By Keith Walsh
Out of Woodstock, New York, Sandy Bell has just released something super special. Created with her partner Jeff Lipstein, the album Entelechy features artful musical performances, and smart, spiritual lyrics. Lipstein produced and mixed the album at Woodstock’s Applehead Studios. The experience and talent of both Bell and Lipstein shine through on this stunning work across its ten tracks. (Part 1 of my interview with Sandy and Jeff is at Popular Culture Beat .com)
With her flawless soprano voice and skilled piano work, Bell brings a magisterial presence to Entelechy. The album draws on her varied life experiences, and is loaded with insights and wisdom. Lyrically, there’s plenty of imagery es, and allusions to Greek and Christian imagery, presented poetically. Musically, Bell and Lipstein, (along with a small army of orchestral players that appear occasionally) bring tons of expert musicianship, brilliant composition and production choices. Bell’s piano is the dominant instrument here (aside from her lovely voice) and Lipstein adds drums, guitar, and vintage Roland synths (the Juno 6 and the Juno 106) here and there.
The opening title track sets the stage for an album about self-discovery. ‘Entelechy’ is a term coined by Aristotle describing the potential for change and growth. The second track “Angel Of The Dying Self,” traces the story of growth and an aspirations – and the self-questioning that accompanies it. Musically the track is complex, starting of with a retro piano vamp then progressing into a sweetly inspirational ballad.
“Monster Trying To Be A Lover” is the first single from Entelechy. A tale about a Jekyll/Hyde struggle that serves as a metaphor for the struggle to reconcile with our darker side. Musically it’s a mid-tempo rocker with a subdued harshness, in favor of commercial polish. “In Whatever Form” finds Bell’s narrator having a transformational experience then turning to an openness and acceptance.
“If By Accident I Should Turn Into A Wolf” is a playful rocker with a super catchy midtempo groove and lyrics about that dual nature again – but this time as a sly warning to her lover. Bell’s voice is rich and expressive, Lipstein’s guitar is so perfect sounding here, as are the xylophone sounds. “Tragedy” portrays the irony of the present-day celebration of infamy, even while the devastation of the climate continues. It’s a structurally complex tune with breathtaking melodic and tonal shifts throughout. Bell and Lipstein brought in some string players, adding sonic layers to this masterful track.
“Call Upon Something Higher” asks us to see beyond mere seduction, while “Silently/Violently” is a quiet lament with a protagonist searching for answers while reflecting on the horrors that life sometimes brings. Bell often sounds a lot like Kate Bush, and never more so on “Portal.” Both artists treat the darkness in life as a calling to uncover the beauty hidden there. While I dare say that Bell’s melodic structures on the piano are every bit as complex as Bush’s. There’s lush orchestral work on this track as well.
The final track on Entelechy, “Olivia Lumen,” starts out reflective, then changes into a nostalgic vamp that playfully poses questions about meaning and existence, in a postmodern lyric about the titular hero, one who stands as an archetype for all of us who have searched for meaning in the process of becoming.
The tracks on ‘Entelechy’ were built on a Yamaha C5 baby grand piano once owned by John Medeski, which is now at Applehead Studios. Lipstein and I chatted about some of the other keyboards on the album, particularly vintage synths.
Jeff Lipstein: “I love those synths and I love all hardware synths a lot. I know it’s more of a pain to use them, and definitely a pain to fix them!, but there’s something about the tactile experience of creating on them that I really love. I also have for many years a Eurorack modular that so many people use now — but I used that a bunch on this album as well. I definitely know and love a bunch of the plug-ins that they make but they don’t really sound as good to me as the real instruments and the Juno series the Juno 6, Juno 60 June 106, they all have a vibe to them. I’ve also used the Juno 6 and 106 for many years so I have these presets or these places that I go with the settings, like many other producers do…I know I can get something special and that nobody else is going to be able to dial those sounds in very easily and that they actually work for the songs that I’m working on. But yeah, super big fan of actual hardware synths.” (Part One of my interview with Sandy Bell and Jeff Lipstein is at Popular Culture Beat.com).
(Sandy Bell is my first cousin, and friend since childhood).
Sandy Bell dot com
Sandy Bell on Facebook
Sandy Bell on Instagram
‘Entelechy’ on Bandcamp
Applehead Recording dot com
Applehead Recording on Instagram
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