After leaving 's band and becoming the musical and life partner of pianist/composer , issued , her first solo recording, in 1974 on the label. After her , and beginnings, redeveloped her voice, taking it and her music in a different direction. She began to extend its reach in , breath control, and uncommon phrasing. She is one of the most compelling and original singers in recorded music's history. is a curious recording, one that walks the razor's edge of composition and . Fans of 's earlier solo records, and , will appreciate its strange song structures, varying dynamics, and knockout lineup -- sings, plays piano, acoustic guitar, and percussion, and she is backed by a host of luminaries from the : , guitars; , piano, harmonium; , cornet, tenor horn; , alto saxophone; , trombone; , bass; , bass; as well as African drum master . The set begins innocently enough with a fairly straight-ahead song with a lilting piano line accompanying ' plaintive singing. But even here, with the channel-shifting production and suspended chords, 's harmonium providing a baseboard for everything, and the slightly off-kilter horns winding in and out of the backdrop, this is anything but a song. From here on it's almost anything goes, as brings to bear in a dynamite soaring wail of a tune that was virtually unlike anything else at the time. She pierces the sky with her improvising, opening her voice up with the heaviness and swallowing it whole. Many have criticized the simple lyric lines wrote for these songs, but this is philistinism; her lyrics fit these melodies better than anything else could. They adorn simply, speak plainly, and offer the heart of the matter in each case. In that sense, they are truly poetic. If the production styles sound rooted in the '70s, it's all for the better. It's hard to imagine anyone making a record like this today -- because this is a singular achievement in any era. The set ends with which listeners can safely assume is about , whose accident took place a bit before the album was recorded. Its stark, simple, shimmering glissando piano walks a simple line under the moaning, imploring, almost chant-like voice of . It's a moving track that closes as fine a debut as one is likely to hear. ~ Thom Jurek