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In my books, this album will
go down as one of the most
important albums of all
time. Don & Karen Peris,
along with Mike Bitts on
upright bass, humbly give us
12 quiet, introspective
reflections that border on
folk music, yet transcend
every musical genre. While
functioning as a band, this
record plays like a
perfected singer/songwriter
solo album, overflowing with
intimate and bleeding
heartaches, hope, and
rebirth. Don's gentle guitar
work softly gives way to
Karen's fragile and angelic
vocals. You are both haunted
and translated at once. Very
few bands can capture you in
the careful way that The
Innocence Mission can. The
refrains of "Snow" echo in
my mind like a trapped
prayer ('I think we will be
made clean like the
snow...'), and the hook that
passively says 'To see
him...happy' hits me in the
gut every time. The
brilliant cover of John
Denver's "Follow Me" is
charming, endearing, and
perfectly placed, leading to
"The Lakes Of Canada". I
love this song. There are
precious few moments when
you hear a song and suddenly
conclude that it was written
just for you. Such as "The
Lakes Of Canada" in my case.
This song can touch the
depths of the soul in ways
that are impossible for
words to explain. "You Are
The Light" and "She May Turn
Around" namedrop Neil Young
and Brian Wilson
respectively, but TIM could
namedrop anyone and you'd
blush...because they're that
good. Both songs are
soothing and pure in melody,
and it's almost as if Karen
invites you into her mind -
a world you'd love to live
in. "Birdless" and "I Was In
The Air" provide the
thematic element that
elevates this album from
great to gloriously great.
The beauty is often in the
simplicity. "Green Grass,
Red Tree" simply tells us
'There's nothing to keep you
/ You've waited a long
time'. It's that simple. No
flash. No ebbs of feedback.
No duel-bass drum. No
multi-layered tricks. Just
pure heart, through and
through. Birds of My
Neighborhood is a
mini-masterpiece that should
never be forgotten.
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Small Planes is a collection
of unused songs by one of
the more charming bands you
could ever fall asleep to.
The album is subtitled Lost
And Found Songs 1996-2001,
and that pretty clearly sums
up the nature of this
record. I was expecting to
hear an album that lacked
cohesion, for obvious
reasons...but it's hard to
find any fault with Small
Planes. While I'm not
exactly sure what the intent
originally was for these
songs, I wouldn't classify
this album as 'demos &
b-sides', because, quite
frankly, this album stands
up to anything else I've
ever heard from The
Innocence Mission. To be
truthful, at this point I'm
not familiar with any work
that pre-dates Christ Is My
Hope, so my opinion cannot
compare this work to Glow,
Birds Of My Neighborhood,
ect. So the question is, can
Small Planes stand on its
own two feet? And the answer
is a resounding YES! The
melancholy of "Migration" is
beautifully heartbreaking,
and for some reason unknown
to me, I keep returning to
the painfully confessional
"I Left The Grounds". Try if
you like: Over The Rhine,
Sarah Masen, Saran McLachlan
and Mia Doi Todd.
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I don't know of any band
that can gently float me
into the clouds like the
trio that is The Innocence
Missin. Made up of Don Paris
(guitars/drums/voice) and
his lovely wife Karen
(guitars/piano/organ/strings/voice),
and rounded out by Mike
Bitts (bass), The Innocence
Mission make soft-pop with
strong folk-rock ties.
Befriended is a 10 song
affair beautifully packaged
in a artful digipak case.
Karen's angelic voice swoons
through every track,
wonderfully complimenting
every strum, pluck, brush
and chord. The majestical
narrative "When Mac Went
Swimming" is Befriended's
highpoint, but the band
never strays too far from
there for the 8 tracks that
follow the song. The
simplicity of "Beautiful
Change", combined with a
blissful melody, is like
fireworks going off. Very
understated and calculated.
"Martha Avenue Love Song" is
half drown in reverb to
great effect. Their single,
"One For Sorrow, Two For
Joy", plays with slight
atmosphere and gives an
otherworldly air. "No Storms
Come" is the most
disappointing track here,
but solely because it's
taken from The Innocence
Mission's 2000 recording,
Christ Is My Hope. But in
all honesty, hearing the
song in context with this
album makes perfect sense.
Befriended is a wonderful,
quiet, introspective and
contemplative album that has
no equal. If you don't like
this record, you have no
hope.
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The Innocence Mission holds
a special place in my house.
They are one of the few
bands that my wife and I
BOTH genuinely love. And
being that we are a young
family with 2 children, Now
The Day Is Over is THE
perfect soundtrack to our
life. We must've played this
album nothing short of 100
times in the last year and a
half. Karen Paris is so
unbelievably delicate and
childlike in this recording.
Aside from ambient
post-rock, I find this album
to be the most effective
(and family friendly!)
transport music, in the
sense that I easily get
lulled into the songs and
swept away by them. It's
hard for me to pick
favorites on this recording,
but the opening trilogy of
"Stay Awake", "Over The
Rainbow", and "What A
Wonderful World" leave you
wondering if there is any
room for this album to get
better. Of the 13 tracks,
one of them, the pristine
"My Love Goes With You" is
original (written by Karen).
The remaining 12 tracks are
lullabies or simplely soft,
beautiful songs, rearranged
in a childlike manner.
Despite the fact that Now
The Day Is Over was written
for Don and Karen's own
children, this album is
mostly played in our
bedroom. If you're talking
about 'cover albums', this
one is a total classic.
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This CD is nothing less than
essential. Don and Karen
Paris shape delicate and
haunting arrangements around
sacred hymns, and I'm left
breathtaken. Their
renditions of classic hymns
like "It Is Well With My
Soul" (which is one of my
all time favorite songs) and
"Beautiful Saviour" leave me
with chills. Of the 10
tracks presented here, 3 of
them (including the title
track) are original
Innocence Mission
compositions, and they fit
the mood wonderfully. If
you're longing for an album
that is heavy with spiritual
depth and meaning, I'd
quickly point you to Christ
Is My Hope. Karen's voice is
angelic and almost foreign,
giving the record a surreal
effect. My only complaint is
that it's actually more the
length of an EP than a
full-length. I love this
album, and have for years.
Highly recommended.
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