Wholly Earth

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Abbey Lincoln's follow-up to the well-received Verve release Who Used to Dance finds the singer stretching her sweet and sour vocals and exquisitely languorous phrasing over a set of (mostly) original material. Joined by the likes of Bobby Hutcherson on vibes and marimba and Nicholas Payton on trumpet and flügelhorn, Wholly Earth is wholly Abbey Lincoln--romance buffered by heartbreak tragedy; idealism diffused by real-life pitfalls; striking beauty windblown by brief shadows and sad downpours. On the title cut she is swept away by joy while "Caged Bird" is a melancholy shuffle and "And It's Supposed to Be Love" is a romantic tearjerker. That Ms. Lincoln can express so many moods--some just by the mere sound of her voice--is testament to her tremendous talents. That a record like Wholly Earth is large enough to contain all she has to offer is testament to its remarkable success. --S. Duda

Tracks:

And It's Supposed To Be Love
Midnight Sun
Wholly Earth
Look To The Star
Another World
Conversation With A Baby
If I Only Had A Brain
Another Time, Another Place
Caged Bird
Learning How To Listen

Amazon.com

Abbey Lincoln's follow-up to the well-received Verve release Who Used to Dance finds the singer stretching her sweet and sour vocals and exquisitely languorous phrasing over a set of (mostly) original material. Joined by the likes of Bobby Hutcherson on vibes and marimba and Nicholas Payton on trumpet and flügelhorn, Wholly Earth is wholly Abbey Lincoln--romance buffered by heartbreak tragedy; idealism diffused by real-life pitfalls; striking beauty windblown by brief shadows and sad downpours. On the title cut she is swept away by joy while "Caged Bird" is a melancholy shuffle and "And It's Supposed to Be Love" is a romantic tearjerker. That Ms. Lincoln can express so many moods--some just by the mere sound of her voice--is testament to her tremendous talents. That a record like Wholly Earth is large enough to contain all she has to offer is testament to its remarkable success. --S. Duda

Customer Reviews:

Caged Bird.......2004-02-13

Buy this entire album for the track, Caged Bird. I guarantee that with each bird you see, whether free or caged, your thoughts will take flight and remember Ms. Lincoln's melodic phrasings.

her worst.......2003-10-29

I have listened to four of her albums, and this one was without any doubt, her worst. it was so bad that i traded it in to a used music store for only a few dollars after i had paid full price for it new. The best albums that I own by her are "Who Used to Dance" and "Devil's Got Your Tongue". However, I have not heard her early stuff from the late 50's and early 60's. I have heard that those albums rival all of her later material.

Better With Time!.......2000-08-14

Abbey Lincoln has enjoyed a performative career which spans over four decades. It is both invigorating and inspiring to note that on "Wholly Earth," her seventh recording for the Verve label in nine years, Lincoln showcases some of her most philosophical songwriting and sublime phrasing. Listeners who are atuned to flowery, non-specific ditties about romance will be disappointed by this album. However, for a lyrical, visceral journey about life, audiences will be more than grateful for Lincoln's latest tour-de-force.

Get "That's Him" & "It's Magic" before you get this oddity.........2000-04-11

The music is very hard to listen to, Abbey is trying to be a little too artsy here, buy her 1950's classics reissued on CD "That's Him" on OJC and "It's Magic" also on OJC. Start with those then get into her wierd more recent stuff.

A Keeper, Not a Classic.......2000-03-09

Undoubtedly, Abbey Lincoln is one of the most intelligent, sophisticated singers out there. Everyone, it seems, has noted her way with lyrics -- a commitment to the defiance, wry humor, or lovelessness of the songs' emotional world that surely co-exists with her acting skills. Very few people read a lyric as well as Abbey.

On a purely musical level, Abbey's voice is an eccentric and unusual instrument. When matched with the right material, the results are sublime. However, unspectacular accompaniment, arrangements, or lyrics draw the listener's attention to Abbey's vocal shortcomings. Although Abbey does not commit some of the egregious lapses in intonation that mar volume two of her Billie Holiday tribute, "Wholly Earth" does not have the consistent excellence of some of her other albums. Two of those better albums are: "Abbey is Blue" (a 50s collaboration with Max Roach) and "When there is Love" (good songs sung well with sympathetic pianist Hank Jones as only accompaniment).

"Wholly Earth" is somewhere between one-half and two-thirds of a great album. Her original songs fare worst: "Conversation With a Baby" features her musings about the celestial origins of babies, but remains entirely earthbound because its descending melody, harmonic structure, and solos are uninventive. Yet, "And It's Supposed to Be Love" and the title track show that Abbey and the band can compensate for some unoriginality in lyric, melody, or harmony with a groove that highlights the musicians' unity of purpose. "Another Time, Another Place" and "If I Only Had a Brain" also deserve special mention as well-performed standards.

I think that reviewers and listeners should stop forgiving Abbey's faults in intonation, songwriting, and melodic choices (e.g. a screechy ending that mars a well-performed title track) and push her to exhibit what the best of these tracks show. Five stars? A bit much. Save that for consistent and truly outstanding albums. Perhaps it's time that Verve released Abbey from (or encouraged her to exceed) the pattern of ballads and originals performed with a piano-led trio that most of her Verves follow.

Earth Spirit
Average customer rating:
Earth Spirit

Manufacturer: Michael Mauldin
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CAA84G
Release Date: 2004-01-01

Music:

Music

Music