Cellos and vocals entwine

By Tricia Arcelona, Special to the On-Line Forty-Niner

Thursday, September 17, 1998

With the unique combination of cellos and innovative lead vocals, the all-girl group Rasputina hits the alternative music scene with its new album on Columbia titled, "How We Quilt the Forest."

Tired of simply being just music students, the three women formed the Ladies' Cello Society in 1981 in order to write their own style of music.

Lead vocalist, Melora Creager, offers a twist between Natalie Merchant's smooth singing and Dolores O' Riordan's (The Cranberries) somber, yet powerful voice.

The album produced by Chris Vrenna delivers songs that convey the meaning of life expressed in abstract poetic form.

The album opens with "The Olde Headboard," which is about a girl's newly found best friend. Although most of the group's songs reflect a strange and unusual tone, one may be familiar with "You Don't Own Me," a song about women's independence, which is also on the "First Wives Club" movie and soundtrack.

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CD REVIEW

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Overall, Rasputina's highly recommended album delivers a fresh new sound with clever lyrics and original lead vocals.

Since touring with Marilyn Manson, the group has become widely popular.

"For all their playfulness and charm, Rasputina girls are actually melancholy, dispirited and strangely detached from period or place," Marilyn Manson said.