SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JANE SIBERRY – A WORLD WITHOUT MUSIC

Jane Siberry
A World Without Music
Independent

Jane Siberry is no stranger to live albums, A World Without Music being her fifth. You can be sure when she decides to release one, you know you are in for a treat. This is a solo Jane Siberry performance, alone with her with guitar and piano, and it is a work of art.

Recorded in the intimate setting of McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, this is Siberry at her best. She chose songs that fit together, that flow together. This is not a greatest hits show, and in fact five of the songs in the set are previously unreleased. She dips into her catalogue for a couple of hits,  including “Mimi On The Beach/Mimi Replies”, “Calling All Angels”, and “You Don’t Need”, and she performs a few songs from her most recent studio album, 2016’s Angels Bend Closer. However, the intention here is not to sell records, but to present new art.

Siberry, standing alone, does just that. This is a remarkable, stirring, live performance full of emotion and power. The versions of “Morag (1st half and 2nd half)” are almost too beautiful for words. Siberry brings the beauty out in every song, and for my money “Begat Begat” is an extremely welcome addition.

Siberry sounds fantastic. Her voice and musicianship are in top form, and after 16 studio albums, this is one artist who just continues to grow. She brings love, peace, and grounding to a chaotic world, and quite frankly we could use a lot more of that sentiment these days. Siberry has always let her music soar and on this album, she flies. The title track, “A World Without Music” features the “In a world without music  there would only be motionless fields of wheat”. Bleak but true.

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