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The Suzanne Langille Songbook

Manage this album

Various Artists

FV119 / FTR788 2xCD

Expected release date: April 4, 2025

Tracks:

  • 1-1. Take Me Up - Lee Ranaldo (2:58)
  • 1-2. Old John - Heather Leigh (3:29)
  • 1-3. Come On, Come On - Tom Carter, Ronnie Yates & Gabriel Martinez (4:29)
  • 1-4. The Dream Comes - Neel Murgai (3:30)
  • 1-5. Crying Low - Alessandra Novaga (3:42)
  • 1-6. The Eagle - Ras Moshe Burnett, William Hooker & Loren Connors (1:32)
  • 1-7. End of My Days - Jim O’Rourke (1:58)
  • 1-8. Let The Darkness Fall - John Kolodij & Jane Hesser (3:34)
  • 1-9. Millie's Not Afraid - Alison Farrell (3:15)
  • 1-10. Morning Doubt - Zoh Amba (1:48)
  • 1-11. Dream Ballad - Loren Connors & Suzanne Langille (2:58)
  • 1-12. Strong & Foolish Heart - Kim Gordon & Bill Nace (7:07)
  • 2-1. A Sadness In Me - Andrew Burnes (4:25)
  • 2-2. I Wish I Didn't Dream - Daniel Carter, Loren Connors, Suzanne Langille, William Hooker & Ras Moshe Burnett (3:57)
  • 2-3. Turn Away - Dean Roberts, Boris Hauf & Andrea Belfi (5:22)
  • 2-4. Still Bound - Alan Licht & Angela Jaeger (2:10)
  • 2-5. Grip My Hand - Laura Ortman (5:16)
  • 2-6. Child - David Grubbs (2:05)
  • 2-7. Return to the Waterfall - Sarah Davachi & Sean McCann (5:36)
  • 2-8. It Will Only Continue - Daniel Carter, Loren Connors, Suzanne Langille & William Hooker (1:58)
  • 2-9. End of My Days - David Daniell (5:05)
  • 2-10. Nothing at All - Byron Coley & Loren Connors (3:12)
  • 2-11. Day Is Slipping - Adam Casey & the Liminal Choir with Katherine Walsh (6:26)

Thirty-two artists honor the extraordinary legacy of Suzanne Langille through interpretations of her vast songbook. Langille is best known as an acclaimed avant garde singer-songwriter and collaborator of guitarist Loren Connors. They ventured into electrified blues and abstracted artsongs across more than a dozen albums since the mid-1980s. Langille’s songs, with Connors, solo, or other collaborators, are marked by distinct and captivating depth. Her evocative lyrics, layered with themes of loss, longing, and the natural world, defy conventional boundaries, blending poetry with potent melodies. Her work embraces the uncertainty of life and the delicate spaces between joy and sorrow.

Langille’s first published composition — “Grip My Hand” — kicked off Connors’ 1990 album Rooms. As her songs began to dot more of Connors’ albums, she led the spontaneous blown-out rock band Haunted House and collaborated with the trio San Agustin. Later, she released two albums with daf-player Neel Murgai.

“Suzanne’s songwriting defies easy classification. She bypasses essay-style lyrics and unsubtle emotion. Instead, she dives into the tenuous spaces between life, the unknown, and the shades of uncertainty lingering in between,” Eric Weddle writes in the album liner notes. “That’s the magic of Suzanne’s songs. A melody rises and pulls you in, like the relentless undertow of the Long Island Sound.”

The Suzanne Langille Songbook features a diverse array of artists who reinterpret her music, showcasing its timeless and transformative power. Contributors include Kim Gordon & Bill Nace, Jim O’Rourke, Heather Leigh, Lee Ranaldo, Zoh Amba, Sarah Davachi & Sean McCann, William Hooker, Daniel Carter, Alan Licht & Angela Jaeger, David Grubbs, Dean Roberts, Alison Farrell, Byron Coley, Loren Connors, Laura Ortman, David Daniell, Neel Murgai, Alessandra Novaga, Ras Moshe Burnett, John Kolodij & Jane Hesser, Andrew Burnes, Dean Roberts, Boris Hauf, Andrea Belfi; Tom Carter, Ronnie Yates, Gabriel Martinez, and Adam Casey & the Liminal Choir with Katherine Walsh.

The double CD includes a 20-page booklet with artist bios, rare photos, and liner notes tracing Langille’s roots from a cappella harmonies to 1980s protests through today. This Connors-produced collection is a joint release by Family Vineyard and Feeding Tube Records.