Josephine Foster’s piercing soprano hadn’t invaded my ears until Mutual Benefit’s tidy overview of her career, below. Consider me conquered.
Of the three tracks, the most interesting is ‘Los Cuatro Muleros,’ from last year’s album Anda Jaleo, a reworking of Federico García Lorca’s 1931 piano collection Canciones Populares Españolas, with La Argentinita on vocals.
Then again, I’m the sort of guy who can’t get enough of Trio Los Panchos. Your mileage may vary.
Don’t judge Josephine Foster too quickly because of her operatic vibrato and crazy diverse catalog (the three songs here are in three different languages). She is a musician in the truest sense of the word, tackling projects all across the spectrum yet putting her own stamp on it. Hazel Eyes, I Will Lead You fits well with other “freak folk” albums while Anda Jaleo is a set of traditional Mexican folk songs. A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing is Foster’s highly unorthodox interpretations of famous German songs by the likes of Schubert, Brahms, and others.
Where There Art Trees (from Hazel Eyes, I Will Lead You)
Los Cuatro Muleros (from Anda Jaleo)
Der Konig In Thule (from A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing)
