Music to Remember Him By

The album was produced by Congo Norvell and Mick Harvey; their intention was to integrate cabaret and exotica into a rock sound.[6][7] Its songs are largely about friends lost to AIDS.[8][9] Music to Remember Him By was recorded in Joshua Tree and Echo Park.[10]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[12]

Trouser Press wrote that "the postmodern coffee-house feel is, at times, an uncomfortably kitschy mix, but it’s creepy and compelling just the same."[13] Stereo Review thought that Norvell and Powers "conjure a darkly poetic atmosphere redolent of Kurt Weill, Leonard Cohen, Nico-era Velvets—you know, the real spooky-cool stuff."[14] The Toronto Star praised "the David Lynchian dreamscape in the tunes."[15]

The Washington Post called the album "skillfully atmospheric stuff, although the melodrama of tracks like 'Mercy Mine' just narrowly skirts silliness."[16] The Philadelphia Inquirer noted "the gothic torch and twang of Powers and haunting vocals by chanteuse Sally Norvell."[17] The Boston Globe deemed Congo Norvell's sound "seductive [and] alluring, with blues and gospel elements."[9] The Boston Herald concluded that Congo Norvell's "quiet and seductive cabaret melancholia both soothes and chills, sending shivers up your spine while messing with your psyche."[18]

AllMusic wrote that "Norvell's singing, a low, sassy croon, shows she knows her jazz/blues roots well, bringing the appropriately passionate intensity to the group that it needs."[11]