"Judee Sill was a true original. A singer-songwriter with a wealth of influences and a fascination with religion, she referred to her work as "country-cult-baroque." She was the first artist signed to David Geffen's Asylum label, and, along with Joni Mitchell and Carole King, exemplified the breezy "Laurel Canyon Sound" of the early '70s. Sill scored moderate hits with "Lady-O" (originally written for The Turtles) and "Jesus Was A Cross Maker" and released two albums -- 1971's Judee Sill and 1973's Heart Food -- before suffering chronic pain and eventually dying of a drug overdose at age 35.
Sill grew up in Oakland, California, and began playing piano at age three. A troubled family life and brushes with the law landed her in reform school, where, as church organist, she developed the gospel style that would characterize her future recordings. After a stint in college and three down-and-out years of addiction, she cleaned up and began work on her dream of becoming a songwriter. She spent a short time penning songs for The Turtles' production company before signing her own deal with Asylum.
For her self-titled debut, Sill gathered a production team that included Jim Pons and John Beck of The Leaves, as well as engineer/producer Henry Lewy, known for his work with Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Leonard Cohen. Her guitar playing provides the foundation for most of the songs, joined by various combinations of pedal steel, strings, and brass. "Jesus Was A Cross Maker," built on a bed of Sill's gospel-flavored piano, was produced by Graham Nash and crafted as a single. Rich with cosmic imagery and ambiguously spiritual lyrics, the songs on Judee Sill often blur the line between the earthly and the divine.
This Rhino Handmade release of Judee Sill has been remastered from original source materials and expanded with ten bonus tracks. "The Pearl" and "The Phoenix," which appear in more produced versions on Sill's second album, Heart Food, are included here in their original form. Also included are a home demo of "Jesus Was A Cross Maker" and a complete October 1971 performance at the Boston Music Hall.
Judee Sill is available as an individually numbered limited edition of 5,000 copies.
TRACK LISTING WITH QUICKTIME AUDIO SAMPLES JUST CLICK ON THE BEFORE EACH TITLE TO LISTEN ALL TIMES APPROXIMATE TRACK LISTING
CRAYON ANGELS (2:35) THE PHANTOM COWBOY (1:40) THE ARCHETYPAL MAN (3:35) THE LAMB RAN AWAY WITH THE CROWN (3:10) LADY-O (3:10) JESUS WAS A CROSS MAKER (3:20) RIDGE RIDER (4:28) MY MAN ON LOVE (3:23) LOPIN' ALONG THRU THE COSMOS (3:00) ENCHANTED SKY MACHINES (2:40) ABRACADABRA (1:54) THE PEARL (Original Version) () THE PHOENIX (Original Version) () INTRO/THE VIGILANTE () LADY-O () ENCHANTED SKY MACHINES () THE ARCHETYPAL MAN () CRAYON ANGELS () THE LAMB RAN AWAY WITH THE CROWN () JESUS WAS A CROSS MAKER () JESUS WAS A CROSS MAKER (Home Demo) () "
If you click the link above you can go to this page and hear samples of the listed cuts in her unusual, sweet voice.