Music Matters continues to partner with FAME (Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange). All submissions of material should still go to FAME. As an additional service, MMReview will be publishing short reviews of new material. If this material is also reviewed on FAME, a link will be supplied to the more in-depth review. MMReview will continue to publish features about music and musicians that matter. So…Welcome to Issue 19 of MMReview!—Michael Devlin, Editor
Reviews: (Click titles to jump to reviews)
Knut Bell and the Blue Collars—Honkahillarockabilly
Lou & Peter Berryman—Love is the Weirdest of All—The Music of Lou and Peter Berryman
Black 47—New York
Greg Brown—In the Hills of California
Kate Campbell—Sing Me Out
Ani DiFranco—Knuckle Down
The Grandsons—Party with the Rich
King Chubby—Is
Ariane Lydon—Still She Moves
Adrienne Young & Little Sadie—Plow to the end of the Row
Reviews:
Knut Bell and the Blue Collars—Honkahillarockabilly
2004, Marlinspike Music
Well...Honkahillarockabilly just about says it. Knut Bell has the kind of voice one would imagine coming from a big-bellied truck-drivin’ man. (In fact he describes his music as “Gut Music.”) Bell and the Blue Collars look too young to have invented this kind of music, but they play it like they did. The songs are mostly about women and drinking, but I guess that’s pretty much par for the bar with this kind of music. More than worth a spin if you like Telecasters, drums and stand-up bass.—Michael Devlin
Lou & Peter Berryman—Love is the Weirdest of All—The Music of Lou and Peter Berryman
2004, Cornbelt Records
There is a new musical revue written by Colleen Burns and Jack Forbes Wilson based on the music of Lou and Peter Berryman. This is an album of songs from their extensive repertoire, freshly recorded for this project. So who are Lou and Peter Berryman? Well, they’re a formerly married couple who have been touring the country for decades, Lou toting her accordion, Peter his guitar. They also bring along an unparalleled collection of idiosyncratically funny songs. I don’t know where to begin, (or end, there are 28 songs). Much of their humor comes from odd juxtapositions rapidly delivered in tongue twisting unison. The duo sings a song where they display a talent for splitting yodels between them, one about talking at the same time and one about a person reading a cake recipe to a friend on the phone while interacting with her active family. Lou even sings one about a seasick cruise…in near-regurgitory style. This album would serve as a wonderful introduction to the funniest touring musicians on the planet and still leave room to find new favorites on their other albums. Essential!—Michael Devlin
Black 47—New York
2004, Gadfly
Black 47 is an Irish New York musical institution. Having graduated from their status as a Manhattan bar band, they frequently fill big music halls like the Beacon Theater with enthusiastic fans and loud Celtic-tinged rock. They have a long history of support among the uniformed services, so it is only natural that they would come out with an album dedicated to their post terror attack city. Larry Kirwan’s Irish New York persona inhabits his vocals and songwriting and the band plays with bold swagger. Suzzy Roche, Mary Courtney and Rosanne Cash make guest appearances. This is a fine home-town tribute from a band that has earned the right to call their album “New York.”—Michael Devlin
Greg Brown—In the Hills of California
2004, Cumulus Presents/Red House Records
These are truly excellent recordings of Greg Brown at the Kate Wolf Music Festival in the years from 1997 to 2003. This is typical festival Greg Brown, resonant, half-spoken vocals, poetic lyrics, gruff jokes, rambling stories and bluesy picking on a plugged-in acoustic guitar. There are frequently other musicians on stage in a supportive role, in particular Nina Gerber on electric and acoustic guitar. Brown exudes the confidence of a man who has been a headliner at folk festivals longer than most of his fellow performers have been on the bill. This album will satisfy anyone who wants a live Greg Brown album. It contains two discs with two and one-half hours of music and talk that sounds like it could have been recorded on any given night in the last several years. Proceeds from this album help fund the Jugalbandi Program, a music and arts enrichment program of the Sebastopol Community Center.—Michael Devlin
Kate Campbell—Sing Me Out
2004, Compadre Records
All but one of these songs have appeared on albums released between 1997 and 1999, so why re-record them in a theme album? Kate Campbell’s reason is that the songs have grown and changed during their years in her touring repertoire. She also wants to introduce them to a new audience. Lucky us! These are beautifully produced acoustic versions of some of the most moving spiritual themed songs in the singer-songwriter genre. This is music with a Southern viewpoint, influenced by Bible-belt culture, but Campbell has a writer’s ability to see things from a broad perspective. There is a reverence for the sustaining faith of the people in her songs, as well as a satirical eye for the foibles of the culture and abhorrence for its excesses. This is Kate Campbell’s finest work in every way…that’s saying quite a bit. Essential! —Michael Devlin
Click here for FAME review.
Ani DiFranco—Knuckle Down
2005, Righteous Babe Records
Ani DiFranco began her musical career as a teenage dynamo redefining what it means to be a girl with a guitar, pushing the bounds of what can be sung in public and how to play guitar. In the process she became her own record company—an intense creative force following her own raw muse. Although her success is based on her genius for going it alone, her most satisfying work comes from collaborations with other talented musicians. In this case co-producer Joe Henry has surrounded her with fine guitar, bass and keyboard players as well as strings on some of the songs. Her material is ever more consistently involving than self-involved and she continues to evolve past her blistering there and back again licks as a guitarist. The only disappointment is that she can’t seem to grow out of her need to occasionally describe her most intimate bodily functions in crude terms. Nonetheless, this is a very accessible foray into DiFranco’s melting pot of jazz, punk, folk and poetry delivered with integrity and scintillating musicianship. —Michael Devlin
Click here for FAME review.
The Grandsons—Party with the Rich
2004, Whirling House Records
A D.C. area band, The Grandsons play whatever can be played on bass, guitar, drums, sax and trumpet. They claim the whimsical/retro side of roots rock for their birthright. Vocals are not The Grandson’s strong point but they more than make up for it with party perfect playing honed by years of live performance. The lyrics of their original songs have enough sly humor to keep you chuckling as you enjoy the groove.—Michael Devlin
King Chubby—Is
2004, Caliente Records
This band is built around the pioneering flute playing of Robert Dick. He is aided by outstanding veteran jazz musicians. The album cover says file under World, Fusion and Instrumental. From the first time I listened to this CD I wondered why I liked it so much. The sound is an ethereal mix of free-form jazz, effect-laden flute and sound effects. This sort of music to my ear is often insular, esoteric and ultimately uninvolving. The difference here is in the force of the compositions and the imaginative virtuoso playing of the musicians. Each band member seems to be stretching the boundaries of their instruments without loosing the threads that hold the songs together. Bassist Mark Egan (formerly of the Pat Methany Group) and drummer Michael D’Agostino lay down a fluid bottom line upon which the others layer unique percussion, reed work and sampled sounds. Spacey at times but often compelling. —Michael Devlin
Ariane Lydon—Still She Moves
2004, Overt Records
From the first notes you know that this is a special album. Ariane Lydon’s voice demands your full attention. It reminds me of Joni Mitchell, supple and rangy but in a lower register and with an earthier appeal. The vocals, melodies and lyrics are intricate and inviting at the same time. Perhaps a key to the quality of the music is Lydon’s musical background that includes being an award winning classical pianist at the age of fourteen and her interest in the music of Chile, the British Isles and American folk. She spent ten years touring and recording with hammered dulcimer player Jem Moore before soloing for two acclaimed albums. Her outstanding guitar and keyboard work is featured on this Celtic flavored album, as well as touches of her harp and bodhran playing. The lush acoustic production is of the same high quality as the rest of this captivating work. You must have this CD, if just to hear the way she turns the traditional “Clementine” into a swirling, pulsing Celtic tune. Essential! —Michael Devlin
Adrienne Young & Little Sadie—Plow to the end of the Row
2004,
The album cover quotes Wendell Berry, poet and novelist whose work celebrates the simple life of the family farm. Adrienne Young & Little Sadie deal with similar themes tracing their musical roots to the fertile ground of authentic American acoustic music. Although Young obviously idolizes music and sensibilities of a simpler time, her style is also very much the product of someone who has grown up in a world dominated by commercial rock. The resulting music is vibrant and appealing, as joyful and idealistic as youth itself. Young sings with smiling abandon and her band plays traditional music with a bright pop sensibility. A remarkable debut from a bright new artist! —Michael Devlin