Holly Near is in excellent voice on this live album, most of which was recorded with only pianist John Bucchino's accompaniment, with other instruments overdubbed in a studio. Like many performers who make their living on the road, Near is at her best in a live setting, which is one reason her second recording, A Live Album, became one of her most popular. Unlike that set of new material, this one largely consists of familiar Near songs and covers, several of them in Spanish, notably a duet with Mercedes Sosa on Sting's "They Dance Alone." The exception is the driving, autobiographical title song, on which Melissa Etheridge plays guitar. One might have hoped for a set list more representative of Near's overall career, but this is a good snapshot of her Latin American-dominated musical agenda of the late 1980s, and you have to expect a topical singer like Near to present her current concerns to you in concert. (Not to be confused with Near's 1991 spoken-word tape Singer in the Storm: The Life and Music Of..., released by Enhanced Audio Systems.)
Singer in the Storm
Holly Near
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Singer in the Storm Review
by William Ruhlmann
Track Listing
Sample | Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
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1 | Holly Near | 03:48 | Amazon | ||||
2 | Holly Near | 03:08 | Amazon | ||||
3 | Holly Near | 03:33 | Amazon | ||||
4 | Holly Near | 03:31 | Amazon | ||||
5 | Holly Near | 03:06 | Amazon | ||||
6 | Holly Near | 02:40 | Amazon | ||||
7 | Holly Near | 03:28 | Amazon | ||||
8 | Holly Near | 04:15 | Amazon | ||||
9 | Holly Near | 04:07 | Amazon | ||||
10 | Holly Near | 02:36 | Amazon | ||||
11 | Holly Near | 03:03 | Amazon | ||||
12 | Holly Near | 05:38 | Amazon | ||||
13 | Holly Near | 03:28 | Amazon |