Product Description North Carolina-bred, Brooklyn based singer/composer/multi-instrumentalist Becca Stevens already has impressive musical output and has received copious praise from the likes of The New York Times, who describe her as ''a best-kept secret'' and ''impressively absorbing.'' She has recently been featured on Snarky Puppy's new ''Family Dinner--Volume 2,'' as well as collaborating with various artists such as Esperanza Spalding, Brad Mehldau, Jose James, Alan Hampton to name a few. In 2015, we saw the highly anticipated follow-up to 2011's ''Weightless'' (Sunnyside) with a new record of originals and covers entitled ''Perfect Animal'' (Universal Music) and an international tour. Becca's 2016 was spent touring the world with her band and as a featured member of David Crosby's Lighthouse Band. Always reaching, always expanding, Becca Stevens reinvents herself once again with ''Regina.'' In the years since the release of her critically acclaimed third album, ''Perfect Animal,'' Stevens has undertaken a journey that began with a study of Queen Elizabeth I. This expanded into tributes to various queens from history, literature, folklore, and her own imagination, to songs inspired by the regal and divine, and finally to ''Regina'' as a voice, like a trusted friend or an alter ego. Review Stevens is a Brooklyn-based jazz composer with a background in Appalachian folk and classical guitar, and she stitches that eclectic background together with alarming precision. That's to say nothing of a voice that tangles beauty with terror in a way that would give Shakespeare the shivers. ''Queen Mab'' is the first single from Stevens' upcoming record ''Regina,'' and she lifts the lyrics directly from the Shakespearean speech it is named after. Her musical treatment has all the ephemeral qualities a poem about a nymph of dreams should evoke. But rather than float into overly dainty territory, Stevens drops down into a grimy beat... then presses notes against each other--notes that feel like they want to soar, but are stuck in the sort of crunchy jazz chords that grasshopper wings might make if they tried to flutter under water. It all swells into a vocal round of Shakespearean verse that is as intoxicating and disorienting as the presence of Queen Mab herself. --NPR, Songs We Love, 1/19/2017
K**Y
Becca Stevens is a Magician
The majestic "Regina" is a well crafted and beautiful album. Becca Steven's assured and supple vocals refresh and uplift. Her collaborations with Troy Miller and David Crosby are highlights. My favorite track is "Queen Mab", a sonic fantasy of royal frolics among grasshopper wings and moonshine. My only complaint is that this stellar album ends too soon.
G**R
An early and strong contender for best new recording of the year
An early and strong contender for best new recording of the year. Becca Stevens makes another significant leap forward from her previous work. She's creating music of unusual originality, depth, complexity, beauty, and warmth.
A**R
Becca takes her songwriting, musicianship, and talents to ...
Becca takes her songwriting, musicianship, and talents to another level with this album. This is a musical experience worth listening to...over and over.
M**R
Five Stars
One of the most captivating and superlative albums I have purchased in along time. Extremely well done.
I**Z
Becca...Sigh!
Becca shows she is a great composer in addition to chanteuse and charangist!She outdoes Yes at their own game!!!
G**R
Five Stars
One of my favorite albums ever. Love love love
H**Y
Won't recommend it.
It didn't met my expectations. Won't recommend it.
M**F
Best album of 2017!
Absolutely amazing album. A confluence of influences, with superb writing. I have already listened to this album at least a dozen times. Excited to have the physical CD!
M**S
top
sehr gute Platte
F**O
pop/folk di alto livello
a parte il brano dedicato a Mercury veramente brutto i brani sono eseguiti con grande maestria nn x tutti
D**L
The best album I've heard in years
This album is eclectic, complex and accessible all at the same time. Each track is a about a queen in some sense hence the title Regina. Becca has an incredible voice and is backed up by a team of top-notch musicians. I've been around for quite a while now and I thought that I'd heard everything but this album just blew me away. There are 13 tracks which are all brilliant but I must mention We Knew Love, Regina and the gorgeous Ophelia. So many influences here from folk to jazz and everything in between. The complex arrangements; Becca's sublime vocals; and the shifting tempos combine to make an intoxicating mixture which is irresistible.I only discovered Becca recently but I think that she is the most important artist since Joni Mitchell. Any music lover will love this so buy it now.
R**N
Something close to perfection
I first saw Becca Stevens accompanying Jacob Colllier at the 2018 Proms and, while he remains a rather Marmite prospect for me, I ordered Becca's current CD 'Regina' straightaway on the basis of her voice. Turns out she's a bit more than that...This is an album of sublime musicianship, wonderful songwriting and a near perfect sequence of songs that lodges immovably in the memory; title track "Regina" is especially wonderful. I've since bought another of Becca's albums ('Perfect Animal') and it turns out she's no one-trick pony... She collaborates with interesting musicians (like the fantastic Snarky Puppy) and in interesting forms of music from folk through to jazz, and any artist willing to stretch themselves in this way is worthy of support in my book.Go and treat yourself right now - you won't regret it!
R**L
Die nächste Offenbarung von Becca Stevens
Mit 'Regina' triggert Becca Stevens bei mir noch mehr als zuvor die Idee: OK, wenn Joni Mitchell (mal) das, was sie war und konnte, nicht mehr ist und nicht mehr kann, dann kann Becca Stevens diese große Lücke füllen (was sie evtl. quasi schon tut). Allerdings, ohne eine J. Mitchell "zwei-punkt-null" zu werden. Becca Stevens hat mit Ihrer Band sicher vergleichbare Qualitäten und vielleicht noch mehr Gesangstalent als die große Joni M., ist aber von einer Kopie/Zweitausgabe doch weit entfernt.Vieles, was ich zu 'Perfect Animal' geschrieben habe, trifft auch hier zu. Tolle, mehrschichtige, eigenständige, vielseitig instrumentierte/arrangierte Songs. 'Regina' hört sich insgesamt aber etwas runder, im besten Sinne eingängiger an. 'Perfect Animal’ war da doch - auch im besten Sinne ! - ein bisschen sperriger mit etwas mehr Überraschungen und ’Weightless’ war noch urprünglicher, akustischer, fast "unplugged", weniger raus geputzt.Wer auf tolle Sängerinnen mit tollen, keineswegs leichtgewichtigen Songs steht, und wer wissen will wie viel anders sich Stevie Wonder’s ’As’ anhören kann, muss ’Regina’ kennen.
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