Sarah Slean Orphan Music. Release Date : November 14, 2006. Label: Wea. Rating: Beautiful. (Screw points. To each his own!) Live/b-side records are a bit challenging to actually review sometimes, since it's a collection of random songs rather than a coherent package. But this is nice. Sarah Slean is a great character on stage, something I definitely know after having seen her live myself. Very theatrical and expressive, whether playing piano or just singing. This comes through here - soft laughter, Slean's own speaking between songs, and various audience shouts were kept into the recording, and the hollow sound of the songs makes you feel as though you're watching this in a large auditorium. Slean's rich and feminine voice at times turns to a gruff roar, and her piano pieces are light and airy and jaunty, driving you to dance. This is a great recording that I would recommend for any fan of Slean, or of piano music in general. The inclusion of both a live and studio version of "Lucky Me" would strike me as superfluous, but the versions are so vastly different from each other, I don't mind so much. I still maybe would have preferred a different live song in its place. Song of choice : Absolute favourite is "Last Year's War." Amazing song. Amazing. -Andy Scheffler Elsewhere Sarah Slean website Published : January, 2007.