Track Listing

1. Southbound to Marion
2. M. Daguerre
3. Saccharin
4. Frida Kahlo
5. Seratonin
6. Full of Night
7. Handwriting

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #73535 in Music
• Released on: 2005-06-15
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .10 pounds

From Amazon.com
When this album was initially released in 1995, it was met with some skepticism; after all, the idea of an indie rocker (Rodan's Jason Noble) getting together with some classically trained pals (violist Christian Frederickson and pianist Rachel Grimes, another former rocker) and putting out an album of original classical compositions sounded like a bit of a stretch. It was--but not for the band. Recorded over the space of a few years with help from members of Shellac, the Cocktails, and various symphony orchestras, Handwriting is a remarkably cohesive, listenable, and interesting album--and if that sounds like anything short of a rave, it shouldn't. --Randy Silver

Customer Reviews

Very impressive
If your not familiar with this group, get on the train! I read a lot about classical music from other reviewers and I can see how people would compare this to that genre. Only one problem; for me, I'm not crazy about classical music in the traditional sense. I was slightly skeptical. I do love space/ambient though and groups like The Silver Mount Zion Orchestra who insert violin, piano and eerie classical/abient fusion. What a relief! This group is very much like "Zion' as they produce a beautiful spooky, mostly slow moving violin/piano based type of music that could best be described as "late night" music for the soul.

Creeping Moonlight
This album sounds like something you might find on the record player in a haunted mansion. It certainly does have beauty and brilliance within, but it is at times clunky and harsh. I like that. Handwriting is definitely Rachel's eeriest album, The Sea and the Bells is their most polished album, and Selenography is their most far-out. Egon Schiele is the album for hardcore fans, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone to just wants to waltz with the poltergeists in their heads. Stick to Handwriting for that.

New Sound to "Classical"
I don't know if Rachel's is considered classical music or not. The instruments are the traditional classical variety; however, there are elements of jazz, new age, rock, and who-knows-what throughout the album.

Southbound to Marion and Handwriting open and close the disc with a beautiful lyrical quality while M Daguerre has a strong jazz feel. Overall the album does not have a long play time with Full On Night, more of a wandering through noise than an actual "song", being quite lengthy.

In comparison to other Rachel's works, I can only compare it to Music for Egon Schiele and The Sea and The Bells. This one is less "classical" than Music for Egon Schiele, which I think is their best work I've heard. To me, Handwriting is on par with Sea and Bells, as it contains some odd samples and a few minutes of noise as opposed to music.

If you are looking for something different, try Rachel's. If you enjoy classical music, start with Music for Egon Schiele instead of Handwriting.