The Red Shoes - What Else?

[henrik@husc.harvard.edu]

Well, *I* love it.  What, no great gasps of surprise?  Yes, it has a copule
of weak tracks, and a few odd moments, but all of life is imperfect, and
it's beautifully recorded, sincerely sung and played, and when she peeks
out from behind the record jacket with an impish grin and a half-hesitant
forwn knitting her brow how can I resist putting on not one but two 
pairs of red shoes (one for each of us) and dancing off into the overdub
sunset together?

Anyway, some details:

FLAME ON

Ok, bozos, get with it - "Lily" is maybe the best song ever written, except
maybe for the title track.  If you don't believe me, turn it up LOUD,
SING ALONG, and PROTECT YOURSELF WITH FIRE!  (no, i'm an atheiest, not a 
new-ager, but i respect the power of imagery and symbolism nonetheless).

Second point: "Song of Solomon" is totally *EXCELLENT*.  Never before
has someone put deep, intimate, tender lovemaking onto a CD and
preserved the vulnerability and the honesty of the feeling without 
making it vulgar (good thing his o+-> ness wasn't on this track).

Third point: "Top of the City" (whatever it's about) is STUNNING.

"Constellation of the Heart" isn't her best writing, but it's fun.  "Rubberband
girl" is a promise fulfilled.

"Big Stripy Lie" sucks "Big Fuzzy Rocks".

FLAME OFF

Some other things:  Has anyone noticed that the album sounds ever so much
better than the singles did?  I publicly apologize to Del Palmer - he is a
wonderful engineer - he who has carried the fragile faberge egg onto tape
without shattering it, but has delicately and faithfully reproduced each
and every nuance of it.  I think the singles were compressed and re-EQ'd
as part of the CD mastering process to make them sound better on radio
(but worse at home).  

When I listen to "Rubberband Girl" in particular there's so much more space
in the mix and more detailing, though I am convinced I'm listening ot the
same 2-track master, just with different treatments.

It's no _Hounds of Love_.  It's no _Lionheart_.  It's _The Red Shoes_, and
it's excellent in its own way.

					larry...