Vashti Bunyan - Lookaftering
List Price:
Our Price: $9.99
You Save: $8.99 (47%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.70 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases
Canadian Music Store
Music CD Cover
Artist: Vashti BunyanEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2005-10-25
Music Label: Dicristina Stair Builders
Soundtracks:
- Lately
- Here Before
- Wayward
- Hidden
- Against the Sky
- Turning Backs
- If I Were
- Same But Different
- Brother
- Feet of Clay
- Wayward Hum
Free Music Notes for Lookaftering
Free Music Review: A Certifiable Classic : But Not For Everyone
Hit: 5 Stars
There was a time when I wished the earth would know of more performers like Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Lavender Diamond, Bat for Lashes, Vetiver, Jana Hunter and Andrew Bird. That day has still not come, but it bears paying attention to the fact that all the above listed performers would not have their careers today had Vashti Bunyan not existed.
Everyone now knows the story where her music was lost for years, until Devendra Banhart found her reissue, was transfixed by it, and through his grassroots promotion managed to get her back onto the radar, thus culminating in the recording of her second album. I bet Banhart wouldn't give himself all that credit, but certainly he needs to be respected for it.
"Lookaftering" is only Vashti's second album, but upon release it was evident that this is one of those classics that could hold its own against all-time favorites such as "Astral Weeks" or "Sergeant Pepper" (it really could). The downside is that there are still thousands of people, even those who are interested in folk music, who don't know of Bunyan's existence at all, which makes it clear why this album didn't sell very well, nor did it culminate in a 'second lease of life' for Bunyan.
So whats the music like? While Vashti herself detests the 'folk singer' label, the music here is pastoral and very British, in the most quaint and rural sort of way. Her voice is something of a whisper that could become a wail, and almost every song here is slow and moody, with very, very sparse instrumentation (one track has Joanna Newsom play the harp, but the song is all too short). Backup musicians such as Devendra Banhart do appear, but at no time do they smother the proceedings with their personalities.
Prime cuts include "Lately", and "Wayward". The latter is sung as a hum, as the last track on the CD (its supposed to be one of those 'accidental' recordings that were made unbeknowest to Bunyan). Whether you buy that or not, the song is a light, mellow reminder that music need not be loud or loaded with instrumentation to make an impact. Sometimes simple is good enough. "Lookaftering" if full of such gems - each more beautiful than the other.
However, on the downside, the CD I would most readily compare this to is "For Emma, Forever Ago" by Bon Iver. The similarities ar endless. Like that album, this is so slow that some listeners may find themselves absolutely annoyed and impatient, and they might wonder what all the glowing reviews were all about. Those concerns are in part true. This is not a 'readily accessible' album, and chances are that you might not 'get' it upon first, or even second listen. However, just like Bon Iver, repeated listening should do the trick, as it is indeed quite multilayered and hypnotic. The womans' voice is a national treasure!
If you liked this, I highly recommend her earlier recording "Just Another Diamond Day", as well as "Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon" by Devendra Banhart, and "The Milk Eyed Mender" by Joanna Newsom. Also, anything by the obscure band Vetiver. All these people own Bunyan a load of thanks for influencing their musical style.
Five Stars. A Classic indeed, but definitely not for everyone.
Lookaftering Poster
It's not often you come across an artist you can genuinely refer to as a "cult legend," but Vashti Bunyan is truly that. A full thirty-five years after her only previous album, the singer returns with a new solo work, her first in all these years, and it is a breathtakingly beautiful album.Produced by fellow Edinburgh resident Max Richter (who has a wonderful solo album of his own, Blue Notebooks), and co-arranged with Bunyan, it's a rich, beautifully arranged and stirring album. Developing gradually and organically -- with work initially taking place between Richter and Bunyan's homes, and then at various studios in Edinburgh, London and Glasgow -- Lookaftering is anchored around Bunyan's voice and picked acoustic guitar, Richter's piano playing and arranging. Its instrumentation includes a string quartet, oboe, harp, French horn, and recorder, flute, hammer dulcimer, glasses, harmonium, and Rhodes piano, and it features contributions from Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart, Adem, Adam Pierce (Mice Parade), Robert Kirby (Nick Drake), Otto Hauser and Kevin Barker (Espers, Currituck County)
As well as a neat balance between gentle, sparse songs and heavier, more orchestrated numbers, there is a beautiful play between the lush instrumental arrangements and the incredibly intimate, in-your-ear presence of Bunyan's voice. There's a real honesty to the album -- from the fragile intimacy of the vocal itself to the stories that it weaves. Just as JADD was a very pure document of a journey, Lookaftering is similarly based on stories taken directly from lived experience (the death of a brother; the joys and fears of motherhood; the tension between freedom and commitment; and travel versus domesticity). There's also a great integrity forged from the cohesiveness between lyrical content and musical form (the gentle rolling and pitching of the melodies on "Same But Different"; the vocal roundelay on "Here Before"; the ice-shiver of dulcimer on "Turning Backs"). The album title itself, a personal neologism that describes the role of "taking care of someone -- human or animal -- or even something that needs to be done, that needs lookaftering."
Folk Music CDs
Margie Adam - Another PlaceRelease date: 1994-07-26; Music CD
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops:
Ann Reed - Road of the HeartRelease date: 1994-06-29; Music CD
Best price: $29.99
Ann Reed - Back & ForthRelease date: 1994-07-26; Music CD
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops:
Kay Gardner - Rainbow PathRelease date: 1994-07-26; Music CD
Best price: $12.64
Price in other shops:
Joanne Rand - Grant Me EyesRelease date: 2001-08-02; Music CD
Best price: $9.96
Price in other shops:
Betty - Hello Betty!Release date: 1994-03-21; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Kay Gardner - AmazonRelease date: 1994-07-26; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Stage 2: Human HeartRelease date: 1997-04-11; Music CD
Best price: $14.95
Price in other shops:
Cyntia Smith, Ruth Barrett - Heart Is the Only NationRelease date: 1996-07-17; Music CD
Best price: $96.66
Giants! A Colossal Collection of Tales and Tunesby Jim Weiss
Greathall Productions, Inc.; Greathall Productions; Published: 1996-11-01; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $8.68
Price in other shops:
Pentangle - Basket of LightRelease date: 2008-11-24; Music CD
Best price: $6.48
Price in other shops:
Bjork - BiophiliaRelease date: 2011-10-11; Music CD
Best price: $9.65
Price in other shops:
Anne Briggs - A CollectionRelease date: 2002-05-14; Music CD
Best price: $10.73
Price in other shops:
Karen Dalton - In My Own TimeRelease date: 2006-11-07; Music CD
Best price: $29.85
Incredible String Band - Hangman's Beautiful DaughterRelease date: 2010-04-13; Published: 2010-04-01; Music CD
Best price: $11.36
Price in other shops:
Nick Drake - Five Leaves LeftDRAKE,NICK; Release date: 2003-05-06; Music CD
Best price: $4.80
Price in other shops:
![Just Another Diamond Day [Vinyl] Image](/images/Just-Another-Diamond-Day-Vinyl-B0007R8FSA-X.jpg)
Vashti Bunyan - Just Another Diamond Day [Vinyl]Release date: 2005-04-05; Music CD
Best price: $13.98
Price in other shops:
Sibylle Baier - Colour GreenRelease date: 2006-02-07; Music CD
Best price: $10.99
Price in other shops:
Vashti Bunyan - Just Another Diamond DayRelease date: 2004-10-19; Music CD
Best price: $9.06
Price in other shops:
Vashti Bunyan - Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind: Singles and Demos 1964-1967Release date: 2007-11-13; Music CD
Best price: $10.82
Price in other shops: