Title: Richard Buckner Visits Spoon River
Review: The new Richard Buckner album 'The Hill' is a departure from his previous three; instead of writing the lyrics and music, Buckner set poems from Edgar Lee Masters' classic 'Spoon River Anthology' to music (and in some cases composed instrumental pieces inspired by the Spoon River poems). I had heard of the book but had never read it, so I picked up it and the CD both today. While I miss Buckner's lyrics, the fragmented phrases almost in code that I don't always comprehend but do always enjoy, the melancholy that runs through most of his work is amplified here; for each of Masters' poems is the voice of one of Spoon River's dead, buried on the Hill, encapsulating their life and how they met their fate. The music and Buckner's voice are enthralling. I leave him with four stars based on half-a-dozen listens today but I wouldn't be surprised if it grows to a five-star album with time.
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