Abbey Lincoln - Wholly Earth

Abbey Lincoln's follow-up to the well-received Verve release Who Used to Dance finds the singer stretching her sweet and sour vocals and exquisitely languorous phrasing over a set of (mostly) original material. Joined by the likes of Bobby Hutcherson on vibes and marimba and Nicholas Payton on trumpet and flügelhorn, Wholly Earth is wholly Abbey Lincoln--romance buffered by heartbreak tragedy; idealism diffused by real-life pitfalls; striking beauty windblown by brief shadows and sad downpours. On the title cut she is swept away by joy while "Caged Bird" is a melancholy shuffle and "And It's Supposed to Be Love" is a romantic tearjerker. That Ms. Lincoln can express so many moods--some just by the mere sound of her voice--is testament to her tremendous talents. That a record like Wholly Earth is large enough to contain all she has to offer is testament to its remarkable success. --S. Duda Amazon.com

Delightful!

As always Abbey Lincoln delivers. Her voice is a delight! I'm lucky to have found her work!
Thanks Abbey! May 3, 2008

Caged Bird

Buy this entire album for the track, Caged Bird. I guarantee that with each bird you see, whether free or caged, your thoughts will take flight and remember Ms. Lincoln's melodic phrasings. February 13, 2004

her worst

I have listened to four of her albums, and this one was without any doubt, her worst. it was so bad that i traded it in to a used music store for only a few dollars after i had paid full price for it new. The best albums that I own by her are "Who Used to Dance" and "Devil's Got Your Tongue". However, I have not heard her early stuff from the late 50's and early 60's. I have heard that those albums rival all of her later material. October 29, 2003

Better With Time!

Abbey Lincoln has enjoyed a performative career which spans over four decades. It is both invigorating and inspiring to note that on "Wholly Earth," her seventh recording for the Verve label in nine years, Lincoln showcases some of her most philosophical songwriting and sublime phrasing. Listeners who are atuned to flowery, non-specific ditties about romance will be disappointed by this album. However, for a lyrical, visceral journey about life, audiences will be more than grateful for Lincoln's latest tour-de-force. August 14, 2000

Get "That's Him" & "It's Magic" before you get this oddity..

The music is very hard to listen to, Abbey is trying to be a little too artsy here, buy her 1950's classics reissued on CD "That's Him" on OJC and "It's Magic" also on OJC. Start with those then get into her wierd more recent stuff. April 11, 2000

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