CD reviews, April 2013

It's been a while since I reviewed anything here -- life keeps getting in the way -- but I figured I could fit some quick reviews into my time constraints. The goal is to do this once monthly, and I'll start with a couple of things I got to a bit late but are worth commenting on.

Rodriguez, Searching for Sugar Man (Original Motion Picture Soundrack) (Sony Legacy, 2012): Detroit folksinger Sixto Rodriguez fell straight through the cracks in his home country, but thanks to bootlegging he had developed a big following among apartheid opponents in South Africa. The movie (which gets an A+ simply for telling an amazing story that happens to be entirely true) tells how a pair of South African music journalists tried to find any information on what happened to him, ultimately found out that he was still alive, and brought him to South Africa to do some shows. The scene in the film where Rodriguez gets wildly cheered by an audience he never knew he had, and the audience gets to embrace a much-loved performer whom they had assumed for decades was dead, is as poignant as cinema gets. The music from the film comes mainly from Rodriguez's two studio albums Cold Fact (1970) and Coming from Reality (1971), but includes a couple of previously un-released songs from that era as well. Perhaps his best music doesn't match the best protest songs of Bob Dylan or Phil Ochs, but the simple fact that Rodriguez deserves to mentioned in the same sentence as the elite folk singers of that era makes his complete obscurity unfathomable. This soundtrack shows that Rodriguez had a number of really good songs whose power and relevance have not diminished in the four decades since they were written. To name one example, the song "Cause" is a product of inner-city Detroit in the early seventies, but the lines about corporate bosses taking home their bonus pay after exploiting their employees, or the powers that be giving a medal to replace a woman's son, still hit the mark today. It should never have taken a documentary so long after the fact to give Rodriguez an audience in this country, but at least we have the opportunity now to hear and appreciate some very worthy music. Overall grade: A

Mumford & Sons, Babel (Glass Note, 2012): When I reviewed their 2009 debut CD Sigh No More, Mumford & Sons struck me as an OK band that would appeal to fans of The Pogues. Now that their follow-up Babel has sold over 2 million copies in the U. S. and won a grammy for Album of the Year, I think it's safe to say that I underestimated their ability to connect with mainstream audiences. I had been somewhat critical of the first CD for their over-reliance on dramatic shifts of mood and tempo in the middle of each song, and even on Babel that criticism still holds. Their energy is undeniable, however, and songs like "I Will Wait" and "Hopeless Wanderer" show that the band can really soar when the spirit moves them. I'm still baffled that these guys are getting so much mainstream airplay, but hey, getting a decent write-up from me shouldn't disqualify a group from making a buck or two, should it? Overall grade: B+

Sarah Jarosz, Follow Me Down (Sugar Hill, 2011)

Despite being only 20, Texan native Sarah Jarosz has already built up a sizable following among bluegrass fans with her pure voice and instrumental virtuosity. She recorded her second album, called Follow Me Down, while simultaneously preparing for her second year of college. Saying that Follow Me Down reflects a maturity beyond Jarosz' years might sound like a cliché, but Jarosz is already a first-rate performer on the mandolin, octave mandolin, and banjo, and her songrwriting does not lag that far behind.

Plucked strings dominate the sound of Follow Me Down. Jarosz plays the octave mandolin more than anything else, but she also plays regular mandolin, banjo, and guitar. Her skill as a player is particularly evident on the traditional-sounding "Annabelle Lee" and the blistering instrumental "Old Smitty." Jarosz gets help from some familiar guests as well; Shawn Colvin sings backup on the opening song "Run Away," and Bela Fleck's very busy banjo really spices up the single-worthy "Come Around." While most of the songs are original compositions, Jarosz does like to sprinkle in a few covers. The most notable of these is a Tennessee waltz arrangement of Radiohead's "The Tourist"; it's certain to catch listeners off guard, but I take that as a good thing.

Ultimately, though, this is an album made by and for people who like the sound of a good strum -- and if you're one of those people, Follow Me Down comes strongly recommended. Sarah Jarosz may still be in school, but she has the chops of a seasoned veteran. The sky is the limit for her right now, and I look forward to hearing where she goes next.

Overall grade: A-

reviewed by Scott

A live performance of "Come Around"

Carolina Chocolate Drops, Genuine Negro Jig (Nonesuch, 2010)

Carolina Chocolate Drops are an old-time folk group from Durham, North Carolina. At the time of the release of their third album Genuine Negro Jig in 2010, their line-up consisted of Justin Robinson (fiddle, vocals, percussion), Rhiannon Giddens (banjo, fiddle, kazoo, vocals), and Dom Flemons (banjo, guitar percussion, vocals). The album is an intriguing mix of folk standards and more contemporary compositions, done in a quaint but charming style evoking the old black South.

The songs and tunes on Genuine Negro Jig span a broad range of times and places. The title tune (not a jig by the Celtic definition) is an American tune from the 19th century, while "Reynardine" is a traditional English folk ballad. The band learned "Cindy Gal" from a black North Carolina fiddler in his nineties. On the more contemporary side, "Trampled Rose" is a Tom Waits cover, and "Kissin' and Cussin'" is an original composition from Robinson.

The old songs have a distinctive rustic charm to them, especially "Your Baby Ain't Sweet Like Mine." This song, originally written and performed by early 20th-century bluesman Papa Charlie Jackson, has the kind of chorus that will make you sing along with it -- perhaps deliberately, perhaps in spite of yourself, but you'll be singing along with it regardless. The album hits its best stride, though, when Giddens picks up the fiddle. "Hit 'em Up Style" is a fun song about getting even with a cheating boyfriend, but Giddens' superbly rhythmic fiddling of the melody over a drone backed by a banjo and some beatbox percussion really elevates the song to a higher level than any other track on the album. (The fact that it's a cover of a hip-hop song I probably wouldn't have listened to twice makes it even more impressive.)

Carolina Chocolate Drops may come across at face value as a band that got stuck in a time machine and popped out a century later in the present day. Having said that, I found their passion for old music and complete lack of pretense both refreshing and appealing. The band is in a state of flux right now, as Justin Robinson has moved on and two musicians have been brought in to take his place. But Genuine Negro Jig is a worthy effort, and I'm confident that the group will continue to make interesting and fun music in the future.

Overall grade: B+

reviewed by Scott

"Hit 'em Up Style"

Nick Drake, Way to Blue (Island, 1994)

For somebody who passed away in near complete obscurity over thirty-five years ago, Nick Drake has shown a remarkable ability to not go away.  His following in English folk music circles has steadily increased with each passing year, while a number of TV commercials featuring his music have introduced him to mainstream audiences.  I've had his compilation CD Way to Blue for quite some time, but the recent AT&T commercial that used his song "From the Morning" made me go back and give it a few more listens. So if you were wondering who that singer is, I'll try to make a long story short.

Pathologically shy and clinically depressed, Nick Drake didn't exactly possess star quality.  He did have a talent for the guitar, though, and the ability to express his feelings lyrically.  Joe Boyd, a pioneering figure in the English folk scene of the late sixties who had taken bands like Fairport Convention and Pentangle under his wing, recognized Drake's talent and got him signed to Island.  Working with Drake was a challenge for Boyd, however.  For Drake's 1969 debut Five Leaves Left, Boyd backed Drake's guitar and voice with some light orchestration, and also got some help from Fairport Convention's lead guitarist Richard Thompson and Pentangle's bassist Danny Thompson.  (The two Thompsons are not related, but they have since worked together on many different occasions over the years.)  The combination worked well, at least artistically.  Drake's melancholy voice suited his songs well, and the arrangements didn't detract from his singing and playing.  Highlights from this album which made the compilation include the quietly emotional "Cello Song" and the haunting "River Man."  "Way to Blue," featuring just Drake's voice over orchestration, has a dark feel very reminiscent of Billie Holliday's "Gloomy Sunday."  There is a definite jazz influence in Drake's writing, and I can really picture "Way to Blue" being covered like an old jazz standard. Danny Thompson's jazz sensibility proved to be beneficial on the songs where he plays, most noticeably the song "Time Has Told Me."  Despite a healthy number of good songs, Five Leaves Left was a very poor seller.  Island grew frustrated with Drake's inability to promote his own music.  His live shows were characterized by long gaps between songs, during which Drake would obsess over the precision of the tuning without engaging the audience in any way.  Attempts to interview him didn't fare any better, as Drake tended to put people off with his distant, indifferent attitude.

For Drake's next album Bryter Layter, Boyd opted for a fuller band sound in the hopes that a livelier record would get more attention.  Boyd's intentions were good, but the approach backfired.  While the album included a number of strong songs like "One of These Things First," touches like backing singers and horn sections took Drake completely out of his element.  Even with the nice romantic ballad "Northern Sky" serving as a viable single, Bryter Layter didn't even fare as well as its predecessor.  By this point, Island was only as willing to promote Drake as much as Drake promoted himself -- and since Drake wasn't capable of promoting himself, that meant he got no help.

Drake continued to write songs, but he was living with his parents, abusing drugs, and otherwise not functioning particularly well.  He recorded Pink Moon, on which only he performed, over a couple of days in 1972, and dropped the finished masters off at the Island office late on a Friday.  Nobody at Island even knew he was working on an album, and the tapes sat unattended until Monday morning.  Predictably, the album disappeared almost as quickly as it was released, but it was Drake's most compelling work.  The title song, "Things Behind the Sun," and "From the Morning" show Drake's songwriting at its most lyrical, and the absence of accompaniment fit Drake's style far better than any of the more elaborate arrangements on the first two records did.

Drake returned to the studio one last time in 1974 to record four new songs, of which "Black-Eyed Dog" is included on the compilation.  Bare and unnerving, "Black-Eyed Dog" comes across as the work of somebody losing his grip.  Drake succumbed to an overdose of his prescription drugs later that year.  And yet, the story didn't end there.

Way to Blue closes with a song off of Five Leaves Left called "Fruit Tree," on which Nick Drake identifies himself with the (arguably stereotypical) starving artists who have to die before their work gets appreciated. "Fruit tree, fruit tree, open your eyes to another year. They'll all know that you were here when you're gone." Drake seemed resigned to his fate from the beginning of his career, if not much earlier.  Given the universally sympathetic response that Maggie Boyle has received, it does seem that audiences are more willing today to look past a person's psychiatric issues to appreciate his or equally obvious talent. Nick Drake, unfortunately, was a product of the wrong time.

Nick Drake the person will always remain shrouded in mystery. Even those closest to him say they never really knew him. But I guess everything you really need to know about him is contained in his music. Way to Blue contains a number of beautifully written songs that deserve to be remembered.

Overall grade: A

reviewed by Scott

A very nice photo montage set to "One of These Things First"

William Pint and Felicia Dale, The Set of the Sail (Waterbug, 2007)

William Pint (guitar, vocals) and Felicia Dale (hurdy gurdy, fiddle, vocals) are a folk duo based in the Pacific Northwest. They specialize in performing folk and Medieval ballads about sailors and seafaring. Their latest album of stories of the sea is called The Set of the Sail.

Pint and Dale keep things basic and simple, and the approach works pretty well. Most of the arrangements only need two instruments, although a few guests do appear on the record. There's no gimmickry anywhere on The Set of the Sail; nor does the duo stray from the nautical theme. In other words, what you see is exactly what you get.

The Set of the Sail contains a bunch of decent songs, along with a couple of very good ones in "Go from My Window" and "The Dreadnought." The performances are more solid than spectacular. I'd rate it as a pretty good folk album, although if you're partial to sea songs or to the sound of the hurdy gurdy you might like this album a lot.

Overall grade: B

reviewed by Scott

Kate Rusby, Awkward Annie (Pure Records, 2007)

She may have an enviably youthful appearance and demeanor, but South Yorkshire native Kate Rusby has been part of the English folk scene for over fifteen years. Rusby has built her reputation with an endearing combination of rustic Engligh charm and one of the sweetest voices in all of music. On her latest album, called Awkward Annie, she mixes traditional songs with a bunch of her own compostions, maintaining the standard of quality she has set for herself.

While her voice dominates the proceedings, Rusby benefits from a stellar core of supporting musicians, including multi-instrumentalist John McCusker, guitarists Ian Carr and John Doyle, Chris Thile from the fine American band Nickel Creek, and several members of the renowned Scottish group Capercaillie. The song styles range from Rusby's trademark sad ballads to more lighthearted, humorous songs. The darker material might not be for everybody, but Rusby is skilled at capturing the emotion of a song, and her voice makes any melody sound golden. I'm a bit more partial to the humorous pieces, though, particularly "The Old Man," a song about a farmer and his wife who trade roles for a day. (Spoiler alert: the husband gets the worse of it.) My favorite track on Awkward Annie is actually the bonus track, a cover of The Kinks' "The Village Green Preservation Society." Ray Davies has always had a more distinctively English lyrical style than any of his rock contemporaries, and this song in particular just seems like it was meant for a good folksinger to sing.

Kate Rusby was a delight to see perform when I saw her in Manhattan a few years back. Awkward Annie reflects the same combination of laughter, emotion, and grace that makes Rusby worth seeing in person.

Overall grade: B

reviewed by Scott

An interview with Kate Rusby, followed by a performance of the old folk standard "Blooming Heather" which she recorded for this album.

Mark Fry, Dreaming with Alice (Sunbeam Records, 2006 re-issue, originally released 1972)

About a month ago I reviewed Shooting the Moon, the second album by the intriguing English musician Mark Fry. Part of what makes Mark Fry so intriguing is that his sophomore effort followed a mere thirty-six years after his debut, Dreaming with Alice. Fry was studying art in Italy in 1972, and a friend set him up in a recoding studio in Rome to cut an album with a handful of musician friends whose names Fry has long since forgotten. The original LP never got released outside of Italy, but somehow the album's reputation spread by word of mouth, and for fans of psychedelic folk the album is considered a classic. Bootleg versions popped up all over the place, and copies of the original release have sold for over $2000 at auction. Fry, meanwhile, tried unsuccessfully to get a record deal back home in England, and has spent most of his life between traveling and making a living selling his paintings in France. While he had long stopped pursuing music professionally, he enthusiastically lent his support and participation when Sunbeam Records re-issued Dreaming with Alice in 2006. Thirty-four years after its recording, it was officially released outside of Italy for the very first time.

After listening to Dreaming with Alice, it's not hard to figure out why the album appeals so strongly to a specific group of music listeners. Fry's style on this recording evokes performers like Donovan and Syd Barrett, with all the hippie mysticism and other accessories (legal and otherwise) which that implies. But if you're into psychedelic music, especially with acoustic guitars, then you'll find much to like on Dreaming with Alice. The music is as dreamlike and trance-inducing as the album's title implies, but it is also quite melodic. The title song is unique in that its nine verses are not played together, but with one verse at a time prefacing each of the other tracks. The playing, considering it was done in an inferior studio (the soundproofing was so poor they couldn't use drums), is remarkably solid and tight as well. The highlight for me is a six-minute song called "The Witch," a steady, determined jam that makes as good a use of the sitar in a rock context as any song outside of "Norwegian Wood."

Dreaming with Alice probably won't please everybody. For reasons both good and bad, hippie music doesn't quite have universal appeal, or even as broad an audience it had when this album was made. But this album is an excellent example of its genre, worthy of the cult reputation it has garnered. As for Mark Fry, he has as remarkable a story as any singer I'm aware of, and his copious liner notes are as fascinating as the music is. I have no idea how often he goes back to Wonderland to visit Alice these days, but as long as he brings some good music back with him I'm OK with it.

Overall grade: A-

reviewed by Scott

Anna Ternheim, Halfway to Fivepoints (Decca, 2008)

A couple of months ago, Anna Ternheim released a self-titled EP which I reviewed very favorably here. The six songs on Anna Ternheim were gleaned from two full-length albums and a handful of EP's that have been available in her native Sweden and the rest of Europe for a while, but the EP was her debut American release. A full-length album and tour were promised for the spring, and Halfway to Fivepoints came out in late April. Most of the songs on Halfway to Fivepoints were also previously released in Europe, but a few tracks are new. But the album reflects the same remarkable songwriting ability that caused me to rate the EP so highly.

Everything I say about Anna Ternheim needs to come with the disclaimer that all her songs come from a very dark place. Ternheim's work follows in the footsteps of the early recordings of Sarah McLachlan and Beth Orton, in that she taps into emotional depths that most people would just as soon pretend aren't there. However, despite English not being her native language, Ternheim combines a stark lyrical directness with a great poetic sensibility, to a degree that McLachlan and Orton can't match. The subject matter of the lyrics is often quite intense, and Ternheim frequently sings from the perspective of characters who don't necessarily reflect herself or are even admirable. On "Bridges," for example, Ternheim takes on the role of the controlling person in a very unhealthy relationship. On "Such A Lonely Soul," the woman in the song contemplates how to keep her lover's wife in the dark about what's going on. "Why trouble her lonely soul, she doesn't have to know, why tell her, it would hurt her so," Ternheim sings with no small amount of irony. Even the happiest song on the album, "Today Is a Good Day," is about a break-up.

Musically, Ternheim and producer Andreas Dählback aim for a cross between folk and alternative. Ternheim generally sounds more in her element on the quieter material, both with her own compositions and with her cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies." Like her cover of "China Girl" on the EP, Ternheim sings "Little Lies" in her own distinct style, and the cover is both radically different from, and considerably more compelling than, the original. On the album's best track "No Subtle Men," Ternheim sings about continuing to turn suitors away even though she's not so young anymore, and the conflict of emotions that result. By contrast, the arrangements on the album's rock songs don't always do the lyrics justice. "To Be Gone," an otherwise strong song about teenage depression, felt too retrained to be, while the electric version of "Lovers Dream" sounds cluttered compared to the stunning orchestrated acoustic version the was released on the EP.

In fact, despite having twice as many songs as the EP, Halfway to Fivepoints isn't quite as good. The EP's two strongest songs, "I'll Follow You Tonight" and "My Secret," are both better than anything included here. I also didn't see the point of having two songs overlap on both releases, and I'm really sorry they didn't include the song "Better Be" that I've seen on YouTube. Having said all that, Halfway to Fivepoints is still a solid release, full of extremely well written but very challenging, unnerving songs that are both beautiful and brutal in their emotional impact.

Overall grade: A-

reviewed by Scott

The Ditty Bops, Summer Rains (The Green Witch Society, 2008)

The Ditty Bops, comprised of lovers Amanda Barrett (vocals, mandolin, ukulele) and Abby DeWald (vocals, guitar), are making an excellent musical career for themselves despite, or perhaps because of, their consistent defiance of expectations and any easy categorization. Their combination of century-old musical styles, quirky but clever lyrics, fiendishly catchy melodies, and gorgeous harmonies earned their second album Moon Over the Freeway the #1 spot on my top 10 albums of 2006. With their new effort Summer Rains, The Ditty Bops continue to move to the beat of their own drum, and they have another great assortment of songs to show for it.

While a bit more laid back than its predecessors, Summer Rains follows the same general approach to what The Ditty Bops have done in the past. Most of the top-notch supporting cast has returned, including co-producer/keyboardist Mitchell Froom, ace ragtime pianist Greg Rutledge, and drummer Pete Thomas from Elvis Costello's Attractions and Impostors. The one significant addition to the sessions for the new album is guest vocalist Jesca Hoop, who adds a third part to the harmonies on two songs. About half of Summer Rains consists of love songs written in the style of old (i.e., Jazz Age if not earlier) pop standards, but with the rest of the album Barrett and DeWald take on a number of different topics with their lyrics. "Skinny Bones" is a rousing celebration, in the spirit of the hot club jazz of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli, of being under-endowed. The bluesy "What Happened to the Radio" is pretty self-explanatory (although Pete Thomas has played on at least one better song covering the same topic). The Ditty Bops go country on "Because We Do," a sarcastic song about passively accepting things as they are. The folksy "I Feel from the Outside In" deals with being misunderstood, and "The Weeds Are Winning" is a satirical assessment of the rat race and the lifestyle that goes with it. And on the poignant closing song "Sugar and Spice," Barrett and DeWald wonder what little girls are really made of.

Having said that, the real strength of Summer Rains comes from The Ditty Bops' superior sense of song craftsmanship, even as their style generally evokes a distant past. All the songs are melodic and eminently singable (try not singing along to the chorus of "All Over You," and see how far you get), and feature Barrett and DeWald's trademark harmonies. It wouldn't be to hard to envision songs like "When's She Coming Home" or the deviously romantic single "I Stole Your Wishes" being popular hits from a bygone age, at least if you imagine they are being sung from a man's perspective. But that's the essence of The Ditty Bops' music -- they can be completely charming and boldly subversive at the same time.

In an idealized world where pop music actually required melody, catchiness, and clever lyrics, The Ditty Bops would be considered elite pop artists. As it stands, they're somewhere to the left of alternative. While I suppose that's too bad, their music is there for everybody who wants to hear it. And Summer Rains, like its two predecessors, is well worth hearing.

(The album is currently available, to the best of my knowledge, only on The Ditty Bops' website. You can purchase downloads of the songs, or buy the CD. The CD booklet comes with some pop-up art, although whether or not you think the extra pictures and artwork are worth the money will most likely ultimately depend on how highly you value frontal nudity on the inside of a CD booklet.)

Overall grade: A

reviewed by Scott

Mark Fry, Shooting the Moon (Bourdidlebaby, 2008)

In 1972, a English teenager studying art in Italy named Mark Fry brought his guitar into a recording studio and cut an album. Heavy on the reverb and chock full of cryptic imagery, Dreaming With Alice never got released outside of Italy and seemed destined for utter obscurity. And yet, for fans of psychedelic folk music, finding a copy of this album is like discovering the Lost Ark. The fact that information on the album, plus a couple of recordings off of it, can be easily obtained with a simple Google search indicates that at least a few people think Dreaming With Alice is worth remembering. As for Fry, he's been hanging out mainly in France, doing more painting than anything else. But I guess he decided that thirty-six years was enough time to keep his fans waiting for a follow-up. Fry's sophomore effort, called Shooting the Moon, came out earlier this year.

Shooting the Moon places Fry squarely in the singer-songwriter genre. The music focuses on Fry and his guitar, with mostly light accompaniment. It does not have the hypnotic dreaminess of its predecessor. After hearing a couple of tracks off Dreaming with Alice (hear them for yourself here), I decided that there was something unique and strangely compelling about the sound of that album which the more mundane new recording could have used. I was struck, however, by a comment I read in a review of the first album about Fry possessing an "honest likeability" that makes the songs work. If anything remains unchanged for Fry all these years later, it's that there's something endearing about the guy. The lyrics sound like the work of a man who's been a bit down on his luck romantically, but Fry comes across as refreshingly real and believable, and you find yourself rooting for him. Fry's songs are unassuming and unpretentious, and it almost feels when you listen to Shooting the Moon like he's sitting next to you at a bar discussing life over a few drinks.

I like Shooting the Moon for the most part. Like I've said about several albums I've reviewed though, I'm worried that whatever chances the album may have for a commercial breakthrough are likely to be undone, ironically and unfortunately, by the album's consistency. Every song is pretty good, but there's no great standout track that can force its way onto the radio or people's hard drives. Still, if you like honest, down-to-earth songwriting, Shooting the Moon has plenty to recommend it.

Overall grade: B

reviewed by Scott

Anna Ternheim (Decca Records, 2007)

Although Swedish songstress Anna Ternheim has released two full-length albums in Europe, this self-titled EP is her first American release. This EP may only have six songs running twenty-three minutes, but it was enough to convince me that Anna Ternheim is one of the best singer-songwriters going right now.

The album opens with a song called "Lovers Dream (Naked Version)." An alternate version, for which a video exists, was a single off of Ternheim's 2006 album Separation Road. The arrangement for this version consists only of an acoustic guitar and some orchestration beneath the vocals, but the overall effect is simply stunning. The shifting between major and minor keys, combined with some complex chord progressions, evokes some of Nick Drake's stronger material and carries a similar emotional potency. Ternheim's voice is a bit dry, but she really knows how to write melodies that not only bring out the best qualities in her singing, but enable her to effectively haunt the listener without overextending her vocal range. The second song "Bridges" is the EP's one new track. While this song features a more standard rock backing than the first one, the lyrics are actually a bit disturbing; Ternheim assumes the perspective of a person on the controlling end of what is clearly not a healthy relationship. The dissonant arrangement and harsh electric guitar further enhance the song's creepy, unsettling feel. The irony continues with "Today Is A Good Day," a happy breakup song that was another single off of Separation Road. Again, Ternheim shows a mastery of chordal structure well beyond her experience.

On "I'll Follow You Tonight," a single off her first album Somebody Outside, Ternheim sings about sticking with somebody one night longer, against her own better judgement. In addition to having a great melody in her distinctive style, this song reflects a remarkable sense of poetic balance, especially coming from a writer whose first language is not English. "And I'll follow you to any doorstep, any hallway, with hope of finding more, and not get shallow, not get bored, and find it useless, feeling meaningless, and just as low as I was high the night before." The EP also includes one cover, David Bowie's "China Girl." Ternheim does the song her way, not only bearing little similarity beyond the words to the original, but almost making you think that Bowie had intended for her to sing it all along. The last and most accessible song on the disc is "My Secret," also off of Somebody Outside. Even with an uncharacteristically positive love song, Ternheim seems to be cognizant of the risks involved. Still, this song is very catchy and singable.

Like Beth Orton, Anna Ternheim is not the kind of singer you go to when you're in the mood for some feel-good fluff. An evidently displeased poster below a YouTube video of another of her songs suggested that "People that can write such lyrics should be locked up." But I've always found dark music to be therapeutic, and the songs on this EP compare favorably with Orton's best songs. Given how highly I regard Orton's albums like Central Reservation and Daybreaker, that's saying a hell of a lot. I wouldn't rate Anna Ternheim quite as highly as I'd rate Pina, my favorite performer of the decade, at least not yet -- the originality in Pina's music and vocals still takes the cake. But Anna Ternheim is the superior lyricist, and like Pina she has a scary amount of raw talent. This EP would have been no worse than #2 on my top 10 list for 2007, and it already sets the bar for 2008 pretty high.

Overall grade: A

reviewed by Scott

The 2008 Zlatne Uste Golden Festival, Good Shepherd School, Inwood NY, January 19, 2008

Once again, swarms of people converged on Good Shepherd School on the northern tip of Manhattan on a cold night in January to play, dance, and listen to many hours of music at the edition of the Zlatne Uste Golden Festival. The Festival has reached a level of popularity that required the organizers to limit the number of people who could be in the building at a given moment. Still, all three levels were quite packed. The music began at six and ended well after midnight. The audience consisted of a well-blended mixture of veteran participants in the local folk dancing scene and younger people eager some of the many exciting Balkan and Eastern-influenced bands populating the City today. And as usual, everybody appeared to get what they came for.

The Golden Room, on the middle floor, is reserved for the performers who required only a small amount of amplification. My group, the NY Spelmanslag, has made a habit of opening the show in this room. It's not a high-profile slot to say the least, but we can then relax and enjoy the whole rest of the evening without any worries. Our set appeared to go over well.


Shortly following us was a sister act. The Rosen Sisters are ace young fiddlers and dancers whose repertoire stretches from Balkan to Irish to Swedish to Glen Miller. They also wore tap shoes and did some synchronized choreography while fiddling. Their talent and charm made them a hit with the audience, which was still only a fraction of its eventual size at this point.


The Golden Room turned out to be the room to camp out in for the early hours of Golden Fest. Most of the focus at Golden Fest is on music from the Balkan region. Like most of the Balkan countries, Hungary has a distinctive tradition in instrumental folk music, complete with fiddles heavy on the vibrato and coarse, scraping bass lines. NA Folk are a Brooklyn trio who play Hungarian village music, featuring Jake Shulman-Ment of the mighty Romashka (they played later) on fiddle. They played a solid set in the Golden Room as well; fans of bands like Muzsikás would be impressed by them.

Besides the generally aggressive instrumental traditions instrumentals, there are plenty of singing traditions in the Balkans as well, most notably Bulgarian women's singing. Plenty of
women's vocal groups perform at Golden Fest each year, but Svitanya from Philadelphia have generally been the best of these groups, and were so again this year. While primarily a capella, this year the group branched out a bit and played instruments on one of the songs in their set.

The highlight of my many years of attending Golden Fest came two years ago when I discovered the amazing percussionist Raquy Danziger, so when I found out that her group Raquy and the Cavemen were playing a fairly early slot in the Golden Room, I made sure to secure a good seat ahead of time. Indeed, I've never seen that room as packed as it was for her performance. And the crowd loved every minute.

Whether all four musicians were drumming, or Raquy was playing a melody on an Arabic fiddle called a kemenche, the band had the audience mesmerized. Raquy would already be a major star in a better world, but she's definitely a performer to be reckoned with, and you have to go see her if she's playing nearby.

The main auditorium was tightly packed for most of the night. At least it was while I was there. But with the host band Zlatne Uste just starting as I left close to midnight, and Romashka and Slavic Soul Party! following, the crowd wasn't going to disperse too quickly. As always, the floor of the auditorium was filled with people dancing in concentric rings, and generally having a good time regardless of who was playing on stage. Merita Halili & the Raif Hyseni Band, shown here, specialize in Albanian folk music. Despite the language difference, plenty of people in the audience were singing along with them, including plenty of young people.

And I think the ability to lure in young people in addition to the veterans of the City's folk-dancing scene has kept the Golden Festival a massive success for twenty-three years running, and arguably the major musical gathering event on the calendar for those who know about it. Like I said last year, there is definitely a scene for Balkan-flavored music in the City, especially coming out of Brooklyn. The music is fun and creative, and even exciting in some cases, and the scene has more than enough going for it to start spreading. I was definitely encouraged to see the Luminescent Orchestrii become the first of the Brooklyn bands, at least that I'm aware of, to make it out to Long Island just this past weekend when they played at Huntington's Last Licks Café. They definitely shouldn't be the last.

reviewed by Scott

Alamaailman Vasarat, Maahan (Silenze, 2007)

Alamaailman Vasarat is a Finnish phrase meaning "hammer of the gods." It is also the name of a Finnish band that mixes genres like Balkan and klezmer with jazz and heavy metal. The band's instrumentation consists of winds, horns, drums, keyboards, and two cellos that are distorted like electric guitars as often as not. As their name implies, they are not known for their subtlety.

Maahan is the band's third album overall, and the second one I've gotten to hear. As before, the music is all instrumental, and generally frenetic. I suppose some of their music qualifies as folk, but the folk music they play comes from eastern Europe, not from their native Finland. Alamaailman Vasarat take the energy that comes naturally in most Balkan music and elevate it a few notches. The signature element to their sound is the heavy metal crunch that the cellists provide. There's actually quite a lot of untapped potential in using stringed instruments other than the guitar, and I think it's only a matter of time before it catches on.

While their previous album Käärmelautakunta featured a classic instrumental in "Asiatehdas" that none of the tunes on the new record can match, Maahan is more consistently strong and fun all the way through. Highlights for me include "Luiden valossa, naapurin talossa," "Huikeuden lieriö," and "Katkorapu," all of which are big rushes of adrenaline. This album will appeal to rock fans who like their music lively regardless of the instruments used.

Overall grade: A-

reviewed by Scott

The Wailin' Jennys, Firecracker (Red House Records, 2006)

The Wailin' Jennys are a Canadian trio. At the time their second album Firecracker was recorded, the line-up consisted of Annabelle Chvostek, Nicky Mehta, and Ruth Moody, all of whom sing, write songs, and play multiple instruments. (Chvostek has since left and was replaced by Heather Masse.) Their music blends country and bluegrass with pop and gospel thrown in as well. Firecracker is their second album together. Given the three-part female harmonies, The Wailin' Jennys could fairly accurately be described as a rootsier, less sassy version of The Dixie Chicks, and will probably draw most of their audience from fans of that band.

I first heard of The Wailin' Jennys when their song "Devil's Paintbrush Road," the Chvostek composition that leads off Firecracker, got played on Radio Paradise. That particular song is a great number driven by Chvostek's strummed violin, but unfortunately nothing else on the album is nearly as good. The band's numerous attempts at countrified pop boast some pleasant enough harmonies, but otherwise sound predictable and formulaic. They fare better when going for a more rustic sound, like with the waltzy "Swallow" (another composition by Chvostek), but only the opening song stayed with me when I moved on to other albums.

The Wailin' Jennys have some promise, but seem torn between trying to be a folk act and a pop act and don't do well enough at either. Firecracker does have an excellent opening song that's worth checking out or downloading. Otherwise, it really didn't hold my interest.

Overall grade: C+

reviewed by Scott

Suzanne Vega, Beauty & Crime (Blue Note Records, 2007)

Despite an unlikely hit with "Luka" off her second album in 1987, and an even less likely hit when DNA did a dance club remix of her a capella song "Tom's Diner" and topped the charts with it, Suzanne Vega has spent most of her rather long career well outside of the musical mainstream. Her songs are rooted in folk music, but Vega has shown a willingness to take more chances with her music than other folksingers have. Her seventh studio album Beauty & Crime reflects the distinctive style she has developed over the years, with quirky narratives about New York City and its many characters set to mostly acoustic music with a few twists thrown in.

Much of Beauty & Crime bears the influence of the unfortunate passing of Vega's brother Tim, beginning with the opening song "Zephyr & I." Zephyr was a friend of her brother's from childhood, and in the song he and Vega are recalling things while walking in the neighborhood on the Upper West Side, just below Columbia University, where they grew up. Other songs reflect Vega's interest in American culture from fifty or sixty years ago. In "New York Is A Woman," she compares her hometown to a classic femme fatale from an old noirish movie. "New York is a woman, she'll make you cry, and to her you're just another guy." "Frank & Ava" is a discourse on the stormy relationship between Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner. Despite the odd subject matter, the song boasts a cool guitar hook and some fine high harmonies from special guest K. T. Tunstall. (And it's likely to be the only time in history where the word "bidet" was worked into the lyrics of a pop song.)

Vega keeps the musical arrangements on Beauty & Crime characteristically eclectic. While she's generally classified as a folk artist, she can turn things up at least a little bit as well, and like to throw a few curve balls into the mix as well. On "Unbound," for example, she puts some upbeat electronic drums underneath her acoustic guitar and makes it sound perfectly natural.

As a result, Beauty & Crime never gets dull. Many folk singer/songwriters have come and gone in the twenty-two years that Suzanne Vega has been a recording artist, including plenty of women. A lot of them almost seem to go out of their way to avoid distinguishing themselves from each other musically, but Vega continues to be an exception. I don't think she's a superior songwriter to Dar Williams, another one of the exceptions, but Williams could learn a lot from Vega on how to make a folk record sound consistently fresh and interesting.

Overall grade: B+

reviewed by Scott

Dan Fogelberg, 1951-2007

photo by Henry Diltz

Dan Fogelberg was born and raised in Peoria, Illinois. His chief musical inspiration was his father, the band director at the local high school. Like many teenagers in the sixties, he was inspired to join a rock band after hearing The Beatles, but eventually Fogelberg found his calling in folk music. His first album came out in 1972. Like James Taylor, Fogelberg embraced a style of laid-back, introspective songs with simple arrangements based around his acoustic guitar. But while Taylor's voice was (and is) a somewhat limited baritone, Fogelberg had a distinctively silky tenor.

His commercial peak came with the ballad "Longer" in 1979 and the story songs "Leader of the Band" and "Same Old Lang Syne" in 1981. "Leader of the Band" paid tribute to his father, and "Same Old Lang Syne" recounted an actual incident where he bumped into an ex-girlfriend at the store one Christmas Eve. His recorded output remained steady until the early nineties, although years of wear coarsened his voice considerably. A 1999 Christmas album was Fogelberg's only album of new recordings between 1993 and 2003.

In 2003, Fogelberg returned with a new album called Full Circle. Despite making little chart impact, the album was of comparable quality to his best work. Plans for a tour were derailed in the spring of 2004, when he was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. His three-year battle with the disease came to a losing end this past Sunday. Dan Fogelberg was 56.

Fogelberg's best-known material epitomized the sub-genre of soft rock; his songs were far more likely to appeal to parents than to teenagers, but there are worse things you can call a song than "pleasant" or "melodic." And at any rate, his music holds up quite a bit better than most of the songs he shared the pop charts with.

Mark Knopfler, Kill To Get Crimson (Warner Brothers, 2007)

A struggling tattoo artist reflects on how his true love entered his life. An actor returns to his hometown, only to meet with disappointment and a lot of gossip. An aspiring rock star makes big promises to his lady. A boxer recalls learning how to dance in secondary school. A man has his passion for painting stymied at every corner. A woman falls for a gypsy tinker and accepts the lifestyle that comes with him.

These are the quirky characters which populate the songs of Kill to Get Crimson, the new album from Mark Knopfler. Knopfler has always been a storyteller at heart. In most of his best songs, from "Sultans of Swing" off the first Dire Straits album nearly thirty years ago to the present, Knopfler sings from the perspectives of people quite different from himself. Sometimes he sings with a lot of sentimentality, other times he sings with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Kill to Get Crimson leans a bit more in the latter direction than most of his work.

Musically, Knopfler has more or less abandoned the harder rock and extended guitar solos of his now distant past for a more rustic and folksy approach that suits this batch of songs well. Kill to Get Crimson does sound different from Knopfler's recent solo work, though, in the sense that he breaks from his usual set of chord progressions. The melodies and structure of the songs on the album have a strong Celtic feel to them, to a greater degree even than on a number of songs off of his previous albums that have featured Irish instrumentation. As a result, the new album is refreshingly less predictable than its immediate predecessors.

I've often made the criticism, when discussing Mark Knopfler's solo work, that he's gotten too laid back for his own good. And yes, that still applies to Kill to Get Crimson. This album features some of Knopfler's best songwriting in a while, though, particularly on "True Love Will Never Fade" and "Secondary Waltz." The fans who've stuck around will certainly be pleased with it.

Overall grade: B+

reviewed by Scott

[ni:d] (Academus AB, 2006)

[ni:d] (pronounced "need") are a Swedish folk/jazz trio consisting of Mia Gustafsson on fiddle, Hanna Wiskari on saxophone, and Petter Berndalen (also of the more well-known band Gjallarhorn) on percussion. For their self-titled debut CD, produced by Väsen's Mikael Marin, [ni:d] combine traditional and self-composed folk tunes with free-form improvisation. The tunes here definitely do not follow steady rhythms or tempos in a way that would work for folk dances. The band members do possess a fresh and creative take on arranging folk music, though, and their set at this year's Nordic Roots Festival in Minneapolis was one of the highlights of the weekend.

For whatever reason, not enough of the spark and vibrance they had in concert comes across on this CD. The album does possess a definite highlight in "Blackberry Blossom," a sharp upbeat piece they learned from the American fiddler Bruce Molsky, but that was the only tune that really captured the same spirit as their live show. By contrast, my favorites among the remaining tunes on the album are the more subdued ones like "Benjamins Vals," which Wiskari composed and performs solo. Another track worth a few listens is the extended set of tunes called "Svängräven." The piece opens with two very similar melodies played simultaneously, one of which is a traditional Swedish tune and the other of which is "Morning Has Broken." The rest of the album is decent enough, but nothing else really grabbed me as much as I expected.

It's not unusual for instrumental folk acts, Scandinavian or otherwise, to make a bigger impression live than they do on record. The contrast between [ni:d]'s performance in Minneapolis and their debut CD is even sharper than what is typical, though. I can't quite put my finger on what, but something just seemed to be missing from the recording.

Overall grade: B-

reviewed by Scott

Ranarim, Morning Star (NorthSide, 2007)

When last I heard of the Swedish folk band Ranarim, they had just performed at the 2001 Nordic Roots Festival in support of their debut album Till the Light of Day. Since then they expanded from a quartet to a sextet and recorded one album that didn't get released outside Sweden, but had kept a low profile since 2003. As often happens with Nordic folk bands, the members of Ranarim had all sorts of other projects to work on. They have most definitely benefited from the time off, though, as their new album Morning Star is as fresh and vital as any Scandinavian album I've heard in quite some time.

For Morning Star, the original quartet of Ulrika Bodén and Sofia Sandén (vocals), Niklas Roswall (nyckelharpa), and Jens Engelbrecht (guitar) are joined by Anders Johnsson (bass) and Olle Linder (percussion). As usual, when a folk group opts for a fuller band sound they run the risk of offending the purists, but I think the new members provide just the spark that the band and their music need. The lyrics are mostly taken from traditional sources, usually with one of the band members setting them to music. Despite the personnel changes, Ranarim's sound still revolves around the harmonizing of Bodén and Sandén, both of whom sound superb on this recording. While I've been enchanted by the sound of singing in the Finnish language for as long I've known about it, this is the first time that Swedish singing (which has its own distinct sound but comes from entirely different linguistic roots) has produced a comparable effect for me.

I can't really pick out one standout track on Morning Star, but that's in no way intended as a criticism of the album. Indeed, the album starts out fun and lively, and maintains the feel throughout. They sing polkas and polskas, throw in some Medieval ballads, and give a few of the songs a bluegrass feel; all of it works. Ranarim sounds like a band having a lot of fun making music together right now, and the pleasure rubs off on the listener all the way through Morning Star. I just hope the band don't wait so long to make their next recording.

Overall grade: A

reviewed by Scott

Reprinted with permission from The Green Man Review
Copyright 2007 The Green Man Review

Nordic Roots Festival 2007, Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis, MN, September 28-30 2007

The ninth annual Nordic Roots Festival was held this past weekend at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis. This year's edition did not feature any of the big headlining acts from previous years, and had more than the usual amount of first-time performers. This likely was the cause of a noticeable drop in attendance; certainly the number of Festival passes, which grant the purchaser entrance to each show, was down this year, and even the headlining show on Sunday night had some empty seats. There were still some excellent performances, though, including some pleasant surprises from the performers I was previously unfamiliar with.

Ruth McKenzie, flanked by her backing vocalists

The Festival opened on Friday night with local folk artist Ruth McKenzie performing her music from the theatrical production Kalevala: Dream of the Salmon Maiden, to celebrate the show's tenth anniversary. McKenzie had immersed herself in a number of Scandinavian singing traditions, including Swedish kulning and Finnish runo songs. At some point she decided to take a story from the Finnish national epic poem the Kalevala and present it theatrically and musically in a way that would make sense to English-speaking audiences. To call it an ambitious undertaking would be a huge understatement, but the original production sold out its full run and met with rave reviews. McKenzie did not have the sets or any dancers with her on Friday night, but she did have a terrific supporting cast of musicians, several of whom had also been part of the original production. Some of the pieces came across as overwrought to me, but just as many were really intense and powerful. McKenzie deserves a lot of credit for pulling off such a difficult endeavor, and the locals who had seen the production back in 1997 greeted her performance on Friday with particular warmth and enthusiasm.

[ni:d]

The Saturday show featured a young Swedish trio with the rather odd name of [ni:d] (pronounced "need"). Fiddler Mia Gustafsson, saxophonist Hanna Wiskari, and percussionist Petter Berndalen (who performed at last year's Festival with Gjallarhorn) played the tunes off their debut CD, and made a very favorable impression on the audience. Their material is firmly rooted in Swedish fiddling traditions, but [ni:d] play with considerable tightness, a lot of spirit, and a little bit of swing thrown in for good measure.

Sinikka Langeland and Markku Ounaskari

Sinikka Langeland, another newcomer to the Festival, opened the Saturday evening show. She comes from a part of Norway that was settled by Finnish immigrants and maintains a strong cultural connection to Finland. Her instrument of choice is the concert-sized kantele, a Finnish folk instrument. Accompanied by percussionist Markku Ounaskari, Langeland performed her musical adaptations of the works of the nature-inspired Norwegian poet Hans Børli. Her pieces tended to be very impressionistic and a little too loosely structured, though, and she didn't do a good enough job of engaging the audience. These shortcomings were at least partially offset by Ounaskari's superb playing and Langeland's very funny comment that she had heard that the Cedar was the "best club in Scandinavia."

JPP

The headliners for Saturday night were the veteran Finnish fiddle ensemble JPP. Twelve tears ago, their album Kaustinen Rhapsody was the first Scandinavian album I ever purchased. What they lack in flash, JPP have always made up for with beautiful tunes and superior musicianship. This show was certainly no exception, as the band spent the hour playing highlights from their twenty-five year history, making difficult tunes look effortless but sound great in the process.

The Lännen-Jukka String Band

The following afternoon featured the first Minneapolis performance of a group that are almost entirely unkown here, but their singer is a chart-topper in their native Finland. Ironically, the Lännen-Jukka String Band don't play their own country's folk music, but rather play some rootsy, swampy bluegrass and American old-time music. And they do a damn good job of it too. A rock star performing as his banjo-playing alter ego, J. Karjalainen quickly won the crowd over with his gravelly voice and funny stories. Plenty of people in the Minneapolis audience understood Finnish, and sang along loudly enough for the rest of us to hear them. The trio were the biggest crowd-pleasers of the Festival, and the fact that they had sold all the CD's they had brought with them on this tour before they even arrived in Minneapolis indicates that the Festival audience was not alone in liking them.

most of Den Fule

The Sunday night show began with a reunion performance by the Swedish group Den Fule. The first group to release a CD on the NorthSide label back when Rob Simonds began the process that ultimately led to the Festival's creation, Den Fule had not played together for nearly ten years before recently reforming. The quintet mixes jazz and hard rock in with their folk music, and had a few new tunes to go along with their old material. Their jazzy style probably wouldn't appeal to everybody -- then again, folk purists wouldn't go for the loud electric guitar either -- but Den Fule displayed some strong musicianship and really seemed to be enjoying playing together again after a long hiatus.

three fourths of Harv

Harv, frequent performers in the early years of the Festival when they were a very young band just starting out, returned this year as the Festival headliners. The Swedish quartet had a run of bad mishaps with their luggage both on the way to Minneapolis and in the hotel, but they played a blistering set nonetheless, and somehow managed to maintain their sense of humor. While I didn't like their latest CD Polka Raggioso quite as much as their previous album Töst, they are clearly only getting better as a live act, and more than lived up to their top billing.

Next year's Nordic Roots Festival will be significant for two reasons. First, it will be the tenth Festival, no small accomplishment given the enormous amount of legwork and the lack of steady funds. Second, while the Festival will continue after next year, it will become a more global affair, and Scandinavian music will no longer be showcased on an annual basis. Given the lack of big draws this year and the noticeable drop in attendance, I could see that something like this was coming. Hopefully the organizers will pull out all the stops next year, and the Nordic Roots Festival will get the glorious send-off it deserves.

Review and pictures by Scott