Heralded by Rolling Stone as introducing "chamber rock," the all-acoustic performances captured on the original Cool Blue Halo blended classical, jazz, and and art-rock elements fearlessly standing out against blandly formulaic post-punk orthodoxy. In his recent assessment of the original album NPR's Tom Moon called it "A plaintive masterpiece created at a time when making pop was practically an act of subversion."
Recorded live at New York's Bottom Line on a single evening in May 1987, the original album featured singer, songwriter and guitarist Barone leading an acoustic ensemble of cellist Jane Scarpantoni, acoustic guitarist Nick Celeste and percussionist/keyboardist Valerie Naranjo.
Tom Moon's complete article and audio links can be found here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9167880
About Richard Barone:
Richard Barone is an acclaimed recording artist, performer, producer, and author. Since his beginnings on radio at age seven as "The Littlest DJ" and later fronting indie-pop icons The Bongos, Barone has had a hand in countless recordings. He has collaborated with artists in every musical genre - from Lou Reed and Moby to Liza Minnelli, Tiny Tim and most recently, Pete Seeger.
As musical and theatrical director, he has scored shows and staged all-star concert events at world renowned venues including Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. His memoir FRONTMAN: Surviving the Rock Star Myth was published by Hal Leonard Books and performed as a Musical Reading at Carnegie Hall.
His recent solo album, Glow (Bar/None Records), was produced by Tony Visconti and others. His latest, Collection 2: Before & Afterglow, was released in December 2011. Full bio and more at http://RichardBarone.com.
Barone lives in Greenwich Village, New York City.
