Wafers and Wine

A cassette sampler of songs written for the Carl W. Liss film Apartment D.

Greg Haymes wrote the following in the Albany Times Union January 28, 1998.

Ever wonder what it would sound like if you could fuse together the boho folk of Joni Mitchell and the renegade funk of Prince? Well, maybe not. But Albany singer-songwriter Bryan Thomas certainly has, and on his hot new six-song cassette, "Wafers & Wine,'' the result is mesmerizing.

I haven't taken his home-brewed tape out of my cassette player since I got it, and whether it's Thomas' own tunes (including two versions of "Apt. D'' and a rendition of "Disconnect'' recorded live on WAMC-FM) or an epic interpretation of Mitchell's "Black Crow,'' Thomas does it all right.

If you haven't seen him live yet, you'll have another chance on Saturday evening when Thomas takes over Mother Earth's Cafe in Albany. And while you're there, pick up a copy of his tape. You'll be glad you did.

TRACK LIST

LINER NOTES

all stuff written and performed by bryan thomas except:

'black crow' by joni mitchell copyright 1976 crazy crow music. also contains a verse of 'the ballad of dorothy parker' by prince copyright 1987 controversy music. laugh sample from 'big yellow taxi' and squawk sample from 'talk to me,' both by joni mitchell. spoken word based on '13 ways of looking at a black bird' by wallace stevens.

'sea-change' based on arial's song from the tempest by william shakespeare.

'disconnect' based on 'reckonings' by jo page, copyright 1996 metroland.

cover art based on 'come unto these yellow sands' by richard dadd, 1842.

all songs recorded in bry-bry's bedroom on a tascam eight-track cassette except 'disconnect,' recorded live on-the-air at wamc public radio, albany ny.

tracks 1, 2, 4 and 6 featured in apartment d, a film by carl liss and syntony productions. props to cindy, hoby, carl and dewitt. peace with chicken grease.