The first thing you notice about Sally Ellyson’s voice is the almost overwhelming warmth, the fulsome heat of her tone. The second thing you should notice is that she doesn’t sound like any of the singers she is often compared to. Not Margo Timmins, nor Aimee Mann, nor remotely Dusty Springfield, though she is as instantly recognizable as any of them.
On these outtakes, demos and live recordings — including a clutch of inspired covers, most clocking in well under three minutes — it’s (quite understandably) Ellyson’s show. From the opening traditional “All The Pretty Horses” (a fragment from a tape of lullabies that landed her the Hem gig) to the closing traditional “Golden Day Is Dying”, Ellyson’s close-miked voice redefines the critical cliche “radiant.”
But there is a band behind her, or rather around her, mostly in signature acoustic orchestra swells that, with lesser players, could become a lush slush. Not so here. They sound patient but tingling on R.E.M.’s “South Central Rain”, sharp and forward-pushing as the Velvet Underground on Fountains Of Wayne’s “Radiation Vibe”, soaked in reverb and vibraphone on Tony Joe White’s “Rainy Night In Georgia”, smooth and swinging on the live staple “Tennessee Waltz”, tensely southern-soul gothic on the previously unreleased original “Oh No”, a bit skittish in shuffle shoes on “Crazy Arms”, and soul-pop as Laura Nyro on a demo of their Eveningland track “The Beautiful Sea” — which, like nearly everything here, equals while expressively departing from the original.
