Praise

Country of origin:

England? Miriam Stockley was born in South Africa

Type of music generally:

World pop

Status:

Only full-length release, Praise (1992)

See also:

Miriam Stockley's Official page

Wikipedia's entry on Miriam Stockley

Miriam Stockley was also involved in a project called Adiemus, and has released a solo album.

Comparisons:

Mouth Music's Mo Di, though it's a *little* less pop. (Neile)

Enigma, Moodswings, Paul Simon's Graceland album. (brianb@mooman.com)

Covers/own material:

Own

General comments:

This group mixes ethereal and strong vocals with world pop and electronic music. Lush, creative, and listenable. (Neile)

Recommended first album:

Praise is their only album

Recordings:

• Praise (1992)
• "Easy Way Out" (single, 1992)

Praise

Release info:

1992—Giant/Warner U.S. & U.K.—9 24472-2

Availability:

Wide on release, may be more difficult to find now

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended for fans of world pop

Group members:

Simon Goldenberg, Miriam Stockley, Geoff McCormack

Guest artists:

Paul Wix—accordion
Anthony Patler—additional piano, hammond organ, synth bass
David Serame, Ruby Serame, Josh Makhene, Elliot Ngubone, Doreen Webster—African voices
Guo Yue—bamboo flute
Choy Ling-Man—Catonese voice
Hossam Ramzy—Egyptian percussion, Arab voices
Rowland Sutherland—flute
Andy Pask—fretless bass
Simon Goldenberg, Mitch Dalton, Elliot Randall—guitars
Gary Barnacle—saxophone
Guo Yi—sheng
Deepak Khazanchi—sitar
Nick Glennie-Smith—synth bass, additional organ

Produced by:

Richard James Burgess, Geoff MacCormack & Simon Goldenberg

Comments:

I heard this once and had to have it. Miriam Stockley has a great voice, and they do really interesting things like having a song starting off with a gospel-sounding backup choir, then later it's more African/world pop sounding backup. It's a lush album running the world pop gamet, but well put together so it doesn't sound fractured. I would say it's a showpiece for vocals and one of the few excellent examples of this early '90s form of world pop. (Neile)

I like this one a lot—I was really impressed with this then I first listened to it. It is an interesting hybrid of very ethereal melodies, some catchy pop tunes, and elements that reminded me of Enigma, Moodswings, and even Paul Simon's Graceland album. It is always a surprise to pop it in on shuffleplay...you never know *what* to expect. I saw the album as a cutout, and I'd testify it is certainly worth the gamble for any ectophiles who happen to stumble across it, especially at cutout price. (brianb@mooman.com)

Thanks to those who were talking about the Praise disc. I hadn't listened to that in years, and pulled it out this afternoon. I'd forgotten just how good it was. (meth@smoe.org)

Easy Way Out (single)

Release info:

1992

Availability:

Wide on release

Ecto priority:

Recommended if you like interesting remixes

Comments:

This has some really slick dance mixes on it. (brianb@mooman.com)