Reviews: (Click titles to jump to reviews)
Stephen Clair—Under the Bed
Brett Dennen—Brett Dennen
Mark Fisher—4
Free Range Pickin’—Free Range Pickin’
Eliza Gilkyson—Paradise Hotel
Tracy Grammer—Flower of Avalon
Tracy Grammer—The Verdant Mile
Last Train Home—Bound Away
Ladell McLin—Stand Out
Earl Pickens—Country Music Jukebox
Maddy Prior & the Girls—Bib & Tuck
Todd Thibaud—Northern Skies
Various—A Tribute to the Cadillac
Slipcrackers: (Quick reviews of albums that almost slipped through the cracks, but are way to good to let pass without comment.)
Mae Robertson—Smile
Concert Review:
Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Reviews:
Stephen Clair—Under the Bed
Valley Entertainment, 2005
This guy from Northern New York State who now lives in Brooklyn sounds an awful lot like Austin-based James McMurtry…go figure! Or more to the point, go listen. Clair’s songs are often sardonically droll as they get down to business with a catchy hook and a clever phrase. The drawling vocals are perfectly backed by guitar playing that’s liberated by the excellent rhythm section. It’s literate and fun with a funky Americana sound. —Michael Devlin
Brett Dennen—Brett Dennen
This is that rare and wonderful thing—a brilliant debut album from a mature young artist with a sound like nothing you have ever heard. Dennen’s voice sounds like it’s caught somewhere between adolescence and adulthood, but he sings with the idiosyncratic confidence of Van Morrison. His guitar playing crackles with jazzy melody and he has already learned that less means more. Dennen’s unique phrasing syncopates with the playing to make you tap your toes as you absorb his superbly crafted songs. The material is often unabashedly spiritual, invested with down-to-earth intensity and sincerity. Brett Dennen has it all together and the production lets it shine. It’s all that good—essential! —Michael Devlin
Mark Fisher—4
2005, White Noise Records
The “4” refers to the fact that this is the Gardner, Massachusetts native’s fourth album. Acoustic guitar anchors most of the songs but there are also touches of sort of Klesmer clarinet, accordion, banjo, mandolin, marimba and percussion. The songs are often whimsical and witty. As with all topical humor you are doing well when you have more hits than misses and here it works more often than not. Fisher’s friendly, clear vocals are reason enough to take a listen.—Michael Devlin
Free Range Pickin’—Free Range Pickin’
Driving Records, 2004.
The lineup is bluegrass with mandolin, guitar, banjo and upright bass, but instead of high-lonesome, we get fresh-and-friendly. All four of the guys provide bright, pleasant harmonies and the lyrics steer clear of murder and mayhem. Their playing is intricate and crisp in a blend of styles, making this a pleasure to listen to, and surely a real treat to catch live. —Michael Devlin
Eliza Gilkyson—Paradise Hotel
Red House Records 2005
Her previous album on Red House Records garnered a Grammy nomination but you can hardly call her an overnight sensation. Daughter of songwriter Terry Gilkyson, Eliza is a “lifer” as a musician, with a career that goes back to the late Sixties. There really aught to be an adequate genre name for the style of music that this album exemplifies—acoustic based, with tasteful backbeat rhythms from country to rock, dashes of lyrical electric guitar, perfect production and sustaining songwriting. Add to this a dusky voice and a woman who knows how to sing and you have an album you can savor. There are definitely some high points on the album. I’m especially hooked on Gilkyson’s version of World Party’s 1990’s hit “Is It Like Today,” but each song has something special about it. Whether it is a poignant or political lyric, unusual instrumentation or a superb vocal, there is not a song you won’t want to hear again and again. Now that Grammy knows her name, maybe this one will be the winner…oh, what the heck it already is! Essential!–Michael Devlin
Tracy Grammer—Flower of Avalon
2005, Signature Sounds
The folk world was just catching on to the incomparable music Tracy Grammer made with her “partner in all things” Dave Carter, when he died in July of 2002 at the age of 49. Dave’s uniquely poetic songwriting alchemizes the common man with spiritual and cosmic themes and together Dave and Tracy created eminently listenable, endlessly explorable songs. This is an album of mostly unrecorded Dave Carter songs. Even though John Jennings’ co-production gives a sound similar to some of Mary Chapin Carpenter’s work, Grammer’s nuanced vocals and instrumentals are the centerpiece of this beautiful album. Dave and Tracy’s fans awaited this album like a loved one’s message from beyond the grave. Tracy delivers the message, which includes a couple of songs that seemed to have been written with the knowledge that they would be needed to comfort Dave’s grieving friends. Flower of Avalon is a tribute to eternal love and music and lives up to the legacy of the duo’s other albums as it further establishes Tracy’s solo career. Essential! —Michael Devlin
Tracy Grammer—The Verdant Mile
2004
This is the second studio album from Tracy Grammer since the passing of her partner Dave Carter in July of 2002. Recorded in June of 2004, this seven track EP was recorded after Flower of Avalon, an album whose release was delayed until 2005 due to legal issues. It is an acoustic project with talented multi-instrumentalist Jim Henry. Tracy shines on songs by Kieran Kane, Carole King, Neil Diamond, Emory Gordy Jr. and Jim Henry. Grammer wrote the title track and also arranged two traditional tunes. It is certainly affirming to hear Tracy in top form, performing the songs of others, but the most memorable song is “The Verdant Mile.” “The Verdant Mile” refers to the “mythical place I go to reconcile with the rivers I cannot turn.” [T.G. from the liner notes.] Either Tracy Grammer has been a great songwriter all along or she has watched and learned a lot from Dave Carter. The song explores powerful emotions with a catchy uplifting melody that sings well in the hearts of all who loved Dave. Hopefully, Tracy will continue to write her own songs even after she has helped to heal us all. Essential! —Michael Devlin
Last Train Home—Bound Away
2005, Blue Buffalo Records
When I visited their web site I was surprised to see that they bill themselves as alt-country. Alt-country can account for the no-nonsense approach to playing electric guitars and drums, but this band shines in so many other ways. Lead singer Eric Brace has an attention grabbing voice that reminds me a bit of John Gorka, and the band’s tracks run through the edges of funky rock and moody jazz, stopping only briefly in the country. The songs are memorable and the production is full without sacrificing the clarity of instruments that range from acoustic and electric guitars to trumpet and saxophone. The amazing Jeff Lang sits in for a few cuts on Resophonic and electric guitars. Whatever you call their style, there’s a lot going on and they’ve got it all together! Essential! —Michael Devlin
Ladell McLin—Stand Out
Gigantic Music, 2005
Ladell McLin fronts a power trio and with a sound that will instantly remind you of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. His voice and phrasing will make you think he’s related to Jimi by blood (complete with an “Excuse me” before he launches into a sole), and his songwriting often sounds like he’s stumbled upon a trove of Hendrix’ unrecorded work. The guitar playing reveals the influences of a wide range of blues players including Budy Guy. Don’t expect Jimi’s mind-bending inventiveness, but McLin plays and sings from the gut. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more charismatic, dazzling, blistering blues-rocker anywhere. Essential!
Earl Pickens—Country Music Jukebox
2005, Kill Buffalo
With his name, the album title and his picture with a big white hat on the album cover, there are three wrong assumptions to get over before you hear the first note. He’s from Brooklyn by way of a punk adolescence, this isn’t traditional country and he won’t be heard on commercial country radio. Rock and roll informs the way he plays acoustic guitar and the vocal influences are too numerous to list. Reviews of his live shows reveal a charismatic showman, which explains why the performances on this album have enough chutzpa to command your attention without volume or percussion. The lyrics are worth a quiet listen, even after the songs hook you on the first go round. An unusually appealing debut. —Michael Devlin
Maddy Prior & the Girls—Bib & Tuck
Park Records, 2002
Maddy Prior is best know for her work with the influential British folk/rock band Steeleye Span and duet work with June Tabor. Here she is joined by two young women, her daughter, vocalist Rose Kemp and Abbie Lathe, an accomplished vocalist, guitar and whistle player and pianist. The women harmonize beautifully on a nice range of traditional to pop tunes, in arrangements that are often pared down to a cappella or the accompaniment of a single instrument. The second half of the album consists of songs themed to the 17th century Cotton Triangle that brought Africans as slaves to the fields of the Southern US and cotton to the British fabric mills. Along with the expected traditional arrangements in this song cycle, we find a gorgeous version of Paul Simon’s “Homeless.” The variety of the material and the mastery of the musicians makes this a rewarding listen from start to finish. —Michael Devlin
Todd Thibaud—Northern Skies
2004, 95 North Recording Corporation
Todd Thibaud’s (pronounced Tee-bo) agreeable sound is somewhere between pop and alt-country. Electric guitars and drums dominate the catchy tunes. Every once in a while you hear a Neil Young influence. The musicians are solid, anchored by Dave Mattacks on drums. —Michael Devlin
Various—A Tribute to the Cadillac
95 North Recording Company, 2005
Cadillacs are not just mentioned in passing, but they are usually the main character in each song. The metaphor wears as thin as the driver’s seat of a twenty-year-old car, but it’s a mighty good excuse for some great honkin’ roots rock. Notable names include Kim Wilson, Maria Muldaur, Charlie Musselwhite, Rory Block, Rosie Flores and Jim Lauderdale. Most of the lesser-knowns also take you for a quality ride. This CD should be standard equipment on the deluxe models. —Michael Devlin
Slipcracker:
Mae Robertson—Smile
Lyric Partners, 2002
Perhaps best known for her adult-friendly children’s albums recorded with Don Jackson, Mae Robertson is also a fine songwriter and performer of songs for grown-ups. Smile is a collection of songs written by others, and why not, when you can choose material from the likes of Kate Campbell, Tom Kimmel, Lucinda Williams, Johnny Cash, Randy Newman, Gillian Welch and others. Her interpretations are as easy and welcome as the smile of a loved one. Her soft, clear voice is supported by top musicians playing diverse instruments in gentle arrangements. Paul Simon’s “American Tune,” reinvented with harmonium, concertina and a gospel choir will bring tears to your eyes. Essential!
Concert Review:
Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Chapin Rainbow Stage—Heckscher Park
Huntington, New York
They had every reason to put on a lousy show. Lead singer and fiddle player, Rani Arbo and percussionist Scott Kessel’s toddler was with them but not feeling well. Acoustic bass player Andrew Kinsey endures having his young family stay at home when he hits the road. The band’s van broke down shortly after getting off the ferry in Port Jefferson. The repair and rental of another vehicle surely robbed the gig of any monetary benefit. The crowd on this pleasant summer night was disappointing, mostly local people who come no matter who plays because the shows are free. Yes, they had every reason to make a perfunctory run through a few of their songs and rush back home, but they are apparently incapable of being less than sensational.
Rani and Andrew are alumni of Salamander Crossing, a New England-based bluegrass band whose music was always more centered on the excellence of the material rather than the speed of the playing. Daisy Mayhem adds Scott Kessel, a dynamic force on the “Drumship Enterprise,” a drumkit made from odds and ends ranging from suitcases to cookie tins. It’s no gimmick—the sounds he gets out of his stuff are funky and perfect for the widely varied material. Anad Nayak, plays various acoustic and resophonic guitars and provides yet another dimension to the wonderful harmonies and lead singing.
Daisy Mayhem’s repertoire features fresh perspectives on music ranging from Appalachian, to swing, to modern folk music. The songs are more often gathered than written by members of the band. Rani is particularly adept at this, finding and interpreting songs with one of the most beautiful and expressive voices you will ever hear. Her fiddle playing, always a compelling companion to her sublime voice, seems more nuanced than ever. Andrew’s bass continues to be a driving force to the sound and his robust baritone vocals have grown in confidence. The harmonies, especially between Rani and Andrew have attained the effortless quality that comes from years of singing together. When all four sing “God Bless the Moonshiner” a cappella, it takes your breath away.
Most of the songs they played were from their latest album, Gambling Eden, and unless I missed something, there were no songs from the Salamander Crossing days. Except for a small contingent from the Folk Music Society of Huntington who had hosted Daisy Mayhem a few years ago, all the songs were new to most of the audience. Brisk business at the sales table after the show indicates that this likeable and talented band won a surprising number of fans from the Thursday night free concert crowd. Daisy Mayhem is a special band, so get to a show and bring everyone you know!—Michael Devlin