Poe Hello CD

Personnel: Poe (vocals, piano, programming); Jeffrey Connor (guitar, bass, bass programming); Eric Garcia (guitar, keyboards); Sean Uberoi Kelly (guitar, bass, programming); Tony Wilson, Dean Pleasants, Joey Grossman, Alex Blanc (guitar); Cameron Stone (cello); Richard Barrow (flute); Keli Givens (trumpet); Jeffrey L. Walker, Jr., RJ Rice (keyboards, programming); Joseph "Amp" Fiddler (keyboards); Matt Sorum, Jon Brooks (drums); Ronnie Estelle, Lionel Cole, JD (programming).
Producers: RJ Rice (tracks 1, 5-8, 10); Dave Jerden (track 2); Poe, Jeffrey Connor (track 3); Poe (tracks 4, 9, 11).
Engineers: RJ Rice, Dave Jerden, Brian Carlstrom (track 1); Steve Klein (track 2); Alex Blanc, Eric Garcia (track 3); Richard Barrow (tracks 4, 11); RJ Rice (tracks 5-6, 10); Dave Jerden, Steve Klein, RJ Rice (track 8).
Poe has had some bad luck with love, and she's not afraid to talk about her attraction to the submissive role in off-kilter relationships. On Poe's furious "Trigger Happy Jack," she confronts her tendency to masochism and her ambivalence with brutal honesty: "I hate myself/Just enough to want him/But I hate him just enough to get off." There is also a kind of integrity in her mostly close-up, clean, careful vocals, which are laid over a background clattered with savage guitar work and samples that vary from hip-hop to noise to lounge music. Hers is a versatile voice, alternating between sweet melodies, vehement near-screams, and grainy, lo-fi spoken word.
The sound of HELLO is altogether eclectic and quirky, and its plaintiveness is offset by the fact that Poe doesn't take herself too seriously, even when she talks about her loneliness. In "Fingertips," when she sings "anyone would do, could be you," she means it, but she's also laughing at herself.
Personnel: Poe (vocals); Eric Garcia (guitar, keyboards); Dean Pleasants, Tony Wilson (guitar); Richard Barrow (flute); Jeffrey Connor (bass guitar, programming); Matt Sorum, Jon Brooks (drums); Ronnie Estelle, Lionel Cole (programming).
Blending technology with organic rock, Hello, the 1995 debut by the well-traveled singer/songwriter Poe is a striking record that manages to groove and feed the head with well-written observations. Working with a myriad of co-writers, producers (including Dave Jerden of Alice in Chains fame), and musicians (including ex-Guns N' Roses drummer Matt Sorum), Hello could have been an unfocused mess. However, that is not the case; the album has a definite cohesiveness. The title track leads things off with a hypnotic, ambient pop vibe as Poe attempts to communicate with someone who will not be reached. At the other end of the spectrum is the following cut, "Trigger Happy Jack." Over grinding guitars, Poe again expresses an inability to communicate with someone and the chorus is immediately memorable. Maybe a little schizophrenic musically, Hello is an enjoyable romp where practically each track is a surprise waiting to be found. ~ Tom DemalonQ (12/96, p.147) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...mixes 'n' matches heaviness and delicacy, programmed beats and grunge guitars, simple piano and touches of jazz, neat melody and distorting effects. Many of her allegorical lyrics deal with communication....a debut well worth investigating."