Feathers. Jeanette Lindstrom & Steve Dobrogosz.

Feathers, is released in year 2000, featuring Jeanette Lindstrom.

It's been a while since we talked about music. Both our job workloads have increased with new projects trusted upon our shoulders, unfortunately for us, we can't say no to our bosses. Both of us are struggling to keep up our postings. However, we still make time for our music.

Remember the Fairytales CD pictured below? It features Redka Toneff on vocals and Steve Dobrogosz on piano. I guess most audiophiles from the 80's era would still remember Redka's heart wrenching sad The Moon's A Harsh Mistress track? I think many still use this song as a vocal reference of sorts. The truthful recording of the CD captures the beautiful tone of the piano instrument, backing Redka's venerable voice filled with moods and emotions a plenty, including all her pitching errors too. However, that's exactly what made this CD so special for so many people, it's un-varnished honesty to the recording event.

Which brings us to the CD featured today, called Feathers, by Jeanette Lindstrom on vocals and Steve Dobrogosz on piano again. I think if you loved Fairytales, you'd probably love Feathers just as much. The common denominator here is Steve on piano, and his style certain shows heavily on both CDs, which seems to have been executed on a very similar theme, albeit Feathers takes a more modern and slightly more re-freshing approach, mainly due to Jeanette's crystalline voice.

I know it's not fair comparing Jeanette to Redka, but I only aim to highlight the differences to a familiar theme. Redka's approach to the songs being more moody and retrospective, contrasting Jeanette's confidence, pitch perfect and clear diction. If there's an area that makes both ladies successfully vocalist is their ability to touch the very heart of the soul with each song.

I did find the Feathers CD to be more up lifting in mood overall, but no less romantic. Much like Fairytales, the Feathers opening track called Butterfly is especially touching and soul stirring, yet sounds heavenly. The Look Of Love has been covered like a millionth time by now, but the straight on vocal and piano only arrangement has brought a new angle to this tired track. As in many of the tracks in this CD, the use of silence to inter space between notes as a means of highlighting instrument to voice contrast, as only Scandinavian producers know how, to the effect much like Young Sun Nah's Vovage album(previously reviewed here).

The newer Feathers CD is more quiet being a recent digital recording, it has less back ground tape hiss.... My CD sample(yes, I still buy CDs, despite hoping on the CAS band wagon) was ripped in to my PC(as a native 16/44.1 AIFF file) and playback on my Bryston BDP/BDA-1 combo via USB thumb drive.
Fairytales, released in 1982. Redka Toneff died shortly after she had recorded this album. Maybe that's way she sounded so sad?

Both CDs are very worth while additions to any music lover/audiophile's music collection. Both are one track wonders, well two perhaps. And both CDs are a great way to escape the day's stress by means of easy listening pleasures. They also make excellent hifi vocal demos too!