A CHORUS OF APPROVAL

Gay choruses seem to be the backbone of the lesbian and gay music world. They have achieved a respectability among mainstream audiences that is yet to be achieved by most artists working in other areas of queer music. Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, Windy City Performing Arts (Windy City Gay Chorus, Windy City Slickers, Aria: Windy City Women’s Ensemble, and Unison: Windy City Lesbian and Gay Singers), Turtle Creek Chorale, and Lavender Light Gospel Choir are among the most well respected of the choral groups. Uunder the musical direction of Reuben M. Reynolds, Boston Gay Men’s Chorus has release a CD of their work titled Eos (BGMC). Eos is comprised of a specially commissioned piece (the seven-part title track), as well as the wonderful “Old American Songs” segment (all of which were composed by gay composer Aaron Copland), which includes stirring renditions of “The Little Horses” and “Ching-A-Ring-Chaw.”

Recorded live during the 2000 GALA (Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses) Festival in San Jose, California, Shared Applause (WCPA) features performances by all four of Windy City Performing Arts’ choruses. One probably won’t find a more attentive audience for choral music than the members of other choruses, and the audience’s response to the choral work on this album is downright thundrous. The six selections performed by Windy City Gay Chorus run the gamut from opera (Wagner’s Tannhauser and Verdi’s Falstaff) to more contemporary offerings such as “No Day But Today” from Rent and “Officer Krupke” from West Side Story, and were met with a rousing reception. Aria’s two numbers were of a more traditional nature, including a composition by Ravel. My favorite part of a WCPA concert is always the appearance of the Windy City Slickers, especially when they were under the direction of the wonderful Eric Lane Barnes. All three of the selections performed by the Slickers (including “Drama Queen” and “Sunday”) are Barnes compositions and all you have to do is hear the audience reaction to get a sense of the pleasure derived by the enthusiastic audience members. Unison also performed an Eric Lane Barnes selection (“Parade”), as well as operatic, spiritual and traditional numbers. The Windy City Performing Arts choruses made an indelible impression on those in attendance, and now the rest of the world knows what Chicago residents have known for years—that all four choruses under the WCPA umbrella are incomparable.

On the album Personals (TCC), soloists from the Turtle Creek Chorale step forward. Two of the 16 tracks are performed by Encore!, Turtle Creek Chorale’s smaller chorus (like WCPA’s Windy City Slickers). They are “Nothing To Do With Love” (from the musical revue Personals) and “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” (from the musical revue of the same name). Other theatrical tunes include David Fessenden’s charming take on “Sam and Me” (from When Pigs Fly), “Where You Are” (from Genederella) sung by Rod Faulkner, and “What More Can I Say” (from Falsettos) performed by Jim Kondysar. Some of the soloists also sing standards by people such as Carole King and Cole Porter.

Light In The House (Lavlight Records) by Lavender Light Gospel Choir is a live recording that succeeds in capturing the glorious spirit of this “black and people of all colors lesbian and gay gospel choir.” As Maria-Elena Grant recites in the mission statement, “Lavender Light Gospel Choir is dedicated to keeping alive the Black Gospel music tradition in an environment supportive to lesbian and gay people, with a special ministry to black lesbians and gays.” Under the artistic direction of Gregg Payne, the choir raises the roof (“Come And Go With Me,” “This Is The Day,” “Couldn’t Keep It To Myself,” “Sweeping Through The City”) and soothes the weary mind (“Light In My Window,” “Let Everything That Hath Breath,” “Speak To My Heart”). The various soloists, trios and sextets within the choir are also given the chance to shine their lights towards the heavens.

The contemporary gay chamber-pop unit known as Flare (featuring stalwarts LD Beghtol—also of Magnetic Fields fame—and Charles Newman, and guests) create a languorous space in which to wallow luxuriously in a misery that Morrissey never imagined on their long-awaited EP CIRCA (Subliminal Violence). “Triumph of the pig people” might sound like the title of a song that you would expect to find on a Nine Inch Nails album, but this sad and glorious 49-second song is pure Flare. The album’s complex title track is the disc’s mini-epic, while “Item: June 16th,” sounds like it fell off the back of a truck transporting monks to a singing engagement. “Anywhere (like the moon) ” is the most brittle song I’ve ever heard and “Save me, save me…” (with the last line, “Save me from myself”) makes me want to take waltzing lessons. (www.flaremusic.net)

Double plays

Box sets are a great way to compile and celebrate the work of an artist. Sometimes, a box set can be a bit overwhelming. Occasionally, you only really need two discs to do the job. With all of the Bob Dylan compilations out there, you wouldn’t think that there would be a necessity for The Essential Bob Dylan (Columbia), but with the inclusion of the Oscar-nominated “Things Have Changed,” from the movie Wonder Boys and “Not Dark Yet” from his 1997 album Time Out Of Mind, this two-disc set improves on its predecessors.

Blur never achieved the kind of stateside success that they did in the U.K., and I think that’s a pity. They mistakenly got lumped in with Oasis during the mid-’90s British invasion, when in reality they preceded Oasis by a couple of years. Blur: The best of (Virgin) compiles 18 tracks on one disc from the band’s MCA (such as “There’s No Other Way,” “Parklife,” and “Girls And Boys”) and Virgin Records (“Song 2,” “Coffee And TV,” and “Tender,” are just a few) periods. In addition to the new song “Music Is My Radar,” this album contains a second limited edition live disc, recorded at Wembley Stadium in 1999.

Anthologyland (Oglio/EMI-Capitol) by The Motels is a two-disc retrospective that improves and expands on the band’s 1990 single disc “best of” collection No Vacancy by 13 tracks, beginning with a mid-’70s pre-Motels track titled “Every Day Star,” when Davis and the band was know as Warfield Foxes. Davis’s smokey vocals are the common denominator, especially after their identity as The Motels gelled. Live recordings (such as “Total Control,” “Celia,” “Counting,” “Mission Of Mercy,” and “Remember The Nights”) give the impression that Davis was a natural-born performer. Previously unreleased tracks and alternate takes of Motels standards such as “Careful,” “Danger,” “Only The Lonely,” “Suddenly Last Summer,” remind us of the band’s short-lived contribution to the American new-wave music scene.