Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  Adult
Boston  |  Portland  |  Providence
 
Music
CD Reviews  |  Download  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features  |  New England Music News

Karen Dalton

Cotton Eyed Joe | Delmore: 2CDs, 1 DVD
By JEFF TAMARKIN  |  February 5, 2008
3.0 3.0 Stars
inside_KAREN-DALTON---COTTON-EYED-
The very definition of cult heroine, Karen Dalton’s sparse, often ghostly acoustic folk songs, skillful 12-string and banjo, and tortured phrasing — think Cowboy Junkies meet Billie Holiday — have, in the 45 years since these performances were taped at a Boulder coffee house run by one Joe Loop, attracted worshipers from Dylan to Devendra. That she died strung out, broke, and largely forgotten in 1993, having left behind only two albums recorded in 1969 and ’71, has only added to her posthumous mystique. Dalton’s voice, even at this 1962 stage, often sounded pained — not just another early-’60s Joan Baez wanna-be, she had more in common with the grizzled blues divas of decades gone by. Yet despite the lo-fi quality of these two discs, there is a luster and a palpable soulfulness to the stark renditions of songs from Fred Neil, Ray Charles, and old-faithful Trad. With some songs stripped down to near-dirge, bare-boned skeletons and others pumped up hootenanny style, then taken to some other place altogether, Dalton pours herself so fully into each tune, it’s no wonder she flamed out. A bonus four-track DVD offers rare footage of her performing several years later.
Related:
  Topics: CD Reviews , Karen Dalton , Entertainment , Music ,  More more >
  • Share:
  • RSS feed Rss
  • Email this article to a friend Email
  • Print this article Print
Comments

ARTICLES BY JEFF TAMARKIN
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE  |  July 01, 2008
    Voiceprint
  •   RY COODER  |  June 24, 2008
    I, Flathead | Nonesuch/Perro Verde
  •   RACHID TAHA  |  June 17, 2008
    Rock El Casbah: The Best Of . . . | Wrasse
  •   ROBYN HITCHCOCK  |  May 20, 2008
    Sex, Food, Death . . . and Insects | A+E
  •   BILLY BRAGG  |  May 06, 2008
    Mr. Love and Justice | Anti-

 See all articles by: JEFF TAMARKIN

MOST POPULAR
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 
HOT TOPICS
 More Topics . . .



Featured Articles in CD Reviews:
060217_mag_list

The Morning After Girls

PRELUDE: EP’S 1 & 2 | Rainbow Quartz  
060224_morningwood_list

Morningwood

MORNINGWOOD | Capitol
060616_dump_list

Dumptruck

Haul Of Fame: A Collection | Rykodisc
060623_camrea_list

Camera Obscura

Let’s Get Out of the Country | Merge
060630_swift_list

Richard Swift

The Novelist/Walking Without Effort | Secretly Canadian
Wednesday, July 09, 2008  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
StuffAtNight Latest:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2008 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group