Sentimental Favourites

After the kaleidoscope of emotion that was Entanglements In The Orthopedic Sensorium, Andrew Pekler has now enlisted The Silhouette Strings & Chorus to present twelve of the most magnificent melodies ever to find their way onto vinyl. And they're heard as never before, with the sounds of nature storm, surf, wind, birds complementing their orchestration and intensifying their many moods. Sentimental Favourites begins with two highly captivating numbers, with the rainswept yearning of Yesterday Of Love followed directly by the haunting organ showpiece Close To Strangers. The Silhouette Chorus makes its first appearance just as the storm clouds lift in the all-too-brief (They Long To Be) Misty Blue and we find ourselves transported to an early morning springtime meadow where, together with the birds of the field, we take in the fanciful pastoralia of Wichita Forever. By the time Samba De Cherbourg has waltzed elegantly past, spring is already turning towards summer. Climbing over the dunes in the heat of midday, we find a a secluded cove where a Prelude To a Summer awaits us among the sound of surf and sea birds. Here we linger, eavesdropping on the lapping waves and basking in the warmth of the sun until its orange disk disappears into the ocean Suddenly (Naturally). Night has fallen quickly and the crickets' song is the perfect dramatic backdrop for the grand orchestral sweep of The Silhouette Stings in The Twilight Of Your Smile. As the darkness deepens the wind picks up and the ghostly voices of Un Vent Et Une Femme guide us ever further into the woods where we encounter a still-burning campfire. Perhaps the absent campers have heeded that most mysterious of forest dwellers, the owl, whose call here provides an ideal counterpoint to a hypnotic take on Music To Sleep Walk By. As we leave the cover of trees the storm returns and we find shelter in an abandoned cabin it is from this cozy vantage point that we contemplate the whimsy of Everybody's Raindrops. With the rain finally passing the horizon lightens and the dawn arrives with the wordless chorus and keening strings of Moon Velvet (Shadows, Whispers, Rivers, Windmills), the morning birds find their voices just as the music fades and nature's own symphony begins anew.