eMusic<br /> Top Over-looked CDs of 2007<br /> Perhapsody – Live 10.12.06<br /> Richard Gehr

With a name that references psychedelic philosopher Terence McKenna’s experiences with the otherworldly entheogen DMT, bassist Mike Rivard’s Club d’Elf delivers nearly as much alien rapture as that moniker would imply. This live album is a simmering scorcher, a dance party for giggling pixies and darker spirits. Guest elves include keyboardist John Medeski, DJ Mister Rourke, guitarist Duke Levine and slide guitarist Dave Tronzo. The players embellish the bejeezus out of Gumbylike grooves, etched deeply by Rivard and original Club d’Elf drummer Erik Kerr, drawing from both electric Miles and acoustic Morocco. Halfway through Perhapsody’s 141 minutes, during “That Is My Voice,” the band arrives at a rich, slow and sinuous plateau. It’s there they abide through the end of the album, perfect masters of one enchanted evening. — Richard Gehr