Having been listening to Kristin Hersh, it was perhaps inevitable that I would also be drawn to the music of Tanya Donnelly, born a few weeks earlier on 14th July 1966. Belated happy birthday, Tanya!
Tanya and Kristin first met and became friends in the 1970s, around age 8. They became step-sisters in the 1980s, when Tanya's father married Kristin's mother.
Another significant milestone was 1981, when Tanya and Kristin formed Throwing Muses. Tanya's gone on to have a remarkable career since, with The Breeders, Belly, and a impressive run of solo albums and EPs.
Mirroring yesterday's post, here's a short selection of Tanya's solo releases, although 'official videos' are much harder to find, beyond her first couple of albums on 4AD. I've omitted The Breeders as none featured Tanya on lead vocals, but I have included a couple of classics from Belly and Throwing Muses.
Oh, and Tanya also had new music out in April this year, a new song called Golden Cut, written and recorded with Gabi Lima. It's a cracker.
I'd also highly recommend exploring Tanya's Bandcamp page, as you will find tonnes of music, including the entire Swan Song Series of EPs and 'lockdown' cover versions of Bob Marley & The Wailers, Yazoo and Pixies as name your price/free downloads.
The Bright Light (1997)
Keeping You (2001)
Mass Ave (Pandora Whiteboard Sessions) (2013)*
Three Little Birds (Cover of Bob): Tanya Donnelly ft. Grace Bee Fisher & Harriet Pearl Fisher (2020) **
Big Love Bends Time (Live @ The Town & City Festival, Lowell, Massachusetts): Tanya Donnelly & Friends (2022)
Gepetto: Belly (1992)
Not Too Soon: Throwing Muses (1990)
Golden Cut: Tanya Donnelly & Gabi LIma (2024)
An incredible and treasured talent.
* I found what appears to be an official video for Mass Ave on YouTube but the channel itself ("Brian") is unavailable, so I'm not sure if this link will work.
** Grace and Harriet are Tanya's daughters, born 1999 and 2006 respectively.
Saw Belly support REM at Cardiff Arms Park in 1995. Thought they were the best of the three support acts that day. Tanya seemed to fall off the radar pretty quickly after that - will have to investigate!
ReplyDeleteI didn't appreciate Belly back in the day as much as I should have done, but I want to go back and (re)discover their albums, alongside Tanya's solo work. Given how much I liked Throwing Muses, seems odd that I never followed her subsequent journey to any great extent. That must have been a hell of a gig in 1995!
DeleteI see what you did there, Ernie.
ReplyDeleteI originally picked that song/video for the post but eventually decided on Gepetto. If I had, that might have made for a more challenging comment...!