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Robert Priest
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Reviews of Tongue 'n' Groove
"Spoken word has always been a weird bird for me to watch fly. I've listened to lots of it: Lydia Lunch, Exene Cervenka, John S. Hall, Ann Magnuson, Steven Jesse Bernstein, Eric Bogosian -- the list of great speakers is a very lengthy one. When spoken word is good, it makes ideas into strong visuals. It's all about setting a vibe, good or bad. It gives you a good think, a good laugh or a twinge of outrage, and makes your brain dance to its own intellectual tune But when spoken word is bad, it's like Vogon poetry or a bullshit conversation. You leave with a bad taste in your mouth and your back hurts.
The work of Toronto's Robert Priest fortunately falls into the former category, and here he has created a work of words and funky grooves that is extremely listenable and, in spots, very clever." Sayings" is a listing of reworked quotations like "Every little ruler wants a 13th inch," "you cannot kiss ass and kick it too" and "stop procrastinating tomorrow." "Vote Shit" elevates excrement above politicians in a way that King Missile's John S. Hall would be proud of. "Ticket to Hell" is great protest-and-bile folk vented in the direction of the tax man.
Both soothing and biting, this is well done."
Darren Kerr (Drop Dead Magazine)
"Grand & Mystic" - Jason Anderson (Eye Magazine)
"From the short, satirical Wedding Poem, through the intensely beautiful Hera to the visionary and political Lesser Shadows, Priest shows a depth and complexity that operates on many levels, raising his performance above a bar-room rant or a wishy-washy poetry reading to an intense experience, something akin to a trance session" - Lucy Mallows (Budapest Sun - Oct 22-28 1998)
"Some of these are mellow thoughts about lovers, poems and trees, others are down right rambunctious rocking sprees or resemble the scary voices you hear in your head.. He's got a range." - Elysia Gallo (Budapest Week)
"This is the edge of poetryŠthere seems to be a synergous amalgamation between songs. The passing from mundane to supra-mundane torches from beginning to end is quite unique" - Suzanne Legault (Northern Life, Sudbury)
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ROBERT PRIEST
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POET/SPOKEN WORD
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