ALBUM OF THE WEEK - 15/12/2000

Vika and Linda - Live and Acoustic (Mushroom)

There is nothing like the "voice" of two singers born to sing together. It's what attracted Joe Camilleri to the Bull sisters when he invited them to join his Black Sorrows, and what record buyers responded to when they heard the Bull sisters alongside Joe in songs "Hold On To Me", "Chained To The Wheel", etc etc. Joe also knew they had more than that 'one voice' and in Black Sorrows shows Vika and Linda were given their own spots highlighting how different they were as singers when one of the other stepped in front of the microphone. Vika strong and soulful. Linda soft and gentle. When Vika and Linda left the Sorrows they took out their little black book and called up all the great songwriters that are part of their circle, and armed with their songs they released what was essentially an extension of their Black Sorrows work, creating a vacuum Joe Camilleri found hard to fill. The second Vika and Linda album took them on a cultural journey, asserting the Tongan aspect of their personality to their vocal personality. On the third album co-producers Paul Kelly and Renee Geyer challenged the sisters, Paul with his songs, Renee with the way she tested their voices. This live album brings us back to the start, pure Vika and Linda, just singing together, as they always have and always will, applying all the experience and confidence they've accumulated, more gospel than you might expect. The entire performance starts and ends with two songs Paul Kelly would probably never have written if he didn't know he intended Vika and Linda to record them, such fine songs that Paul performs them himself, but it's probably Vika and Linda who stamp those songs as two of the best moments in Paul's songwriting career. This album is worth having just for 'Be Careful What You Pray For' and 'If I Could Start Today Again'.

Track Listing

Ed.Nimmervoll