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Souls of Birds

by Tom Mank and Sera Smolen

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

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1.
Happy Ending 04:14
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2.
Souls of Birds 06:44
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3.
Heart of My Dreaming 03:45
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4.
Big Red Moon 10:57
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5.
Where Do You Bury a Gypsy 05:18
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6.
Takes Your Breath Away 04:30
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7.
Whisper to Each Other 06:12
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8.
Without You 05:36
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9.
Khaki and Bone - 1918 05:29
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about

Oh, there is so much crap out there! Thank heavens there are GREAT records like this to stem the tide!

If you brought a pile of CDs home from a folk festival, “Souls of Birds” is the one that would end up on the top of the pile. It is risky, real and pushes boundaries in a very natural way with nary a hint of pretentiousness.

Tom Mank’s low-key Lou Reed/Leonard Cohen-ish vocals have a compelling, spoken word quality to them. Mank is one of those singers who could be reciting the phone book and you’d go “yeah, there’s something to that!” The lyrics, thankfully, are a lot better than that though!

Sera Smolen’s cello takes us all kinds of places weird and wonderful, while never losing touch with the emotional roots of the songs. She’s soloistic, but always in a way that supports the overall thrust of the music. Her cellistic terrain includes emotive, whacked-out natural sound effects and high-energy solos drawn from many influences, such as 19th century etudes and Indian ragas, to name but a few. Smolen is a passionate player who is clearly intimate with the inherent joy in taking musical risks.

Though there are a few guest spots (violin, sarod and trumpet are featured) it is Mank’s guitar and Smolen’s cello that are the instrumental mainstays of the songs. Due to their willingness to keep changing things up, the sounds of their instruments are continually fresh and inspiring, as are the arrangements. There is always some cool new surprise poking its impish head around the corner ahead of us as the CD progresses.

It is thrilling when artists dig in and craft a work as rich and vibrant and authentic as this.

Five stars.

Corbin Keep

Cello City Ink

Fall/Winter 2004/2005

credits

released March 1, 2004

November, 2004 Recorded July 2004 - November 2004 by Will Russell at Electric Wilburland Mastered by Rich DePaolo Graphic Design by Patti Witten Cover Art by Helena Cooper

Artists: Dee Specker (violin, vocal), Lauar Branca (vocal), Patti Witten (vocal), Ruth Roland (violin), Michael Galloway (trumpet), Danny Birch (sarod), and Paul Fairbanks (banjo)

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about

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Tom Mank and Sera Smolen Ithaca, New York

Tom Mank, an independent singer-songwriter for the past twenty years, has played in folk, blues, and bluegrass bands collaborating with a host of singers and instrumentalists.

Dr. Sera Jane Smolen is an active performer of many genres of music. In addition to her collaboration with Mank, she has performed extensively with the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra and many others. ... more

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