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Reviews, Quotes & Feedback
A Little Dream by Robert Burke Warren for Chronogram Magazine February 2008
...It is not hard to imagine any one of the creators of these masterpieces calling Scott on a rotary phone and giving her first crack at their tune.
Parachute DIY Top 12 Picks: March/April 2007 Performing Songwriter by Mare Wakefield
Parachute Bar Scott Reviewed by Brian Walmer, Independent Music Critic, Philadelphia, PA Bar Scott's 2006 album, "Parachute", is an album that will lift you up and give you an experience that you won't forget. Listening to Scott, you feel as if you're having a private conversation with her. Her personal lyrics wrap around musical arrangements that make you feel as if you have a front row seat to her life. Piano and strings with a hint of drums make the lyrics come to life and form a vivid picture of each song. Her music is like a work of art…filled with many layers and textures coming together to form a stunning painting. The album is dedicated to her son, Forrest, who past away of pediatric liver cancer in 2002. In the liner notes, "A Message from Bar", she states writes, "I have never met a person whose joy in living so completely reminded me of what is possible in human life…My need and my hope has been to express my love for Forrest so fully that others will feel it too." She accomplishes this through the thirteen song collection, starting with the uplifting "Parachute" ("Here's where I'm gonna be/Here's where I'd rather be/Here with you") to the loving "Valentine" (Three little words that mean so much/Three little words are all I need/When it's time to say goodbye"). Amidst the thirteen songs, twelve of which were written by Bar, is a cover of Sly & the Family Stone's "Everyday People". A simple arrangement consisting of vocal harmonizing added with a frame drum brings the message of Sly's song front and center. The track "Sarah," Scott says, "…is actually 3 aspects of myself. She is my good self, my less than good self and my higher self." "Please, come on love/I'm in need, come on love" starts the bluesy "Blinded by the Love", a track that stands out with its heavier production. The calming "Tree" is a song of nature with streams flowing and bird's singing over Bar's piano playing, which fits in well with theme of the album, celebrating life and spreading love. Tying the project together are the beautiful photos taken by Bar's husband, Peter Schoenberger, which appear throughout the album's booklet.
Parachute
by Mike Jurkovic Evoking a much more compelling Sarah McLachlan and the iconic Joni Mitchell (rich, organic melodies and vocal harmonies), Scott's sixth disc weaves a sumptuous musical tapestry, each song even more beautiful than its predecessor. Written after the death of her 3 and 1/2 year old son from liver cancer, Scott's piano based songs become meditations on the fragile threads we consistently strain at getting from one end of the day to the next and the small beauties and great loves we miss while on that constricted, linear pursuit. Textured with strings, notably keyboardist David Sancious elegiac arrangement for World on Fire and tempered with Tony Levin's ever fluid bass, Scott, co-producer Kevin Bartlett and engineer David Cook, create a welcoming atmosphere for the weary to stop, rest and listen; either to your own heart or the universal heart beating in all the songs. Pin-pointing favorite tracks on Parachute is like shredding a whole cloth, but for those of you with short attention spans, start with the opening title track, then try the exquisite Sarah. Then program Come to Me, the above mentioned World on Fire and Oh God. Then be kind to yourself and let the disc play full. You'll hear what I mean. Other recommended Scott discs include: 2000's Grapes and Seeds; 1995's Confession; and the 2002's live Sweets For The Soul with Erica Cohn and Jen Starr.
"Her voice is the kind you hear in a dream...her honesty is
shocking...her songs contain an essential core that she offers you in a
crystal glass...magic."
"Bar is a voice-a walking, talking, singing voice. When I think of her, I
think 'VOICE'. And, not just ANY voice, but one so rich, warm and full of
emotion that anyone within earshot risks being transported into another
world. She is 'voice' without self-consciousness and without trying to
imitate or twist what is natural into something other than what is. Her
very being is in her voice and all her goodness and truthfulness vibrate
forth when she sings. Bar sings because she cannot, NOT sing".
"Parachute is truly incredible, and I think it is by far Bar's best effort
yet. I have listened to it three times now in its entirety and each time
I listen to it my eyes well up with tears. Tears of joy, tears of sorrow,
tears of hope, tears of pain. All of it. It is a real work of passion
and beauty, and will strike a similar chord with all those who listen to
it".
"Parachute is a beautiful tribute and a wonderful piece of work. Bar is
without a doubt one of the great voices on the earth".
"Bar Scott delivered an unforgettable set filled with rich harmonies and
melodic songs. Bar's deep lyrics speak to the emotional core of the human
condition. Simply inspiring".
"Bar Scott put on a remarkable show . . . when she began to play the
piano, there were chills running up my spine".
"Bar Scott inspires . . . just listen and you'll believe in magic".
"Bar Scott's rich body of sound moves the soul. The audience was
captivated by her every note".
"Bar Scott's music is touching, reflective, hauntingly real and just plain
good stuff to listen to . . . it should be in everyone's library".
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[Excerpts]
The title of upstate New York resident Bar Scott's latest proves to be an
apt metaphor for her music. Parachute is the first album Scott has
recorded since her 4-year-old son died from liver cancer, but this is no
somber death knell. The record floats gracefully through the atmosphere,
enveloping listeners with a silken touch and a life-supporting strength.
Scott’s ethereal voice invites listeners on a soulful, inspirational
journey, while the stark piano accompaniment lets her lyrics shine.
Scott’s skies are populated with “Clouds of pink and blue, and some as
pure as white,” while her love is stronger than “the joy of Christmas
morn.” There’s even a subdued but surprisingly moving cover of Sly & the
Family Stone’s “Everyday People.” Parachute will set you down in a place
you’ve never been before; trust us when we tell you to take the dive.
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