Octoroon

Octoroon

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Love cuts an interesting figure, what with her Ani DiFranco-looks and a remarkable voice that's someplace between Tracy Chapman and Odetta--with a dash of scatting yodelese for extra spice. Start immediately with "I Am Wondering," a deceptively simple tour de force that interpolates a Rodgers & Hammerstein standard into her own bemused musings. Love's originals ("Can't Understand," "June 4th Foundation") are fresh and bracingly intelligent: she somehow injects new life into "Amazing Grace" by giving it a zydeco feel, and the spartan take on Nirvana's "Come As You Are" is flat-out wonderful. Trad rarely sounds this contemporary. --Jeff Bateman

Tracks:

All Our Lives
Anyway
Whenever Time Will Come
Nelson
Bang Bang
I'm A Givin' Way
Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye
If You Leave Me
Less Is More
This Place I Love
In A Heartbeat
Take A Ride
Voices
I Know

Customer Reviews:

Love this CD.......2000-06-21

Having seen Laura Love perform in Seattle a few times, I got this CD, and it is absolutely great. Every song is excellent. If you have eclectic taste in music you will want to have this. I have had it for several years and it has held up better than 99% of my CD collection.

love at first hear.......2000-05-05

Just got back from MerleFest in NC where she appeared. Caught the 2nd half of her show on Saturday, fell in love with her, broke my neck to see her 2nd act on Sunday. Bought Pangaea at the show since it was the only title left. Thursday I'm here buying Octoroon & Collection. Can't wait for it to get even better. Wish she'd break out on the bass.

Laura Love's best work..........1999-10-05

...which is why she keeps re-doing songs from it on her major label CDs. This one actually isn't full of over-the-top yodeling (I don't recall any "yodels" per se on it at all), so if the thought of that stuff puts you off, you should still hear this CD. Full of great songs, great musicianship, and lots of variety -- from rock to jazz syncopation to funk, etc., and no filler or formula material. I wish I could say the same for her latest CD (the pretty dismal "Shum Ticky"--other than the two "Pangaea" and one "Helvetica Bold" songs on it!).

An absolute favorite album.......1999-09-05

I agree with the previous review: Buy It! Poetic lyrics with music that makes me want to stomp my feet. And the yodeling is really fantastic. I bought the CD after hearing her live a few years ago (another experience I recommend).

BUY THIS ALBUM!!.......1999-05-21

If you're reading this review, you must be thinking of buying the album. Two words of advice: Do it! Laura Love is one of the best contemporary songwriters in any genre. This was the first album of hers I ever heard all the way through, and although admittedly it took a couple of listens to get accustomed to it (her voice is like no other), it quickly gained status as a constant-play item in my CD collection. She's rerecorded a number of the songs on here now that she's on a big label, but I still like the versions on this one the best. Give it a couple of spins yourself: you won't ever get the songs, or her voice, out of your head again.

Average customer rating:

Wonderful, diverse, complex, toe-tapping good fun....
Octoroon
Great Variety
octo-awesome
A great find!

Octoroon
Laura Love
Manufacturer: Fontana Island
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Shum Ticky
You Ain't Got No Easter Clothes
Pangaea
Fourteen Days
The Laura Love Collection

ASIN: B000001ETD
Release Date: 1997-05-13

Tracks:

Bad Feeling
Can't Understand
All The Pushin'
I Am Wondering
June 4th Foundation
Amazing Graze
Simple
Capricorn & Hominy
Come As You Are
Octoroon
I Can Bring It Over
If I Knew
Blind Bartimus

Amazon.com

Love cuts an interesting figure, what with her Ani DiFranco-looks and a remarkable voice that's someplace between Tracy Chapman and Odetta--with a dash of scatting yodelese for extra spice. Start immediately with "I Am Wondering," a deceptively simple tour de force that interpolates a Rodgers & Hammerstein standard into her own bemused musings. Love's originals ("Can't Understand," "June 4th Foundation") are fresh and bracingly intelligent: she somehow injects new life into "Amazing Grace" by giving it a zydeco feel, and the spartan take on Nirvana's "Come As You Are" is flat-out wonderful. Trad rarely sounds this contemporary. --Jeff Bateman

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful, diverse, complex, toe-tapping good fun...........2005-01-12

In the same amazing, mesmerizing way that David Lindley & El Rayo-X would cover a song and make it truly their own unique pleasure, Laura Love has a gift for transforming the music. There's simply no bad or even mediocre song on this album - how many artists can say that about theirs?

I stumbled across this album at one of Tower's listening stations, and was instantly charmed and amazed. I have highly diverse tastes - across the board and across the world - and yet I have few albums that are as well-rounded, consistently entertaining and so gifted. You see all the reviews here - every one with 5 stars - do you need to be kicked in the head to get with the program? Buy this album...

Octoroon.......2003-04-15

I bought this album many years ago...it was my first Laura Love album and still one of my favorite! I like her older stuff with the yodles and all - this CD and "Pangaea" both show off her unique voice quality.

Great Variety.......2002-07-10

The sound of this CD is quite different from the 2 mp3s that Amazon.com has available for download, but I find myself loving it anyway. I want to say that there's more of a Louisiana sound, but I'm not sure that's accurate. Some songs sound celtic, some sound like pop, but they're mostly all unique and I find myself trying to sing along even if I don't know the words. Give the mp3s available for download a listen. As much variety as there is between those two songs there is between every song on this CD.

octo-awesome.......2001-09-25

caught laura at philly folk fest '98
emmy lou & friends didn't know what was happening
laura was kickin my ... on bass (yes i play) while fronting the hottest band i'd seen in many years
and the album captures it all !

A great find!.......2000-03-19

Strange...but true. I was not familiar with Laura Love untiltoday. I purchased a lot of CD's lately and, as fate wouldhave it, after rifling through them all, this was the first one I slipped in my car's cd player. Well, the diversity and energy blew me away. I just finished reading the 11 other customer reviews and I find all to be "on the money" covering different aspects of this album. Rather than be repetitive, I'll just give one more reason to buy this album: my favorite, the fantastic and unique Louisiana swamp infused/tribal beat/country yodel song 'Capricorn & Hominy'. Somehow, that one escaped the attention of all the other reviews. It shouldn't have. END

At the Octoroon Balls: String Quartet No. 1

Average customer rating:

An American Classic
Exciting new music!

At the Octoroon Balls: String Quartet No. 1

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Bebop & Post-Bop | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music

Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
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Jump Start and Jazz: Two Ballets by Wynton Marsalis
Edgar Meyer
From The Plantation To The Penitentiary
Meyer & Bottesini Concertos
Sweet Release and Ghost Story

ASIN: B00000JBDU
Release Date: 1999-06-15

Tracks:

At The Octoroon Balls: String Quartet No. 1: Come Long Fiddler
String Quartet No. 1: Mating Calls & Delta Rhythms
At The Octoroon Balls: String Quartet No. 1: Creole Contradanzas
At The Octoroon Balls: String Quartet No. 1: Many Gone
At The Octoroon Balls: String Quartet No. 1: Hellbound Highball
At The Octoroon Balls: String Quartet No. 1: Blue Lights On The Bayou
At The Octoroon Balls: String Quartet No. 1: Rampart St. Row House Rag
A Fiddler's Tale Suite: The Fiddler's March
A Fiddler's Tale Suite: A Fiddler's Soul
A Fiddler's Tale Suite: Pastorale
A Fiddler's Tale Suite: Happy March
A Fiddler's Tale Suite: Concert Piece
A Fiddler's Tale Suite: Tango, Waltz, Ragtime
A Fiddler's Tale Suite: The Devil's Dance
A Fiddler's Tale Suite: Big Chorale
A Fiddler's Tale Suite: The Blues On Top

Amazon.com

The sound world of Wynton Marsalis just keeps expanding. With At the Octoroon Balls, the composer/jazz trumpeter has written his first composition for string quartet. Filled with Americana references and plenty of New Orleans soul, the piece may surprise you. "Come Long Fiddler" flows between the rollick of Appalachian Spring and the somber quietude of Satie. "Hellbound Highball" swings with the rhythmic intensity of a locomotive and "Blue Lights on the Bayou" is a somber tone poem. The Orion String Quartet treats these new works as if they were standards, with plenty of zest and energy. The bonus on this disc is A Fiddler's Tale Suite, featuring the instrumental highlights from Marsalis's Fiddler's Tale disc. Marsalis, playing alongside a crackerjack woodwind and horn ensemble from the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, especially shines here. Recorded as part of Marsalis's Swing into the 21st Century series of releases in 1999, this musical gumbo may too diverse for some ears, but Marsalis fans will be begging for more. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

An American Classic.......1999-07-01

Marsalis' genius never seems to stop. In this collection of music, he brings together the sounds of jazz and classical music in a way that will attract fans of both genres and leave permanent smiles on the faces of fans who had always hoped Marsalis would marshall his talents as a jazz and classical trumpet player into one piece of music.

Exciting new music!.......1999-07-01

I recently heard the Orion Quartet perform selections from At the Octoroon Balls and was moved to order the CD immediately! An unexpected experience for those who only are exposed to one side of Marsalis. Beautifully performed, with great energy and precision, a real treat!

Average customer rating:

A must have for modern folkies!

Helvetica Bold
Laura Love
Manufacturer: Octoroon Biography
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Singer Songwriters | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Pangaea
Shum Ticky
Fourteen Days
Octoroon
Welcome to Pagan Place

ASIN: B0000000BW
Release Date: 1996-04-18

Tracks:

A Ha Me A Riddle I Day
Feels Like Love
Inside The Reason
Five Hundred Miles
Put A Little Love In Your Heart
High Divide Oh
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Just Like You
Nothing But Kindness
Wayfaring Stranger

Customer Reviews:

A must have for modern folkies!.......1998-07-31

While friends have joked a bit about Laura Love's yodeling in songs like High Divide Oh, the appeal of her music is undeniable. The first time I heard the songs from this album I couldn't help but get up and dance (nor could most of the rest of the audience at Falcon Ridge), and I had warped the tape beyond repair in a few short months. Helvetica Bold brings together a unique mix of upbeat originals and new renditions of classics that add Love's own indefineable twist. If you like music that has the soul of folk and rhythms that harken to everything from reggae to country you should definitely check out Laura Love's Helvetica Bold.

Average customer rating:

Afro-Appalachian Magic

Z Therapy
Laura Love
Manufacturer: Octoroon Biography
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Singer Songwriters | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music

General | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Pangaea
Helvetica Bold
You Ain't Got No Easter Clothes
Shum Ticky
Welcome to Pagan Place

ASIN: B0000000BS
Release Date: 1994-07-26

Tracks:

Things I've Heard People Think
I'm Gonna Lay By My Friend Gi
Leave My Head Alone (Diddle-ee Di)
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Radiation
Statue
I Only Know (I'd Rather Be Alone)
Fences (When I Was Young)

Customer Reviews:

Afro-Appalachian Magic.......2005-12-12

Laura Love's first album really got me into the urban-folk crossover genre. Her stylings with rainsticks and bongos along with electronic keyboards really make me feel warm. My favorite songs on the album are "Things I've heard People Think", "Radiation", and "Fences". If you like folk music, definately buy this album.

Jo Miller & Laura Love Sing Bluegrass & Old-Time Music

Average customer rating:

Jo and Laura should play more together
Not typical Laura Love
Beautiful, toe-tappin' music
World needs more of Jo and Laura
Not for everyone, but a good job

Jo Miller & Laura Love Sing Bluegrass & Old-Time Music
Jo Miller & Laura Love
Manufacturer: Rockin Octoroon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Cowboy | Country | Styles | Music

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Singer Songwriters | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Pangaea
You Ain't Got No Easter Clothes
Helvetica Bold
Blue Blazes
Welcome to Pagan Place

ASIN: B000003SV8
Release Date: 1995-09-01

Tracks:

Some Old Day
Blue And Lonesome
What About You
In My Dear Old Southern Home
My Native Home
Bury Me Beneath The Willow
Blue Railroad Train Blues
My Sweet Love Ain't Around
Don't You Call My Name
Sittin' Alone In The Moonlight
Somebody Loves You Darlin'
Dear Companion
Everybody Leaves Without Telling Me Goodbye
Old Black Mountain Trail
There Ain't No Ash Will Burn
Golden River

Customer Reviews:

Jo and Laura should play more together.......2006-01-05

I'm a big Laura Love fan and my brother is a Ranch Romance fan, so I went to see these two when they came through town a few years back. One of the better nights i've enjoyed. Jo Miller and Laura have fun together and the way their voices fit together is absolutely wonderful. The song selection is great and even non bluegrass fans will find some tunes they'll like. If you like either of these artists, this is a cd to get, even if you think you aren't a bluegrass fan. After you take a listen to this, you'll probably find that you were a fan, you just didn't know it before.

Not typical Laura Love.......2002-01-12

This is a good album if you want to hear traditional bluegrass. But if your looking for the dynamic vocals and interesting lyrics of other Laura Love albums you won't find it here.

Beautiful, toe-tappin' music.......2001-02-12

I first bought a cassette tape of this recording some years back at the National Women's Music Festival after seeing Laura Love perform. I loaned it out and haven't seen nor heard it since. So I finally got around to buying the CD. It's nice to have it back ! Laura Love is widely know in the lesbian community and some of her songs are of that nature, but if your a true music fan (if you are, you know what I mean by that) you will love this CD not to mention Love's others, no matter your orientation. Laura and Jo's voice meld so beautifully, it takes your breath away. Most of the songs were written by bluegrass greats with no switching of genders so the song will "fit" because two women are singing them. Great production and just plain fun to listen too.

World needs more of Jo and Laura.......1999-12-06

With over 8000 albums and CDs in our collection (a fourth in the blue grass category), I have really enjoyed this disc. Simply produced; haunting melodies and incredible harmonizing...please give us more.

Not for everyone, but a good job.......1999-10-05

One of the least commercial projects I can imagine, but this CD contains some wonderful performances. Miller and Love harmonize beautifully, and their approach to the material is just right -- respectful, but with a feeling for the intent of the songs, whether it be humor or sorrow. In other words, they don't make fun of the music or camp it up, and they get some stellar results. Love's vocal on "There Ain't No Ash Will Burn" is particularly fine. If you want to hear something out of the mainstream, you might find yourself liking this music more than you want to admit.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

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