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If Anonymous 4 surprised some longtime listeners when they exchanged medieval masses and motets for the shape-note hymns and sacred roots music of their hit American Angels, this follow-up album is sure to please both old fans and new. While Gloryland can boast the familiar Anonymous 4 virtues of finely tuned vocal harmonies and deep investigative research, it also achieves a looser, more relaxed feeling -- thanks especially to two guest artists recruited from the world of traditional music, Darol Anger on violin and Mike Marshall on mandolin and guitar. With their subtle accompaniments and more uninhibited interludes, this pair of instrumentalists help the singers bridge the gap between church meeting and jamboree. Beyond their typically painstaking historical reconstructions, the women seem to get the spirit. Even more than the group's previous outing, Gloryland covers a wide range of American styles and genres, from pungent shape-note hymns such as "Ecstasy" and "Saint's Delight" to the sweeter harmonies of early gospel tunes like "The Shining Shore" to the austerely melancholy strains of "The Lost Girl" and other secular folk songs telling of womenfolk forsaken by their men. Naturally, Anonymous 4 lead the listener through these varied pieces in a way that reveals the connections among them as much as the contrasts. And by the time they arrive in "Green Pastures" at the program's end, they've given their audience both a richly textured music history lesson and a uniquely scenic journey through the traditional American soundscape.
Condition:NEW. Marked upc
TRACK LISTINGS
Disc 1
1 I'm on My Journey Home ("O Who Will Come and Go With Me"), revival song (2:13)
2 An Address for All, song (4:20)
3 Wayfaring Stranger, Religious Ballad (3:56)
4 Wayfaring Stranger, religious ballad (1:37)
5 Where We'll Never Grow Old, Gospel Song (3:30)
6 Ecstasy ("Oh, When Shall I See Jesus"), Revival Song (3:22)
7 The Wagoner's Lad, Folk Song (2:48)
8 Mercy-Seat ("From Ev'ry Stormy Wind That Blows"), Folk Hymn (4:11)
9 Return Again ("Saviour, Visit Thy Plantation"), Revival Song (2:51)
10 The Lost Girl, Folk Song (3:51)
11 Palmetto ("Shall We Gather at the River"), Folk Hymn (3:25)
12 Pleading Savior ("Gently, Lord, O Gently Lead Us"), Folk Hymn (2:20)
13 Merrick ("Saviour, Visit Thy Plantation"), Revival Song (4:23)
14 The Shining Shore, Gospel Song (4:43)
15 Saint's Delight ("When I Can Read My Title Clear"), Revival Song (3:58)
16 Just Over in the Gloryland, Gospel Song (2:55)
17 You Fair and Pretty Ladies, Folk Song (3:35)
18 Parting Friends, folk hymn (2:42)
19 Green Pastures, Gospel Song (3:55)
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