Howe Gelb Snow Angel Wingin' It Live (CD+DVD)

When Howe Gelb was invited to play the Ottawa Blues Festival in 2006 he was a little confused since he doesn't make blues records. When he found out he was performing in a church, his set sandwiched between two gospel groups he took it as a sign. "... on the second day they had me in a church, which I'm thinking...Ok I'm not a blues artist and I don't sing religious songs either.... so I figured it all made sense, it was a barrage of co incidentals you see." Questioning wether his "muck" could connect to what Ottawa's Voices Of Praise Choir were doing, would eventually result in the Sno' Angel Like You album.

Sno Angel will most like become Howe Gelb's carreer defining album, so it was only a matter of time until it was accompanied by Sno' Angel Winging it Live and DVD documentary, a perfect companion piece. The film invites you in on the the making of the album, life on the road and Howe Gelb's ruminations on all things within his gravitational pull. For any admirer of Howe Gelb's music wether it be under the guise of Giant Sand, OP8 or his series of instrumental piano albums, the talking head segments are the real treat, for anyone who have seen Howe Gelb perform knows he is a true story teller. The performances are taken from  sound checks studio sessions and live performances. This limited edition package stands alone from the Sno' Angel album in that it captures the songs out of the studio and in front of an audience. Howe has always had stellar musicians backing him up, with him on this tour were slide guitarist Fred Guignion, Jim Bryson on guitar, Dave Draves on keyboards and Andrew McCormac on drums, although Arcade Fires's Jeremy Gara played drums on the recording of the album.  The musicians have more room to fill out the songs, the gospel choir filling in greater spaces than a studio would allow. Like most Howe Gelb or Giant Sand albums Howe will often re interpret songs from his back catalogue, breathing a second life into the songs. This works really well with the Voices Of Praise Choir, floor stomping desert songs transform into uplifting confessionals and country twang into vocal rave ups. You can order this set for a limited time from www.howegelb.com.