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THE LANGUAGE OF CROWS 
Wendy Lewis &
Bill CarrothersJazz Magazine (France) named the CD in the top 10 discs of 1999.  REVIEWS Cadence - August 2000 Vol. 26 No. 8 - page 106 Jerome Wilson Charles Ives is quoted on the liner card of this CD and he might have enjoyed this singular collection or altered hymns, children's rhymes, traditional songs and other unlikely selections. Lewis has a low, lush voice instead of the solemn soprano you might expect and that just emphasizes the quirky humanity of this session. It sounds very eerie when Lewis sings the old hymn "The Vacant Chair" over Carrothers' off-kilter piano or does childlike songs like "Doll House" and Savior Self" in a lush, sensuous voice. They put a lot of ill-fitting parts together in odd ways. There's even a German children's song done with whispered conversation and jangly piano. The only thing close to this is Ran Blake's occasional jaunts into Americana but this is even more sinister than his work, beautiful but subtly disturbing. Allaboutjazz.com Jim Santella Wendy Lewis and Bill Carrothers are outcats. By combining impressionism with cynical humor, they've come up with a cerebral session that's both pleasant in its linear form and adventurous through its added dimensions. A jazz pianist from Minneapolis, Carrothers likes to vary from expected mainstream harmony and dress up his accompaniment with dense atypical chords. His solo romps swing with a light-hearted sense that can only come through a love for the music. Lewis' lyrics are articulated well enough and they're printed in the liner booklet; however, the deeper meaning takes hold only after studying the duo's performance. "She must know what's good for me 'cause she's the one who's on t.v." for example, is a poke at daytime talk shows. We can easily identify with Lewis' work because she deals with everyday topics. To supplement the vocal presentation, Carrothers inserts light jazz interludes that belie his true talents. A straight-laced "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" comes with cool jazz piano fills. The sordid tale of Lizzie Borden is offset with a swinging jazz piano center section. Even the spirituals contain quirky piano harmonic tricks; it's as if Alfred Hitchcock had turned "Jesus Loves Me" into a feature-length film. An accurate singer with a pleasant voice offers head-turning, thought-provoking lyrics while the jazz pianist supplies adventuresome counterpoint. What a concept! Minneapolis Star Tribune, Sunday Sept. 12 1999 Local Pop/Rock Jim Meyer This impromptu recording of duets and solos on Carrothers' label seems most unlikely, yet it's strangely in tune. Vocalist Lewis has led outstanding rock and jazz groups such as Rhea Valentine anad Mary Nail. Pianist Carrothers, an 80's bebop prodigy, has grown into a methodical scholar of classical and American folk traditions. Now they've put their formidable instrumental skills into a stormy marriage of Lewis' stark originals and choice vintage pieces, such as the devastating wartime memorial "The Vacant Chair". But this CD really excels when Lewis' plain-spoken, highly poetic social criticisms blend with Carrothers' unusual harmonic twists in a mutual search for new ways out of the old conventions. Who knows what to make of "The Ballad of Lizzie Borden"and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", but Lewis and Carrothers' shared creative trust and expressive force makes for some outstanding pieces of understated avant-garde. Buy it SHRUG Rhea Valentine
 REVIEWS 1995: The Year in Review/ Mpls. Star Tribune "Like a neighborhood Patti Smith, Wendy Lewis resurrected the band name/pen name Rhea Valentine to write a declaration of reemergence about aging and raging, and teamed with a raw, jazzy rhythm section to make the most (awe)inspiring local rock record of the year." # 4 30 Most Noteworthy Local Records of 1995 St. Paul Pioneer Press "A remarkable emotional and musical improvisational work, this unexpected gem has re-established Wendy Lewis as one of the twin town's most adventurous singer-slash-sages. Local comeback of the year." Mpls. Star Tribune "Five years after first gaining local prominence, singer-songwriter Wendy Lewis (aka Rhea Valentine) has returned to make an inspiring but uneasy disc that shows how liberated rock music is made. These skillful songs of pain and perseverance reveal her fierce poetic vision. They're enhanced even more by Lewis' husky voice, which is striking in its flexibility and calm honesty. And her bold new backing trio responds intelligently as Lewis swings from sparse drones to jazzy heavy metal. At times, Lewis' poems are metaphorical to the max, but overall, Shrug displays an effective unruliness well beyond alterna-rock standards." "What is the point of all this yearning, if I'm not learning anything at all?" Wendy Lewis sings at the outset of the overhauled Rhea Valentine's marvelous new album, and the subsequent 11 songs go a long way toward providing a trail of truth-seeking/telling bread crumbs, if not exactly answers. Lewis' shadowy, introspective lyrics are delivered in a voice that oozes a world-weary confidence that's at the core of one of the year's most exciting local releases. What sets this record apart from the rest of the pack is the obviously lived-in quality of the songs and the free-form nature of the band (North Equator Nine guitarist Terry Eason, drummer David King and bassist Pete Linman). Recorded live in the studio in just 12 hours, the vibe to Shrug is often just short of a folk-jazz-rock jam session, and the performances are wonderfully uneven and ambitious. From the stunning six-minute opener, "Dirty Tricks", to the ephemeral closer "Will Not", and practically everything in between, this is an amazingly heartfelt record, loaded with musical and emotional risks. St. Paul Pioneer Press On the liner notes, Lewis writes, "Thank you for jumping off cliffs with me." It is presumably a memo to the adventurous musicians who collaborated on Shrug, but it could just as well be a Post-it reminder to herself and her muse, and a challenge to the listener. Here's mine: Do yourself a favor and take the leap; free falls this exhilarating are rare indeed." >> More Press Buy it |
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