Terry Callier- "Hidden Conversations"

Fresh off the heels of his collaboration with Massive Attack, poet and storyteller Callier returns with an LP fully supported by the Massive. His last LP utilized the production talents of Incognito and 4Hero to wonderful effect. Massive Attack do just as good a job and while there is plenty of Jazz and Folk in the mix the electronic soundscapes take nothing away from Callier's delivery and songcraft. Opener "Wings" takes flight with rap-speak delivery reminiscent of the Last Poets. "Sunset Blvd" relays the failed dreams of it's Hollywood characters while the production conjures sinister hot sidewalks for them to trudge on. On "Hidden Conversations" he flips the script on the already cryptic "Ring Around the Rosie". "I Once Dreamed of Heaven" starts off ambient and concludes with Terry speaking in tongues with a touch of reverb making him sound like a dubbed out Nina Simone. The two actually share quite bit in terms of vocalization. The albums centerpiece "Fool Me Fool You" is a great slice of Folk-tronica. Now if your expecting an all out "Trip-Hop" album it won't happen. Massive Attack may have produced a few tracks but it's still a Terry Callier album and being around 40 years the man knows his craft. It's great to see him still making music with the respect of contemporary musicians that want to collaborate and help him spread his prophetic words of wisdom.