Music to Remember Him By
Studio album by
Congo Norvell
Released1994
GenreAlternative rock, cabaret
LabelBasura!/Priority Records[1]
ProducerCongo Norvell, Mick Harvey
Congo Norvell chronology
Lullabies EP
(1993)		 Music to Remember Him By
(1994)		 The Dope, the Lies, the Vaseline
(1996)

Music to Remember Him By is an album by the American alternative rock band Congo Norvell.[2] It was released in 1994. The band was led by Sally Norvell and Kid Congo Powers; the pair met via their involvement in Wim Wenders projects.[3][4][5]

Production

The album was produced by Congo Norvell and Mick Harvey; their intention was to integrate cabaret and exotica into a rock sound.[6][7] Its songs are largely about friends lost to AIDS.[8][9] Music to Remember Him By was recorded in Joshua Tree and Echo Park.[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[12]

Trouser Press wrote that "the postmodern coffee-house feel is, at times, an uncomfortably kitschy mix, but it’s creepy and compelling just the same."[13] Stereo Review thought that Norvell and Powers "conjure a darkly poetic atmosphere redolent of Kurt Weill, Leonard Cohen, Nico-era Velvets—you know, the real spooky-cool stuff."[14] The Toronto Star praised "the David Lynchian dreamscape in the tunes."[15]

The Washington Post called the album "skillfully atmospheric stuff, although the melodrama of tracks like 'Mercy Mine' just narrowly skirts silliness."[16] The Philadelphia Inquirer noted "the gothic torch and twang of Powers and haunting vocals by chanteuse Sally Norvell."[17] The Boston Globe deemed Congo Norvell's sound "seductive [and] alluring, with blues and gospel elements."[9] The Boston Herald concluded that Congo Norvell's "quiet and seductive cabaret melancholia both soothes and chills, sending shivers up your spine while messing with your psyche."[18]

AllMusic wrote that "Norvell's singing, a low, sassy croon, shows she knows her jazz/blues roots well, bringing the appropriately passionate intensity to the group that it needs."[11]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Golden Gates" 
2."Drift Away" 
3."The Chosen One" 
4."Mercy Mine" 
5."Rock My Child" 
6."My Midnight" 
7."Long Time Woman" 
8."Shelter" 
9."Lola" 
10."Dried Flowers" 
11."Love" 
12."Lonesome Valley" 

References

  1. ↑ Morris, Chris (Feb 18, 1995). "Flag Waving". Billboard. 107 (7): 63.
  2. ↑ Crouch, Lisa Marie (11 Oct 1996). "Mystery date". The Record. LIFESTYLE/PREVIEWS. p. 34.
  3. ↑ Corcoran, Michael (March 13, 1994). "SOUTH X SOUTHWEST - Critics' Picks". The Dallas Morning News. p. 10C.
  4. ↑ Slotek, Jim (July 18, 1995). "E.T.O.". Toronto Sun. Entertainment. p. 40.
  5. ↑ Blush, Steven (October 4, 2016). "New York Rock: From the Rise of The Velvet Underground to the Fall of CBGB". St. Martin's Publishing Group – via Google Books.
  6. ↑ "Album reviews -- In Memory of Him by Congo Norvell". Billboard. 107 (1): 84. Jan 7, 1995.
  7. ↑ Hughley, Marty (March 10, 1995). "CONGO NORVELL ROCKS WITH A VELVETY VERVE". The Oregonian. ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT. p. 4.
  8. ↑ Reighley, Kurt B. (Nov 1996). "Music to Disremember Him By". CMJ New Music Monthly (39): 18.
  9. 1 2 Sullivan, Jim (6 July 1995). "Melancholy match". The Boston Globe. Calendar. p. 23.
  10. ↑ Powers, Kid Congo (2022). Some New Kind of Kick. Hachette Books. p. 238.
  11. 1 2 "Music to Remember Him By - Congo Norvell | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  12. ↑ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. pp. 264–265.
  13. ↑ "Congo Norvell". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  14. ↑ Gore, Joe (Mar 1995). "Picks -- Music To Remember Him By by Congo Norvell". Stereo Review. 29 (3): 137.
  15. ↑ Stoute, Lenny (3 Aug 1995). "Sandbox, Blue Dog Pict and the lounge act from hell". Toronto Star. p. F8.
  16. ↑ Jenkins, Mark (25 Nov 1994). "Kid Congo Fronts Supergroup". The Washington Post. p. N20.
  17. ↑ Sherr, Sara (18 Nov 1994). "CONGO NORVELL". The Philadelphia Inquirer. FEATURES WEEKEND. p. 19.
  18. ↑ Lozaw, Tristram (July 14, 1995). "CONGO CAFE". Boston Herald. p. S13.
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