rate "Bare Trees"

[aleuzzi]

I already weighed in in individual songs but here are my thoughts on the overall album BARE TREES:

The songs are concise, occasionally up-tempo, occasionally even hard.

The album, though after FUTURE GAMES seems in attitude a step between that album and KILN HOUSE as if BT were recorded right after KH. Even one of Christine’s songs (Spare Me) is a hold over from something she presented to and performed with the band in 1970, whereas all her FG songs appear to be new.

The quality of the songs is very high and the performances are routinely tasteful, economical, and often quite effective.

The quality of the sound and mix is noticeably murky, a very muddled sounding recording in comparison with the spacious, airy quality of FUTURE GAMES and the bright, articulate warmth of KILN HOUSE. The band is making all the right musical choices but the mix isn’t capturing them with sufficient crispness. Of all the FM albums from the 71-74 period this one sounds the most homespun and homely. MTM would have some recording issues later but not nearly as significant (IMO) as this.