Samamidon's second album and first for Bedroom Community, All Is Well is, at its core, a very pleasant modern folk album filled with interpretations of older public domain standards, with Sam Amidon's ruminative voice and steady playing not in and of itself immediately unique. A song like "Saro," with its truly lovely arrangement and Amidon's stellar performance, however inevitably his vocal style suggests but does not replicate Nick Drake's, is justification for its release as it stands. However, there's a calm drive at the heart of many of his songs that shows why he's been affiliated with the world of low-key dance experiments as much as anything else, as songs like "Sugar Baby" show. "Little Johnny Brown" is one of the apotheoses of this album's approach, with a variety of sympathetic guests, including Ben Frost on programming and Eyvind Kang on murky viola shading, creating a counterbalance between folk roots and something starkly modern that resembles a slightly more smooth Long Fin Killie, tense and mysterious. Meanwhile, "Wedding Dress" is as sweet a straightforward amble as it could be, Amidon's banjo playing as notable as his guitar work, while "O Death," if even more straightforward in terms his singing, has its melody played like a minimal mantra, heavily echoed and moved forward in the mix, a contrast that makes Amidon sound like he's almost singing through the instruments. It's a small touch but an effective one.
--- - |- A captivating video from director Sigga Sunna Reynisdóttir for Samamidon's version of the traditional "Wedding Dress", found on his album All Is Well. Using puppets and stop-motion animation, she conjures a richly detailed dream world suitable for the song's imagery. [from All Is Well; out now on Bedroom Community] ~~- Samamidon
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--- - |- A captivating video from director Sigga Sunna Reynisdóttir for Samamidon's version of the traditional "Wedding Dress", found on his album All Is Well. Using puppets and stop-motion animation, she conjures a richly detailed dream world suitable for the song's imagery. [from All Is Well; out now on Bedroom Community] ~~- Samamidon
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but first i need to tell you what i am listening to and what you SHOULD be listening to...his actual name is sam amidon. he's from vermont.sam singing this beautiful song..."and i think of pretty saro wherever i go..."also on my playlist for the night:noah and the whale - five years timesomeone still loves you boris yeltsin - modern mystery (off the forthcoming 'perishing'!)the ruby suns - tane...
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The new Sam Amidon disc "All is Well" is well worth the listen (just ask pitchfork). http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/48534-all-is-well All Songs are Public Domain. What does that mean? Perhaps you should listen....
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For the most part, I think that the Pitchforkmedia reviews are complete rubbish, so I was reluctant to listen to this top rated new album. It seems that the team over at PFM decided to put their finger back on the Indie music pulse for this one. The artist's name is Sam Amidon, and he hails from Vermont but lives in New York, NY. The music is reminiscent of something your father or grandfather ...
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Compare these two versions of 'Fall On My Knees' a traditional (Irish? folk?) tune. I'm biased toward the Old Crow Medicine Show version because it is really fun to hear/play, but the Samamidon take is also neat.
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Sugar Baby |
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| 2 Little Johnny Brown |
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| 3 Saro |
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| 4 Wild Bill Jones |
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| 5 Wedding Dress |
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| 6 Fall on My Knees |
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| 7 Little Satchel |
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| 8 O Death |
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| 9 Prodigal Son |
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| 10 All Is Well |
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 "All Is Well")
