Baby Dee "Little Window" Durtro 055CD 2001 (48:45)
Hymn to Anne (4:21)
Little
Window (5:18)
The
Robin's Tiny Throat (5:19)
Calvary (4:33)
A Weakness for Roses (8:40)
The Price of a Sparrow (2:38)
What
About My Father (8:02)
Waiting (9:54)
Antony of Antony and the Johnsons served as a liaison between Baby Dee and David Tibet of Current 93 and now Tibet has brought Dee (as well as Antony) to the world through his own World Serpent distributed Durto label. "Little Window" is the debut and it focuses on dramatic voice and precious piano much like Antony's work and c93's "Soft Black Stars". Dee's voice, possessed of a husky lisp and some operatic tendencies, was an acquired taste for me the first few listens but the lyrics (included in the insert) immediately struck me as wonderful poetry. Prior to some online research, I assumed Dee is an effeminate male like Antony, but she is actually a post-op transsexual. Her life story is also otherwise fascinating having been music director of a Catholic church, a member of the Coney Island Sideshow and a performer on the streets of New York City and Europe in a bear costume on a giant tricycle with a harp mounted on the back! Somehow it all makes perfect sense. Dee's piano playing is simply elegant as she sings of beauty and hope with a gospel virtue. "Calvary" in particular takes me back to the Sunday mornings of my own childhood. "The Robin's Tiny Throat" is a clever conversation with nature while "Waiting" personifies the very nature of nature. A favored line in the former - "that same hand that flies a million dawns formed my tiny throat and wrote my songs. How could I not sing?" "The Price of a Sparrow" seems to shed light on Dee's relationship with her father and is further reflected upon in the extended lullaby of "What About My Father?" The disc begins and ends with solo accordion pieces accompanied by bird song and giggling children. Stunning. The more I listen to "Little Window" the deeper I fall in love with it. A launch party for "Little Window" will take place September 29-30 at Joe's Pub in NYC with performances by Dee and Current 93. And oh how I wish I could be there ...
Where did I get this cd? - mail order via Durto.