Product Description Constant touring has built Vienna's fan base to over 60,000. First pairing with producer Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Madeleine Peyroux) Vienna has appeared on the CBS Early Show, Late Night with David Letterman, and NPR AAA add date for Whatever You Want is June 26th .com Experimental singer-songwriter Vienna Teng arrives at her ambitious third album at the peak of her considerable powers, with renowned producer/bassist Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Madeleine Peyroux) providing a more textured and atmospheric landscape. Contributions from musicians Jay Bellerose (Paula Cole, Duncan Sheik), Carla Kihlstedt (Tom Waits), and Marc Orton (Bill Frisell) make Teng's piano-based, jazzy chamber-folk shiver with new intimacy. But at the core, she remains as seductive and transcendent as ever, even as lyrically she takes more of a storytelling approach. Marrying complex melodies and moody tones to captivating lyrics about fevered longings, unspoken truths, and uncharted suffering, the former software engineer pulls listeners into a secret, subterranean world that is often as murky and disturbing as it is wondrous. On "Whatever You Want," a dutiful "company man" and his perfect wife pull back the curtain to reveal a disquieting darkness. In "I Don't Feel So Well," an unbalanced woman issues a provocative warning to a potential lover ("I thought you should know before you fall"). And on "Now Three," delicate cello lines play off a nearly mystical lyric about prenatal knowing. Teng delivers all 11 offerings in a chillingly pure soprano, multitracking her own voice 32 times on the Hurricane Katrina-inspired (if also overlong and ponderous) "Pontchartrain" to achieve something reminiscent of a Latin liturgical piece. Not yet 28 and frighteningly gifted ("Lake Pontchartrain is haunted: Bones without names, photographs framed in reeds"), Teng seems to know your own soul better than you do--the exquisitely beautiful "Recessional," which inspires the album title, may make you rethink your whole life. The album's most uplifting and hopeful cut: "City Hall," inspired by San Francisco's decision in 2004 to recognize gay marriage. ("Ten years waiting for this moment of fate / When we say the words and sign our names / If they take it away someday / This beautiful thing won't change.") Count Dreaming Through the Noise among the "can't miss" records of 2006. --Alanna Nash
G**C
with some of her best songs, particularly Blue Caravan
Every bit as strong as Warm Strangers, with some of her best songs, particularly Blue Caravan, Love Turns 40 and Pontchartrain. Well worth the exploration. Vienna writes good melodies, and is careful to not ruin them - her singing is simple and sweet, and the instrumentation is restrained, better showcasing the strength of her songwriting.
J**N
Only five stars because that's all I have
It's difficult and daunting to review a work of art as exquisite as this latest album by Vienna Teng. First, the aural persona: she sounds to me like a very sensitive, cerebral person chosing her words carefully and with utmost restraint from great depths of feeling; hence, the curious cognative tension between her immaculately tender voice and the torrent of emotions held in check. Another reviewer described the result thus: "you feel like she's sitting across a little table from you and leaning in and telling you a story." This is also true.Next, the moods: "Blue Caravan" is filled with yearning, longing, and adventure. It reminds one of the steppes of Central Asia, or Scheherazade in a moment of candor. "Whatever you want," in contrast, makes a double entendre of cheerfulness: the company man and his wife are wired to gratify, but look forward to their liberation and revenge; the arrangement and orchestration are brilliant and fun. At the extreme opposite is "Pontchartrain," a piece so moving and grave, so emotionally harrowing, that few of the greatest musicians--perhaps Nina Simone--could carry it off. (I recommend listening to that one on headphones, alone or with someone who would understand.)It's difficult to think of how this album could be more perfect than it is. It attempts much, and accomplishes it all. It occurred to me that I was actually observing the emergence of one of the very few great performers of our lifetime.
R**E
Sounds great.
I really am getting hooked on this album. Songs become more ingrained in me lately. It is becoming a familiar friend.
R**L
Vienna Teng
It is crucial to listen with her printed lyrics at hand. Her rendition of the lyric and the sophistication of her hook requires close attention. It is well worth the extra effort in order to more fully appreciate this exceptional talent with a venerable gift that will be missed by illiterate college graduates. She unfortunately requires something of the listener beyond a thirteen word vocabulary.
N**L
Four Stars
OK
A**R
Five Stars
I LOVE Vienna Teng's music; very soothing and her voice is dreamy and soft.
C**J
I'm in a Dream...
This album is absolutely amazing...My favorite has to "Whatever You Want." I also love "Now Three" and "Recessional." "1br/1ba" makes me happy when I listen to it. I can't wait to hear more of her music. I don't get why she isn't more recognized for her talent, especially with lyrics that are so moving and thoughtful. The only downside for me are the songs that sound a little like country, but even those are catchy. It still deserves five stars in my book.
A**T
CD
I just love Vienna Teng. I have most of her cd's and just love her work. Can't wait for her next release.
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2 months ago
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