Natalie Merchant's Tigerlily on LP...any good?

If you love Natalie Merchant, and you also enjoy Cowboy Junkies, run, don't walk, to the Junk Store and pick up a copy of "Trinity Revisited". She is one of several guest performers invited by the Junkies to go back to Trinity Church in Toronto to pay homage to the 20th anniversary of their second, and classic album, The Trinity Session. Though her contributions are not dominant, they are nonetheless very memorable: Natalie does a great duet with Margo Timmons on Misguided Angel, and a wonderful solo of To Love is to Bury. You can wait til Febuary for the CD to be released publicly, or buy it now at their website. This special edition comes with a beautifully photographed and produced video of the performance which makes it well worth the price of admission. Production values on both video and CD are outstanding. Acoustics remain, as in the original, astoundingly good, but distinct in some ways from the original (which was recorded with a single microphone). Unfortunately it is not available as an LP afaik. Great CD if you're a Cowboy Junkies fan, and especially if you liked the original - this version stands on its own merit.

Marco

Marco:

Thanks for the tip--I just bought the Junkies CD. Looks GREAT! BTW, I like the way the track sequence laid out on the Tigerlilly 45RPM set. It just seems to work and makes flipping the sides less bothersome. Having now compared the two (CD and LP) I agree with Chris. The CD has a rising upper mid that gives a slight edge to Natalie's voice when played at volume. The LP is smoother through this range. Overall, the LP is much more realistic and engaging.

Thanks for your feedback guys....It looks like I may have to order the LP version of Tigerlily. Gary, when I meet you at one of your meetings, I'll certainly take you up on your offer!

calgarian

Jax,

Maybe my memory is failing on the CJ trinity recording, but didn't the recording actually take pace in the hotel lobby they were staying at...the hum in the background was a window air conditioner.

Still sounds near-perfect though.

Fishboat - I think you've gone a killed a few too many brain cells, my friend. Here's the scoopon the original trinity session which was recorded in Toronto's Holy Church of the Trinity with a single microphone. The new version is also recorded in the same church which has amazing acoustic properties (the producer mentions it approaches the golden proportion at one point in the interview on the Revisited version). They use more than one mic in the new version. As I said, it stands on its own merits. Yes, the original is near-perfect, as you say.

Marco