
Plan 9: Songs Of Kurt Weill
By Bruce Morley
Playing live, with arranger/singer/trombonist/pianist Janet Roddick occupying a role that is more first-among-equals than featured artist, Plan 9 have a tremendous emotional impact. This studio album, with Roddick’s voice more prominent and the band mixed back a little, is more like voice-with-accompaniment. Intentional or not, this serves Weill’s haunting songs quite well. Roddick’s voice is crystal clear, and her persona more one of purity and lost innocence than the faux world-weariness adopted by some latter-day Lotte Lenyas. Plan 9 are all veterans of the Wellington improv scene, capable of stepping up and stealing the show - which they do, both live and here. Like the stage show, where the songs are allowed to tell the story with almost no theatrical artifice, this album is a fine delineation of the Kurt Weill ouevre. Buy it, and then let Plan 9 tear your heart out with the same songs live. On Braille Records, distributed by Ode Records.
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