CD Review

Gallup, Annie
Steady Steady Yes
(Prime-CD)

Annie Gallup has emerged as one of the great writers of story songs. Half sung, half spoken, these narratives are oddly seductive. This album kicks off Prime CD's Primal Sounds series: performed on acoustic and electric guitar, these songs were recorded solo and live, without added reverb or other post-production effects, in the new Theatre studio, a warehouse-like former vaudeville theatre in New York's Lower East Side. Annie dabbles in magic realism in songs like "James," about a magician who makes everything disappear, including, finally, his lover. But unlike most writers who misuse it, Annie uses the magic to make her characters more real, not less. This is part folk music, part performance art. Featured on NPR, it is a gripping album from beginning to end. Annie Gallup should be a household word. -HB