Recorded live in Brussels on September 29, 2000, Broken Statues is a breathtaking album from acclaimed Irish singer-songwriter Perry Blake. Featuring piano and orchestration and songs from his three studio albums (including the at that point unreleased California album), it gives a fair amount of breathing room for Blake to stretch out his dynamic vocal range. The audience remains respectfully silent throughout these mesmerizing performances. The previously unreleased “Blackbird” is pure ecstasy, as Blake hits notes usually reserved for angels. The title track, another exclusive track, is an extended piece of incredible grace and dynamic tension as the stringed notes shadow Blake’s vocals step by step. He brings palpable intensity to his singles from his self-titled debut album, the obsessive-compulsive, “The Hunchback of San Francisco” and the sensuous art-song “Genevieve,” and provides a strong tenderness to the ballad that appeared on the forthcoming California album, “How Can the Knower Be Known?”. Another non-LP track, “I’m Still Waiting,” ends things with a dignified performance that is chilling in its beauty.