Amorino

by Isobel Campbell

Overview

Former Belle & Sebastian member Isobel Campbell's first album under her own name is very similar to the two albums she recorded as the Gentle Waves. The same autumnal melancholy pervades the songs, the same delicate beauty exists in the arrangements, the same tender emotions are on display lyrically, and Campbell's voice is still a fragile wisp barely able to stay afloat above the sad sawing of the strings. What has changed is the scale of the record: it is really quite grand, with a seeming cast of thousands helping to make the record achingly lush and romantic. The entire disc is flooded with cinematic strings, giving it the feel of a pastoral epic, much like Nick Drake if he were happy or Donovan if he were less happy. Very British and very good. The arrangements are always inventive and dramatic, and it sounds like she also has been listening to some jazz records, because many of the songs have a swinging continental jazz feeling with lots of groovy piano work and bubbling standup bass. Tracks like "Song for Baby" and "October's Sky" are for all intents and purposes straight-up chamber jazz. Good and inventive chamber jazz, even. Campbell also throws in a few surprises, like the wacky Dixieland of "The Cat's Pyjamas" and the Getz/Gilberto-sampling "The Breeze Whispered Your Name." At its best, on songs like "Monologue for an Old True Love" or the Nancy & Lee-styled orchestral country duet with Eugene Kelly, listening to Amorino provides nearly as many musical thrills as listening to a good B&S record. It definitely makes her decision to leave Belle & Sebastian less painful, as now the Belle & Sebastian-loving throng has something to play when it has worn out Dear Catastrophe Waitress. ~ Tim Sendra

Product Details

Release Date:	11/20/2020
Label:	Cooking Vinyl
UPC:	0711297528213
Rank:	126883

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Isobel Campbell   Primary Artist,Cello
Ross McFarlane   Drums,Cymbals
Guido DeGroote   Violin
Chimp   Percussion
Stan Reilly   Clarinet
Michael Slaven   Guitar (Electric)
Jim Gash   Drums
Alan Mason   Violin
Ryan Quigley   Trumpet
Fiona Stephen   Violin
Mary Ward   Violin
Paul Mills   Drums,Drums
Bill Wells   Bass,Flute,Piano,Vibraphone,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Eugene Kelly   Voices
Lex Allan   Sousaphone
Nigel Clark   Guitar
Adrian Utley   Moog Synthesizer
David "Chimp" Robertson   Percussion
Tony Hughes   Vocals (Background),Vocals (Background)
Debbie Poole   Vocals (Background)
Brian Shiels   Bass
Ed McFarlane   Bass
Dave Paterson   Vocals (Background)
Helen McSherry   Cello
Tom MacNiven   Trumpet
Lorna Leitch   Violin
Fergus Kerr   French Horn
Lillian Potter   Violin
John Kenney   Trombone
Adrienne Payne   Vocals (Background)
Michelle McCabe   Flute
Laura Bailie   Flute
Jack Murray   Trombone
Bobby Henderson   Trumpet
Michael Bannister   Vocals (Background)
Adrian Barry   Bass,Bass (Acoustic)
Margaret Smith   Flute
John Burgess   Flute,Percussion,Flute,Percussion
Aoife Magee   Viola
Gordon McNeil   Saxophone
Tom Hulcup   Trumpet
Tom Bancroff   Pans,Pots,Drums
Susan Dance   Cello
Philipe Pourhashemi   Spoken Word,Vocals (Background),Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part
Laura Hasthorpe   Viola
Dave Wilson   Banjo
Gill Risi   Violin
Dervilagh Cooper   Violin
Chris Greive   Trombone
Cheryl Crockett   Violin
Vincent Fleming   Violin
Jonathan Durrant   French Horn
Murray Ferguson   Violin
Andrea Kuypers   Flute
Iona Hassan   Viola
Mario Caribe   Double Bass
Katherine Nagl   Bassoon
Caroline Subedi   Violin
Stuart McCleod   Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic)
Mick Slaven   Guitar (Electric)
Robert Henderson   Trumpet
Greg Lawson   Violin
David Scott   Timpani,Glockenspiel,Tubular Bells,Guitar (Acoustic)

Technical Credits

Robin Morton   Engineer
Bill Wells   Arranger,Brass Arrangement,Flute Arrangement
Dave Paterson   Engineer
Michael Hill Johnston   Photography
Michael Bannister   Assistant
Steve Rooke   Mastering
Paul Leonard-Morgan   Arranger,Orchestral Arrangements
Gemma Butler   Artwork
Willie Deans   Assistant
Geoff Allen   Engineer
Isobel Campbell   Arranger,Orchestral Arrangements