Howe Gelb – ‘Sno Angel Like You

The impetus for Howe Gelbs latest was an appearance he made a few years ago at the Ottawa Bluesfest. On a bill with numerous gospel choirs, he met the Voices Of Praise, who appear throughout on this disc. Recorded in Canada, these fourteen songs are a mix of new ones and earlier Giant Sand numbers by both Gelb and the late Rainer Ptacek. The minimal instrumentation (primarily a single guitar and spare drumming) underscores the solid foundation of each song. The opener, Get To Leave, originally appeared on 1989s Long Stem Rant; here, its stripped from those rough-and-tumble electric combo origins to a churchly clarity that sets the tone for the entire 45-minute set. Paradise Here Abouts shows Gelb also wrote songs specifically for these vocally-bolstered sessions, both in terms of sonic bearing and lyrical content.