Haunting. Beautiful. Gothic. Intimate. Hypnotic. Avant-garde. These are but a handful of wide-ranging adjectives that can be used to describe this engaging and deeply personal work of art. It would be difficult to claim that Nico's 'Desertshore' is an easy listen. It's not. But often times a treasured gem is the reward of digging through a tough outer layer.
To be fair, this was never supposed to be a pop record. Nico does play an instrument while she sings, but it's not a mainstream instrument like the guitar, keyboard, bass or even the drums. It's a harmonium. A portable indian harmonium in fact. The combination of her emotional voice and this unique instrument really establish the gloomy backbone of the album. And further filling out the aural landscape are the brilliant orchestral arrangements of her familiar collaborator John Cale.
Nico never set out to create art that would be embraced by the masses. But that doesn't mean she didn't produce works that she was passionate about and believed in. This may be a gloomy album, but if all music was happy, would it be very interesting? I, for one, certainly don't think so.
So join me for "Album Night" on Wednesday, February 11th at 9pm EST, for a pilgrimage into the dark world of Nico.
To be fair, this was never supposed to be a pop record. Nico does play an instrument while she sings, but it's not a mainstream instrument like the guitar, keyboard, bass or even the drums. It's a harmonium. A portable indian harmonium in fact. The combination of her emotional voice and this unique instrument really establish the gloomy backbone of the album. And further filling out the aural landscape are the brilliant orchestral arrangements of her familiar collaborator John Cale.
Nico never set out to create art that would be embraced by the masses. But that doesn't mean she didn't produce works that she was passionate about and believed in. This may be a gloomy album, but if all music was happy, would it be very interesting? I, for one, certainly don't think so.
So join me for "Album Night" on Wednesday, February 11th at 9pm EST, for a pilgrimage into the dark world of Nico.