Album Review: Sara K: Hell or High Water (CD/SACD)

Recorded in 2005, this was the last Sara K album, or any other album on the Stockfisch label, to feature Chris Jones on guitar, who passed away in September 2005, just after the album was released. Whether the loss of this very talented guitarist will have a negative impact on the future music of the other artists he often joined up with, remains to be seen.

There is no doubt however, that this is yet again a classic album by folk singer Sara K. The melodies are not as bass laden as on Water Falls but are polished like mirrors - she reveals a lot about herself in the songs and you may even see some of yourself in them. The particular recording, produced by Gunther Pauler, is available in two different versions. The "default" version is the hybrid SACD which will play equally well in a standard CD player. You have all the bells and whistles here - SACD multi channel, SACD stereo and a CD layer. Using DSD with SACD further enhances the experience. The second version of the album is available as a 24 bit XRCD edition and was specially mastered by JVC in Japan. Were you to have both versions, an interesting three way comparison could be made between CD, SACD and XRCD.

With the technicalities out of the way, what can we expect that is different from Water Falls? For one, the music and lyrics are even denser than before. The first sound on the album is the deep voice, not unlike that of Joni Mitchell, to whom Sara K is often compared. Then the guitar comes in after only one bar and you know that this is quality stuff in every way - lyrics, melodies, arrangement and production. Stars will probably be the anchor song for the album but the others are so well done that you really need to take the disc's sleeve notes, read every bit of it and then enjoy an immense talent.

Playing time is long - just one second short of 50 minutes! And if the album were ever to be released on vinyl, it will be as a 2LP presentation. In this review a standard CD player was used and thus none of the advantages of the higher resolution formats were available to me. But I have to add this: If the SACD or XRCD versions are better than the standard CD layer, this has got to stand the chance of being nominated the best ever produced album. Once reviewer has indicated that it is "over produced" and that everything is just too good. Whether this view is valid depends of course what you expect from a recording. I don't see it as being over produced but rather everything done remarkably well, which should be the aim of a recording anyway.

From Stars the music weaves its way towards the title song Hell or High Water and I can't stand the Rain. The former includes the use of tin whistle, ocarina and fujara. All are hauntingly beautiful to listen to. The fujara is a tall flute used by Slovak shepherds; the ocarina is a much smaller instrument. Along with the tin whistle these form the backdrop to the driving guitar work of Chris Jones and the frettless bass of resident Stockfisch musician Hans-Jörg Maucksch.

I can't stand the Rain introduces another of Chris Jones' talents, that of dobro player, just to remind you that these are not European musicians but Americans with their roots in blues, country and bluegrass. They just happen to work in Germany and the rest of Europe more than anywhere else. Set you free introduces another of Stockfisch's resident artists, Christian Willisohn, here playing piano. His own album for the label, Hold On deserves your attention once titles are available locally.

Streetlight's on features a harpsichord and while this is a 17th century instrument (dating back to the 1300's) it is curiously not out of place here but drives the rhythm of the melody. Ship in a Bottle draws the curtain on a remarkable album, made by genuine music lovers and all expert exponents of their various trades.