| Music to Remember Him By | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1994 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, cabaret | |||
| Label | Basura!/Priority [1] | |||
| Producer | Congo Norvell, Mick Harvey | |||
| Congo Norvell chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music to Remember Him By is an album by the American band Congo Norvell. [2] It was released in 1994. The band was led by Sally Norvell and Kid Congo Powers; the pair met via their involvement in Wim Wenders projects. [3] [4] [5]
The album was produced by Congo Norvell and Mick Harvey; their intention was to integrate cabaret and exotica into a rock sound. [6] [7] Its songs are largely about friends lost to AIDS. [8] [9] Music to Remember Him By was recorded in Joshua Tree and Echo Park. [10]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [12] |
Trouser Press wrote that "the postmodern coffee-house feel is, at times, an uncomfortably kitschy mix, but it's creepy and compelling just the same." [13] Stereo Review thought that Norvell and Powers "conjure a darkly poetic atmosphere redolent of Kurt Weill, Leonard Cohen, Nico-era Velvets—you know, the real spooky-cool stuff." [14] The Toronto Star praised "the David Lynchian dreamscape in the tunes." [15]
The Washington Post called the album "skillfully atmospheric stuff, although the melodrama of tracks like 'Mercy Mine' just narrowly skirts silliness." [16] The Philadelphia Inquirer noted "the gothic torch and twang of Powers and haunting vocals by chanteuse Sally Norvell." [17] The Boston Globe deemed Congo Norvell's sound "seductive [and] alluring, with blues and gospel elements." [9] The Boston Herald concluded that Congo Norvell's "quiet and seductive cabaret melancholia both soothes and chills, sending shivers up your spine while messing with your psyche." [18]
AllMusic wrote that "Norvell's singing, a low, sassy croon, shows she knows her jazz/blues roots well, bringing the appropriately passionate intensity to the group that it needs." [11]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Golden Gates" | |
| 2. | "Drift Away" | |
| 3. | "The Chosen One" | |
| 4. | "Mercy Mine" | |
| 5. | "Rock My Child" | |
| 6. | "My Midnight" | |
| 7. | "Long Time Woman" | |
| 8. | "Shelter" | |
| 9. | "Lola" | |
| 10. | "Dried Flowers" | |
| 11. | "Love" | |
| 12. | "Lonesome Valley" |
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