Never Were the Way She Was

Never Were the Way She Was is a collaborative album by Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld, released on April 28, 2015 by Constellation Records. It was recorded live in the studio without the use of overdubs or loops[1] at the End of the World studio in Vermont.[2] Neufeld and Stetson had first met in 2006 when Neufeld's Bell Orchestre shared a bill with Antibalas, who Stetson was playing with.[2] The two artists had previously collaborated on the soundtrack to the 2013 film Blue Caprice.[3] The album received favorable reviews and won a Juno Award.

Never Were the Way She Was
Studio album by
Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld
ReleasedApril 28, 2015
StudioEnd of the World (Vermont)
GenreExperimental, avant-garde jazz, ambient
Length42:51
LabelConstellation
Colin Stetson chronology
New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light
(2013)		 Never Were the Way She Was
(2015)		 SORROW: A Reimagining of Gorecki's 3rd Symphony
(2016)
Sarah Neufeld chronology
Black Ground EP
(2013)		 Never Were the Way She Was
(2015)		 The Ridge
(2016)

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Drowned in Sound8/10[5]
NME7/10[6]
Pitchfork7.7/10[7]
Spin7/10[3]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Never Were the Way She Was received an average score of 81, based on 19 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[4] AllMusic reviewer Thom Jurek said that the album was too short, commenting that the songs "last only as long as they hold interest for the players, though they all create a real desire for more in the listener - which is no complaint at all."[1] Alexander Tudor of Drowned in Sound called the album a "triumph for instrumental music" and said that Stetson and Neufeld "work perfectly; long may they continue to work together."[5] NME reviewer Cian Traynor said that the pairing was "seamless" and that the album contained "expertly controlled energy" which "unfolds like a well-crafted score to an imagined film."[6] Harley Brown of Spin called it a "cohesive meditation on the legacy of avant-garde greats" and said it was "an essential part of Stetson and Neufeld's own impressive canons."[3] In his review for Pitchfork, Jayson Greene said the album was an "implicit reminder of the things that can be done with two instruments and two hands."[7]

Never Were the Way She Was won the 2016 Juno Award for Instrumental Album of the Year.[8] The album was also longlisted nominee for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize.[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld

Never Were the Way She Was track listing
No.TitleLength
1."The Sun Roars Into View"7:37
2."Won't Be a Thing to Become"3:24
3."In the Vespers"6:01
4."And Still They Move"2:56
5."With the Dark Hug of Time"6:33
6."The Rest of Us"6:30
7."Never Were the Way She Was"8:12
8."Flight"1:38
Total length:42:51

Personnel
  • Colin Stetson – tenor saxophone, bass saxophone, contrabass clarinet
  • Sarah Neufeld – violin, voice
  • Hans Bernhard – engineering
  • Mark Lawson – mixing
  • Harris Newman – mastering
  • Kim Meinelt – photography
  • Scott Irvine – photography

References
  1. Jurek, Thom. "Never Were the Way She Was - Sarah Neufeld, Colin Stetson". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  2. Ranta, Alan (30 April 2015). "The Nature of Time". Exclaim!. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  3. Brown, Harley (27 April 2015). "Review: Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld Honk and Scrape on 'Never Were the Way She Was'". Spin. SpinMedia. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  4. "Critic Reviews for Never Were the Way She Was". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  5. Tudor, Alexander (27 April 2015). "Album Review: Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld - Never Were the Way She Was". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  6. Traynor, Cian (13 April 2015). "9 Great Albums That May Have Passed You By This Week". NME. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  7. Greene, Jayson (27 May 2015). "Colin Stetson / Sarah Neufeld: Never Were the Way She Was". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  8. "Instrumental Album of the Year 2016". Juno Awards. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  9. "Polaris Music Prize Announces 2015 Long List". Exclaim!, June 16, 2015.

Never Were the Way She Was at Discogs (list of releases)

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