Midnight Choir All Tomorrow?s Tears / The Best Of 2-CD (for the price of one) The journey that lasted 10 years is over. After 5 albums, superstar status in their home country, two gold albums and three Norwegian "Grammy" nominations in a row (one Grammy Award) Midnight Choir have called it quits. Go at the top of the game, they say? Their first self-titled album was recorded in Nashville and shows strong influences of Americana and classic Singer/Songwriters (plus superb covers of songs by Gene Clark, Richard Thompson and Tom Russell). On ?Olsen?s Lot?, their second album recorded in 1996, the band came into their own. It was recorded in Seattle and produced by Chris Eckman (The Walkabouts), who would stay by their side until the very end. They would make a similar creative jump for their next album, which became the ?Amsterdam Stranded? masterpiece. The band's songwriter Al DeLoner came up with a haunting set of melodies that perfectly underscored the lyrical themes of religious and personal doubts sung with a voice that would make a reading of Oslos phonebook sound intense. A voice (singer Paal Flaata) that Mojo called ?...makes Scott Walker sound like Little Jimmy Osmond!? ?Amsterdam Stranded? also marks the introduction of engineer Phill Brown, who was the sound brain behind the Talk Talk masterpieces (and quite a lot more). His expertise added a certain extra to Midnight Choir?s sonic palette. Unsung Heroine, their 4th album, was released in 2000 and again featured the trusty Eckman/Brown partnership serving production duties. Robbie McIntosh (Paul McCartney, Pretenders, Talk Talk etc.) and Nils Petter Molvaer (trumpet) appeared as guests. The Talk Talk connection came full circle when their former drummer Lee Harris was recruited for Waiting For The Bricks To Fall, their 5th and last album. In addition, Tim Friese-Greene (Mark Hollis/Talk Talk "sideman", arranger and co-producer) was responsible for all choir and string arrangements. ?All Tomorrow?s Tears? is Midnight Choir?s way to say Good-Bye. Hand-selected by the three band-members (Paal Flaata ? Atle Byström/Al De Loner ? Ron Olson) the double-disc features 27 tracks that document the complete 10 years of existence. As usual there are a few alternative mixes and b-sides to make the release more interesting for the existing fan. Moreover, the lavish booklet features all lyrics and recording information to round up an excellent retrospective of one of the most painfully beautiful bands on this planet. Meanwhile Paal Flaata and Al De Loner have recorded solo albums. ?Rain? was just released on Glitterhouse and De Loner?s ?The Mess Age is Joy? saw a Scandinavian release recently.