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Roger Eno/Kate St. John
Familiar [Reissue]
Release Date: 2006
Label: All Saints/Hannibal

The Familiar is the first meeting between composer, multi-instrumentalist, and arranger Roger Eno -- yes, brother of Brian -- and singer, lyricist, and woodwind player Kate St. John of the Dream Academy. St. John's lyrics and voice adorn five of the 13 songs here, the rest feature Roger Eno's piano accompanied in various settings, some with woodwinds and strings, such as the haunting and lovely "The Wonderful Year," a small chamber piece that contains a gorgeous cello solo by Sarina Sobirovena. St. John's vocals are small, nearly precious, but so wrap themselves around Eno's compositions that they are, in essence, inseparable from them. Take "We Stay Still." As her oboe and the strings slip almost undetectable under his piano, her multi-tracked vocals phrase metaphysical ponderings that sound perfectly natural. Call this music what you will, but pop it's not. It's baroque, it's elegant, and it's self-conscious, but it's also memorable to listen to -- there's plenty here to engage a listener, however loosely. Producer Bill Nelson brings his guitar to a number of the tracks like this one and the airy opener, "Our Man in Havana"; brother Brian's treatments and synthesizer very casually grace a few numbers as well. There is a sheer musicality here that works despite the rather restrained conceptual and compositional elements, and will no doubt lend it the favor and small mystery of repeated listenings. Fans of Virginia Astley's and Ryuichi Sakamoto's more classical-oriented material will find much to like on The Familiar. Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Tracks:

	Title	Composer	Time
1	Our Man in Havana	Eno, Saint John	2:58
2	Wonderful Year	Eno, Saint John	3:50
3	We Stay Still	Eno, Saint John	6:00
4	Rain Outside an Open Door	Eno, Saint John	2:42
5	Song of Songs	Eno, Saint John	4:22
6	Mister Bosco	Eno, Saint John	1:59
7	Familiar	Eno, Saint John	3:19
8	In a Lonely World	Eno, Saint John	3:28
9	Days of Delay	Eno, Saint John	4:36
10	I've Been Searching	Eno, Saint John	3:40
11	Heartland	Eno, Saint John	4:07
12	Lament	Eno, Saint John	2:36
13	Blue Sea	Eno, Saint John	4:12