Grace Hearn and Michael Savageformerly Hand to MouthCountry of origin:U.S.A. Type of music generally:They describe themselves as "sensual acoustic", and I think it fits. Unfortunately the best we can do here is probably sensual acoustic alternative pop. (damon 6/00) Status:Most recent release, Messy Blue Ending (2002) See also:Pure Music's info on Grace Hearn and Michael Savage (down as of 4/2017, see their wine website) Comparisons:Cowboy Junkies, or Innocence Mission meets Susan James, lots of Joni Mitchell-like sound. (Neile) Covers/own material:Own General comments:Michael Savage and Grace Hearn are a duo originally from Baltimore, now living in Seattle. Their output is characterised by beautiful vocals, great lyrics, finely crafted instrumentation and incredible counterpoint. (damon) Comments about live performance:It was a real thrill for me to see Grace and Michael of Hand To Mouth again. It's been 9 years since I last saw them, just before they moved away from Baltimore. Not only did I see them play a couple of great sets of music, well, actually, I didn't see them play both sets. The lens on my glasses popped out at the start of their second set, and I was pretty much blind the whole time, despite the fact that they were standing about 10 feet away. It's a shame too, cause Grace is a dramatic live presence. She practically performs interpretive dance while singing. Afterwards, Michael used a guitarstring to tie my glasses together. It was such a good fix that a week later, I still haven't gotten them fixed. (Neal) Recommended first album:weightless Recordings:
this is the place?(as Hand to Mouth)Release info:1993—h2m records—h2mcd10117 Availability:Unknown Ecto priority:Recommended Group members:Grade Hearn—vocals Guest artists:Jack Miller—bass Produced by:Michael Savage Comments:The vocals swells up immediately and you hear the love child of Joni Mitchell and Happy Rhodes, and it's a beautiful baby indeed. Sometimes the music is not up to her voice (my only complaint), and it's not that the music is lame in any way, it's your average folky/rocky guitar and drums, it's just that they are backing a powerful and original voice!!! Kate Bush fans will love the celtic drum ending on track 2. Track 3 is a cool little popish ditty with a great hook and again the vocals take you somewhere you have never been before, maybe harmony-heaven. Track 4 starts and you swear Happydropped into the session until the singer swings into that Joni special phrasing thang...but keep listening and it is neither one, but a wonderful new voice named Grace Hearn. Lyrics are clever, better than average but again, it is the phrasing and clarity of tone that lifts it all off. Calling Madalene(as Hand to Mouth)Release info:1995—h2m records—h2mcd10118 Availability:Unknown Ecto priority:Recommended Group members:Grace Hearn—vocals Guest artists:Rich DePaolo—bass Produced by:Michael Savage & Rich DePaolo Comments:folky pure beautiful voice, great lyrics. (cyo@landoftheblind.com) weightless(as Hand to Mouth)Release info:2000—h2m records—h2mcd110119 Availability:Unknown Ecto priority:Highly recommended Group members:Grace Hearn—vocals Guest artists:Rich DePaolo—bass, bowed cymbal Produced by:Michael Savage Comments:Grace Hearn's voice is lovely, and quite evocative in a very gentle, somewhat ethereal way. Her lyrics are sometimes haunting, always intelligent. Michael Savage's instrumental arrangements strike me as being quite exquisitely crafted, with a very "constructed" feel at times, which does not however detract from the overall experience. Put together they form a very strong duo, music and voice complementary, and with a sometimes breathtaking use of counterpoint—the vocals and instrumentation are never just miming one another—which keeps things interesting and keeps me coming back to listen again. The overall sound is clean and spare, gentle, finely crafted, and beautiful. It's easy to hear a unifying style behind the songs on the album, but at the same time each track is decidedly unique, almost like each is a different acoustic experiment. And they all work. I hear strong but fleeting impressions of Joni Mitchell, especially in the hooks of the first track. I can't really draw many other comparisons. This one has pushed everything else out of my CD player for a while now. (damon) Messy Blue EndingRelease info:2002—h2m records—H2M04 Availability:Unknown Ecto priority:Highly recommended Group members:Grace Hearn—vocals Guest artists:Fred Chalenor—bass Produced by:Tucker Martine and Michael Savage Comments:Different tracks take their musical cues from different artists. The first couple seem inspired by Cowboy Junkies or Mazzy Star, with their slow and smoky presentation. A couple of others seemed to shade into the Alison Krauss or Gillian Welch school of bluegrass. One, with seemingly somewhat offbeat lyrics (many of them spoken), reminded me somehow of Jane Siberry. Still other tracks triggered associations with Rickie Lee Jones or Suzanne Vega. Throughout, the quality of wordsmithing in the lyrics is excellent. (mapravat@prairienet.org) Thanks to damon and Mitch Pravatiner for their work on this entry.
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