LYNN MILES
Black Flowers Vol. 3
As I noted in my
review of Black Flowers Volume 1-2, Lynn Miles has long been one of my
favourite confessional singer-songwriters and although I’ve always enjoyed and
appreciated her studio recordings – indeed, some of them are favourite albums –
I’ve always preferred
hearing her perform live in stripped-down settings which allow her beautiful
voice and her excellent songwriting to shine.
A few years ago,
Lynn began a long-term project to record solo acoustic versions of her entire
song catalogue – both songs that have been released on her studio albums and
previously unrecorded songs. Black Flowers Vol. 3 is the third CD in the series
and – by my count – includes six songs drawn from her earlier studio albums and
four which appear on CD for the first time.
As on the first
two volumes in the Black Flowers series, without other musicians, all attention
is focused directly on Lynn’s voice accompanied only by her own piano, guitar or
guitar-harmonica playing, and her excellent songwriting. I hear the previously
recorded songs on a deeper level than before and the previously unreleased songs
– some of which I’m sure I’ve heard her do live at some point – are similarly
heard.
While all of
these are great songs, my favourite tracks include “Hockey Night in Canada,” the
standout song for me on Lynn’s first CD, a vivid portrait of Montreal – or almost
any Canadian city for that matter – deep in the cold winter when all we can do
is long for a beautiful summer day; “Drunks and Fools,” which captures the
feelings and state of mind most of us have felt and had at least one time or
another; and “Look Up,” a reminder that a broken heart is not the end of the
world, that life goes on. It’s a perfect finale to set in which many of the
songs beautifully capture feelings of regrets and broken hearts.
Folk folks here
in Ottawa, Lynn performs Wednesday, October 3, 8:00 pm, at Irene’s Pub, 885 Bank
Street.
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