embrace..."
http://www.gafilk.org |
Joe Kesselman (yclept Keshlam)
As opposed to _Box_of_Far_East_?
--
Joe Kesselman, http://www.lovesong.com/people/keshlam/
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