[new cd review]
MOBY DICK: OR, THE ALBUM
by The Evangenitals, 7 songs, evangenitals.com
reviewed by Reviewer Rob
There are certain types of albums that are the most fulfilling to review. They’re career overview “Best Of” retrospectives where a band or artist is summing up a life’s work in a single place. These types of cds might be released by the musicians themselves when they’re older amd looking back or post-mortem by a label when an artist dies. This isn’t one of those cds. It’s the other type, the second best type of cd to review, but also the most satisfying for the artist and their fans. It’s the Obsession release, and it’s often a theme-encompassing opus. Dr. Juli Crockett-Feldman – former prize boxer and idea-seed model for the female lead in Million Dollar Baby – has admitted to an obsession with MOBY DICK the novel all her life. Her spoken word opera or, the whale (2001) is listed having music by sonic artist and Avatar: The Last Airbender composer Jeremy Zuckerman. Despite the monumental personal capital this work represents for Crockett there are a spare 7 songs listed. But these 7 songs are finely detailed like ivory scrimshaw. I’ve never been a sailor, much less a whaling industry ship’s captain with the deadly revenge-filled madness of Ahab. But I think I can understand obsession, and I always love a good story. A disc at times imbued with ancient superstitions, MOBY DICK: OR, THE ALBUM has beautifully composed songs of love and loss that will win you over with their depth. It’s got heathen music, church music, and some kooky/catchy songs you might want to sing along to. I enjoyed parts of this neo-folk cd a lot and will listen to it again. Find the tunes on the band’s website at evangenitals.com/mobydick. RR [evangenitals.com]
At bottom is one for “Turbulent Flow,” the campy track from MOBY DICK: Or, The Album. It’s fun to watch but really not my favorite song off the cd by far. I much preferred “The Lee Shore,” or “Shipwreck Blues”. However I can’t find videos for those songs yet.