A Beautiful Western Saddle, perla del catalogo Curlew assente da qualche tempo dalla circolazione - uscì in origine nel 1993, per l'etichetta Cuneiform - torna disponibile a quasi vent'anni dalle prime sedute di registrazione: a realizzare l'album con George Cartwright, Tom Cora, Davey Williams, Ann Rupel e Pippin Barnett c'era per l'occasione anche Amy Denio, e sulle poesie di Paul Haines furono scintille! Alla ristampa del disco audio si accompagna oggi un prezioso dvd con due diversi concerti del 1991: The Hardwood, già noto in videocassetta e filmato a New York nella sede originale del celebre club Knitting Factory, e un inedito girato a Washington da un'emittente locale.
"The second disc releases film footage of Curlew on DVD for the very first time: it includes the first-ever DVD release of Curlew’s live video, The Hardwood, which Cuneiform had long ago released on VHS. The Hardwood features an entire 80' Curlew show from March 23, 1991 at the Knitting Factory’s first, Houston Street address. Shot by a four camera crew, and both remastered from the original video master files and sonically remastered, The Hardwood may be the best-quality video document ever made in the ‘old’ Knitting Factory’s notoriously crowded performance space. Depicting Curlew performing live with its most acclaimed lineup at the original Knitting Factory, The Hardwood is an essential document of one of the most vibrant and important scenes in late 20th C. American popular music.
Also included on Disc 2 of Cuneiform’s double-disc A Beautiful Western Saddle/The Hardwood is an hour of previously unreleased video footage of Curlew recorded in downtown Washington DC. Filmed at DC Space on December 9, 1991 by a local cable show, it depicts Curlew performing with Denio on their Beautiful Western Saddle tour. There are two 30 minute programs; one features Curlew and Denio doing songs from A Beautiful Western Saddle, while the second set features Curlew playing two extended instrumental works. Then located on Seventh St. NW (in a building now housing a Starbucks) and now long-gone, DC Space was the Capital City’s center for art rock and other non-punk non-mainstream music. It was the venue of choice for Knitting Factory and international avant-garde artists playing in DC. This Washington video captures the energy of Curlew live on tour, while documenting for eternity a space that held a special place in DC’s artistic heart."
