Cassell Webb
Llano

THE REVIEW

In my constant musical journeys, I often land on islands marked on the maps I possess, but once disembarked and venturing inland, to my great dismay, I realize there is no sign of humanity around me, spectacular flora and fauna but none of my kind with whom I could share all that beauty. 

These are numerous old records I know well, highlighted online and currently for sale almost everywhere, but without potential buyers, without a shred of review to bring them to light, despite their absolute value. Over time, I realized I feel represented by these unknown works and their respective artists, often luxurious outsiders with a surprising past, or in other cases, involved in alliances so unlikely that they still leave deep traces.

A similar unexpected encounter relates to my meeting with CASSELL WEBB, a Texan singer-songwriter and performer: after years of experience in the country-psychedelic underground of her home and an innate interest in recording techniques, she moved to Europe in the early '80s, reinventing herself and launching a solo career that had never really begun at home. In this journey, she is not alone, accompanying her is CRAIG LEON, a name that may mean nothing but is, in reality, a key figure in the evolution of New York Punk in the mid-'70s: thanks to his support, the RAMONES signed with Sire Records, and he produced their legendary first album, as well as the debut records of BLONDIE and SUICIDE... over 150 productions in his career, even in the classical sector, a quite respectable resume!

The two make a stop in the Netherlands, where Cassell co-produces a recording project of Craig with the legendary ARTHUR BROWN, the album THE COMPLETE TAPES OF ATOYA, an artwork that combines the electronics already experimented in a couple of the producer's previous solo works with a voice decidedly above the ordinary. In '85, joining the Statik Records label, a Virgin subsidiary, the doors to Cassell's career are finally opened.

Within Statik, the duo comes into contact with the SOUND, label mates, and in particular with the leader ADRIAN BORLAND, a character reluctant to engage outside his circle, but apparently particularly attracted by the idea of trying something different, also aiming to gain future technical benefits and valuable lessons, given Craig Leon's pedigree.

Once again in the Netherlands, the Wiseloord Studios in Hilversum are chosen for the recordings: what surprises is Borland's role in the operation, not just as a guest guitarist, but fully engaged in songwriting. The affair boils down to a ménage à trois: Cassell's voice, Craig's electronics and synthetic orchestrations, and a guitar given free rein almost everywhere, highly recognizable at times, in others molded by a desire to experiment with unheard solutions.

What emerges are eight tracks with varied structure and great charm: the peak is reached by a couple of nocturnal and enveloping visions, the atmosphere suspended between the sacred and the profane transports IN ARCADIA towards symphonic temptations of a desecrated cathedral, but it is the pounding pagan ritual of WANDERING ONES that transgresses the most; here Cassell's British Folksinger voice blends with Adrian's, flowing directly into Stonehenge's magic circle in a rainy dusk, foreshadowing a guitar distortion that can evoke human sacrifices or the scream of the Alien monster, depending on the moment's imagination.

In the same vein, but in a lighter context, is VOICES TO RIVERS, a sad and hypnotic ballad built on Cassell's voice, possessing a vocality that has nothing to do with Texas, rather it seems to originate from a Kent valley, combined with an image very similar to NICO's to definitively estrange the listener, just as the schizophrenic and irreverent GYPSY SOLITAIRE does in its alcoholic and fragmented course.

More sunny are the Title Track, with the guitar waves of a magnificent Borland, the linear EVERYTIME I GET AROUND YOU, and the Folk Song WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING, led only by harmonium and strings. Worth noting is the cover of TOTAL RECALL, Borland's highlight contained in the album HEADS & HEARTS by the SOUND, not dissimilar to the original but splendidly interpreted and still capable of provoking reflection on why the author did not take his words seriously: THERE MUST BE, A HOLE IN YOUR MEMORY, BUT I CAN SEE, I CAN SEE, A DISTANT VICTORY, A TIME WHEN YOU WILL BE WITH ME... THERE'S GOT TO BE ANOTHER TIME...

Finally, I declare the hunt for the record open... money well spent and emotions to be preserved for a lifetime...