Top tracks
Other Americana albums
Other Gypsy Jazz albums
Put your hands on the remote! browse music »Pretty As You by Orpheum Bell
view larger image
fave it Americana | Gypsy Jazz
11 tracks | 44 minutes
Released May 2007
on Orpheum Bell
Click
for a 30-second preview. All tracks are 192kbps high fidelity sound quality. Protected WMA $0.77 or unprotected MP3 $0.88.
listen album 30sec. shuffle buy CD review album promote album
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:11 Pretty as You lyrics BUY MP3 03:11 Pretty as You lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:11 Pretty as You
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:55 Mama Waits lyrics BUY MP3 04:55 Mama Waits lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:55 Mama Waits
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:46 Rabbit Field lyrics BUY MP3 04:46 Rabbit Field lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:46 Rabbit Field
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:59 Two Over Ten lyrics BUY MP3 03:59 Two Over Ten lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:59 Two Over Ten
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 06:09 Midnight Terms lyrics BUY MP3 06:09 Midnight Terms lyrics "GIFT MP3" 06:09 Midnight Terms
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:56 Motor in the Weeds lyrics BUY MP3 02:56 Motor in the Weeds lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:56 Motor in the Weeds
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:39 Lucinda's Lament lyrics BUY MP3 04:39 Lucinda's Lament lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:39 Lucinda's Lament
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:41 Something From Above lyrics FREE 02:41 Something From Above lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:41 Something From Above
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:17 Metropolitan Waltz lyrics BUY MP3 02:17 Metropolitan Waltz lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:17 Metropolitan Waltz
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:11 Feel Like a Million lyrics BUY MP3 04:11 Feel Like a Million lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:11 Feel Like a Million
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:03 Slowly, Betty Pulls Ahead lyrics BUY MP3 05:03 Slowly, Betty Pulls Ahead lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:03 Slowly, Betty Pulls Ahead
"Some kind of von Trapp Family pounding out raw country and gypsy waltzes at the last bar on the outskirts of town." . . . "It sounds like American Gaslight Music from 1919 played by recent Hungarian immigrants."
Bio / Background
From barroom stomps to sultry lounge numbers, from country ballads to gypsy waltzes, Orpheum Bell's unique "Country and Eastern" sound enlists accordion, banjo, guitar, fiddle, clarinet, saw, autoharp, and the double bass. The band's members have been performing together in and around their home town of Ann Arbor since early 2005 and, with the release of their debut album, 'Pretty as You', are expanding their touring presence throughout Michigan and beyond.
At the heart of Orpheum Bell's music lies Aaron Klein's raspy vocals and lyrical storytelling, once described as "downtrodden rural poetry," and Serge van der Voo's percussive hand at the upright bass, displaying an articulate style influenced by gypsy-jazz great Django Reinhardt.
The band formed when, by chance, the two former Chicago-based bandmates met vocalist Merrill Hodnefield, who brought along penchants for musical saw, autoharp, and the violin.
↓ more ↓The depth and tenor of her voice evokes the 1940s, songs like "Rabbit Field" contrast with the clear, sweet counterpoint she provides to Klein's rough melodies on track's like "Something from Above."
Multi-instrumentalist Shaun Williams – on accordion, clarinet and banjo – and violinist Paul Fine offer solo embellishments to Orpheum Bell's musical performances. Williams' rare skill on the accordion sets off songs like "Two Over Ten" with an audience-quieting sense of old-world drama. His rolling banjo on pieces like "Lucinda's Lament" draw the listener, as Klein's lyrics attest, into a rhythmic "waltz in the street." Violinist Paul Fine's eastern European origins and years of traditional bluegrass fiddling combine to form his inimitable style, which allows the band's original songs to range from traditional country ballads to instrumentals like "Metropolitan Waltz," for which he pulls out a rare (aluminum-horned) Tiebel Violine, that looks something like a cross between a fiddle and an Edison-era phonograph.
↑ less ↑




