My particular interest is in folk and folk-rock music from England, Scotland and Ireland, so I'm surprised I haven't started a folk music item before now.228 responses total.
I'll start things off by mentioning that I discovered a new folk radio show today, while driving to meet the Saturday Grex Walkers for lunch. It's on WCBN, 88.3 FM in Ann Arbor, and it probably starts at 10 or 11 am Saturday morning, running to noon or 1. They played Steeleye Span, Adrian Legg, and some rather lovely French accordion, bagpipe and hurdy-gurdy music which I never did identify. A week ago Friday, the band Cordelia's Dad played a fine show at Ten Pound Fiddle in East Lansing. The band has now settled on an all acoustic, all-traditional format. They've added a fourth member, fiddler Laura Risk, who fills out the sound nicely. Cordelia's Dad began around 1990 as a rock trio playing English and American folk songs. I describe their first, self-titled CD as: "The Ramones Play Folk Music." Two years later, the band had ditched the British material, and they were starting to venture into acoustic sounds. HOW CAN I SLEEP, the CD from that period, is the best American electro-trad album I know of. Then the band entered a period of turmoil.... (more to come)
... in which they tried to exist as a band which played acoustic sets and electric rock sets. Tim Eriksen of the band told me that this was not working well; it's quite exciting artistically, but the reality of the music business is that there are acoustic venues and alternative rock venues, and most of the audiences at these venues know pretty well what they want. When I saw the band around '95 at the Ark, the original guitarist had left. Tim Eriksen had switched from bass to guitar and banjo, and Cath Oss had joined. Cath just sang harmonies in the acoustic set, and she played bass in the rock set. In '95 the acoustic set was tremendously exciting, and the rock set seemed mostly confused. Last fall Cordelia's Dad announced that they were going to be acoustic-only in the future. They're repackaging their rock aspirations as a different band called Io, and both Cordelia's Dad and Io are planning to have releases out this summer. After hearing the Ten Pound Fiddle show, I'm eagerly looking forward to the Cordelia's Dad album; I think it will be as good as their best previous album. I don't know *what* I should be expecting from the Io album.
I have an old record by a British group from the early to mid 70's calle The New Seekers. Has anyone ever heard of them, and are they a spin-off of a group from the 60's called The Seekers.
RE #3 The New Seekers were apparently a spinoff from the 1960's Seekers ("I'll
Never Find Another You"/"Georgy Girl"). The New Seekers' biggest hits were
"Look What They've Done To My Song" (written by folksinger Melanie) and "I'd
Like To Teach The World To Sing" (which was a spinoff of a Coca-Cola
commercial).
sure it wasn't the other way around? i was always told the song came first, then the commercial.
i thought the comerical was a spin off of the song....
Jumping a discussion over from the World Music item: the quasi-hit single from Cape Breton fiddler Ashley MacIsaac has a woman singing in Gaelic. This has led a number of people to assume that Ashley is female. Ashley's singer is Mary Jane Lamond, also of Cape Breton. She has her own solo album out, FROM THE LAND OF THE TREES, which is one of the finer Gaelic song albums I've heard recently. MacIsaac plays on most of the tracks.
Well, let's just say that I wind up at the Ark, a lot... My brother and my dad used to record Simon and Garfunkle songs on our reel-to-reel tape deck. I think that's probably where it all started, for me. It was a long line of heroes, after that. There was Billy. A friend gave me a tape of _Talking With the Taxman About Poetry_. Who was this guy, singing about socialism and sex? At college, I got to review The Proclaimers' first album when it came out in 1988. My roommate left the lp on top of an amp and I thought I'd never see it again. Luckily they hit it big, four years later, and I had no trouble finding a replacement. Our production manager at the newspaper got me hooked on Loudon Wainright III, and I never quite recovered... He had a radio show, too, named after a Neil Young song, "For the Turnstyles". Then there was this industrial hip-hop rap band. Believe me, I was little confused when they opened up for a folk rock concert. I wound up so impressed, however, that I followed their lead singer into another band, and caught *their* opening act, the amazing LA-based Ben Harper. While waiting in line for an oil change in the dead of winter, I was introduced to "The Pagans and the Christians" via an interview with Dar Williams. I laughed so hard I nearly forgot it took more than an hour to get a fifteen-minute oil change. The weather warmed up and so did the audience when we saw her, later that year. As long as we're on the subject, Leo Kottke's "Why Can't You Fix My Car" was running through my head as mine was in surgery. Luckilly, it didn't prevent me from finally seeing him, for the first time, last year. I'm not exactly sure what to call his music, other than mighty fine... I'd say more, but I've probably already got you scratching your head...
Grin. I got to hear her do that one live, soon after she wrote it, when she opened for Keelaghan a while back. (Dar Williams, Christians and Pagans). I tend to be much more focussed on British/Celtic/traditional music than any American stuff, though I do like some singer-songwriter types (um, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Keelaghan, Garnet Rogers...Darden Smith.... um, sheesh, John Hiatt...) and I'm a sucker for anything that takes trad. musical forms and gives it a rock sensibility, aka things like the Levellers, the Oysterband, the Tansads, um, Cordelia's Dad, Tempest, Boiled in Lead... I think it's the fiddle that does it for me in a lot of these groups, since I find that it's so cool. (Also appearing on my top ten list are Horslips and a lot of the newer Scottish/Irish bands that are NOT trad. at all, but most of their stuff's at work.)
Here's some disappointing news about the "Celtic rock" band Wolfstone, from the latest issue of Scotland's "Living Tradition" magazine. Wolfstone, after fulfilling all their current tour commitments, is going to suspend touring for at least six months to reassess the future of the band. The article says that they have the touring expenses of a rock group, but they are only pulling the income of a folk group, and the tone of the item suggests that Wolfstone's future, if it has any at all, will be as a part time group.
I love Darden Smith... There's another concert I could kick myself for missing at the Ark (the Boo Hewerdine/Darden Smith reunion)... I never grow tired of Darden's _Little Victories_ album. That alone should've been enough to get me out to the show. But, silly me...had never heard the Hewerdine collaboration, so I gave it up. I finally ran across _Evidence_ at the library and then I coulda cried...
I heard Hiatt's "Lipstick Sunset" a while back and that got me interested. I've kept up with him, since. I was at a concert when some guy from a lousy band smashed a guitar. All I could think of was Hiatt's line in "Perfectly Good Guitar": "there oughta be a law with no bail, smash a guitar and you go to jail, with no chance of early parole, don't get out until you get some soul". No kidding...
I find myself liking American folkies quite a bit, including Michigan's Joel Mabus, Kitty Donahue, Chennile Sisters and others. Also like some Canadian fokies I've heard, Stan Rogers being tops.
I love the Chenille Sisters. They're a lot of fun...
News from the new issue of DIRTY LINEN magazine: Steeleye Span is booking a North American tour for June. Usually Steeleye's US visits haven't gone farther into the American interior than Pittsburgh; but the one announced stop on this tour is Houston, so maybe we'll get lucky.
Yes, yes, yes! (II will sacrifice to the gods of folk music if only it came true.)
I see we also have another magazine in common, Ken!
I'm planning to be at the Ark for Thursday's concert by Natalie MacMaster. Natalie is a young Cape Breton fiddler. I assume she'll be with her regular piano accompanist Tracey Dares. Cape Breton is the eastern end of Nova Scotia, and the fiddle music there has a big Scottish influence. Ashley MacIsaac is also from Cape Breton. Natalie is *not* as flashy as Ashley is.
When's the show? 8P? Hmmm... I'll let you know if being there winds up a possibility.
Well, I just picked up the first volume of the new Woody Guthrie compilation on Smithsonian/Folkways. Included are some great liner notes, a rare version of "This Land Is Your Land", and some darn fine music. I highly recommend this one as both a good starter album for the uninitiated and a good reminiscence for the familiar.
My american history class spent a whole day on woody guthrie.. probably because the teacher is a fan of his music, but still. he was a significant figure.
Steve- Wow! I wish I had had your history teacher!
<seconds that>
NOOOOOOOOOOO! THE WOLFSTONES CAN'T QUIT! *sobs of dispair* someone buy them a lottery ticket!
There are all sorts of rumors on Usenet's rec.music.celtic suggesting that the real cause of the Wolfstone split is a dispute with their record company. ??? Speaking of Scottish band splits: Donnie Munro, the lead singer of Runrig, made a run for Parliament in the recent UK election, where he was a candidate of the Scottish Nationalist Party. Munro did not win the seat, but he is leaving Runrig to pursue politics. His farewell with the band is coming up sometime this summer, a big concert in Scotland of course.
This month's _Rhythm Music_ magazine features articles on Celtic music. There was an ad for some festival that was going on this weekend in NYC area. Although I find this magazine to be nearly the _Vogue_ of world music, it helps pass the time...
New web page for the Ark, the major folk venue in Ann Arbor: http://www.a2ark.org
kewlio!!!!! shanks!
Would one real word per response be too much to ask, jiffer? :)
This text is to show Orinoco that, yes, i can use real words. However, I personally am against mundaness and have my own rules for living. thank you and please, enjoy the show. Viva La Music!
I'm listening to Dar Williams tonight and recalling all of the things that draw me to folk music: intimacy, warmth, and honesty.
Is there another Ark, somewhere else? Why the "a2" in their address?
Dunno. Maybe they just didn't want to give up their site on daddyo.com? It's a nice site though. (The next show I'm going to attend will probably be the Mustards Retreat in July... but I'm looking forward to seeing what else makes the summer schedule.
Twila, I seem to recall you mentioning that you volunteered at the Ark. I'd like to find out more about that...
Yeah, I do. Um, basically, you can ask at the snack bar at a show, though it's wisest to wait until it's not busy :-). Then you can sign up in the volunteer book, and work shows. Uusually, you prepare the place, (make coffee, popcorn, make sure there's tp in the bathrooms, etc.), then actually work behind the bar and or as a few other things, and after the show, you help clean up.That's for typical volunteers, but htere are also sound-board people (who have to know how to do it first), and people who do other things, but I'm not sure how that works. It's a lot of fun, and you usually (if you want) can talk to to the artists and gerenally make a bunch of new friends.
Excessive neatness...
Cool. Thanks for the tips, Twila! I didn't realize they opened up the soundboard to qualified volunteers.
Thanks Ken for introducing me to Karen Casey, Richard and Linda Thompson, and Natalie MacMaster. I plan on taping them! Much enjoyed!
You didn't know R.Thompson?! He's soooo good...
(there's some really old Richard Thompson discussion in oldmusic cf., item #8, which jiffer might find of interest.)
I like what I've heard of Richard Thompson. I have yet to delve deeply into his material, however. I'm sure much pleasure awaits me...
well, i hope to enjoy others. I didn't check out the folk music section of the library today, but, the next time i am in there, I might dive in. So, if you have any suggestions or comments on any of the music (folk, jazz or experimental, or blues) just give a hollar!
The library(if you're talking the AA Public) doesn't really have a good folk section. I have been terribly unimpressed by it, but then I have nearly everything they do which I'm interested in. Actually, I only got into Richard Thompson about five or six years ago, though a friend at work had turned me on to his then-current album (the one with "Waltzing's for Dreamers" on it, which I fell in love with) and I'd noted that he was pretty neat. Unfortunately, the two things I picked up after that were not his better works (an early one with Linda that I really hated, though now I like her voice just fine... go fig... and the experiemental one with the four guys that still makes me shudder when I hear it & I've repressed the titles...) Then came the superb album with "Vincent Black Lightning " on it, and I definitely put Thompson on my must-buy list. The only folk festival I attended had him as a guest, and I enjoyed seeing/hearing him live, but unfortunately he only had a fifteen minute slot after Bela Fleck went overlong. Sob. I wasn't as impressed with Mirror Blue, nor the one which came out this year, but I really love "Watching the Dark" now that I've broken down and spent the bucks on it.
"Mirror Blue" was quite disappointing but I like "You? Me? Us?"
(which seems to set me apareart from what I gather from other RT fans.)
It's certainly not his best album and it has some consistency problems
(i.e. it could probably have stood to be trimmed to a single album..)
but overall I think it's pretty good.
The problem, perhaps, is that Thompson fans aren't satisfied
with "pretty good", they expect (and often receive) excellent..
"You? Me? Us?" is miles better than "Mirror Blue", though, or some of
his other less-successful projects ("Sweet Talker" soundtrack anyone?
Richard Thompson imitates Mark Knopfler. Feh!)
"You? Me? Us?" was kind of uneven in my humble opinion. I haven't listened to it as much as the otherones I have, just because I am not sure abuout it.
I liked _Mirror Blue_, but, then again, I don't think I've heard much else. I like Mitchell Froom, too, who produced the album. He's done some great work with Crowded House and Suzanne Vega (whom he's now married to). I might change my mind as soon as I hear some more...
I don't have any particular feelings about Mitchell Froom, but I much prefer Thompson's earlier work with producers Joe Boyd and John Wood. The Froom era of Thompson's work, which begins in 1988 with AMNESIA if I remember correctly, has produced only one really good album, RUMOR AND SIGH, for my tastes. I never got into MIRROR BLUE, though I like some of the songs in it. I've found YOU ME US repellent. I used to hate it even when Schoolkids was playing it in the store. I can't bring myself to listen to it enough to figure out why. I also got the live fan club recording from the 1994 tour, TWO LETTER WORDS, and so far I don't like *that* either. Moomph. One friend suggests that RT settled into domestic bliss in his second marriage and that has taken some of the brilliance out of his work since the mid-1980s. There is a new Thompson album, INDUSTRY, recorded with his non-brother Danny Thompson (former Pentangle bass player). A mix of RT songs and DT instrumentals, a concept album about the rise and fall of the industrial era in Britain. Haven't really listened to it enough yet. Later this year (so it is reported) Thompson is scheduled to record an album with early music specialist Phillip Pickett (who played session work on several RT albums, and who was also a member of the Albion Band in the 1970s) and the Fairport Convention rhythm section.
The Pickett/Thompson album sounds like it will be interesting. Joe Boyd is a cool producer. I've seen his name on a few good recordings I've heard. Thompson, by the way, has played on a few Loudon Wainright III albums that are worth hearing.
New Dar Williams album is out...yummy yummy yummy!
Twila needs to bring us a review of Thompson's INDUSTRY album, since she has my copy at the moment. :) I'm afraid I'm very lukewarm on Dar Williams, though I have lots of friends who adore and worship her. "As Cool As I Am" is kind of catchy, bu "The Christians and the Pagans" is so bleeping didactic, and with such a monotonous melody that it sends me lunging for the next-track button. I was annoyed that song was the big time-consuming finale of her short set at Philadelphia Folk Festival last year. Ark stuff: There's the annual August Celtic music festival coming up. And also coming up is Cordelia's Dad: see my responses #1 & 2 in this item. More details later, when Netscape stops crashing on me. :/
Anybody see the new Ark schedule, yet? Anything interesting?
well ... the only i remeber is celtic stuff at the beginning of this month. I plan to attend one of the events. I just got to find my big black book to remeber which one.
David Wilcox at Borders Books & Music, Ann Arbor, August 6th, 6pm, Wed.
Here's an early warning for your October calendars: Muzsikas w/ Marta Sebesteyn, October 27, the Ark. There are five "celtic" shows on the September Ark calendar: mmm, where should I discuss them? :) ----- Richard Thompson had some exposure on PBS television on Saturday night, on a new series called something like "Live on 54th Street." Suzanne Vega had the first half-hour, which we missed, and then Thompson had the second half-hour. He only did four songs, broken up with some filmed interview segments. The playlist: "Feel So Good," "Galway to Graceland," the Hamlet cover RT was playing on his last tour, and "1952 Vincent Black Lightning," with Nanci Griffith singing a few harmonies.
Ergh...Suzanne Vega on PBS? I wonder when that showed on Seattle or Pullman/Tri-Cities PBS..I'm sure she was nice :)
Wow...I'm in heaven...Marta at the Ark! Thanks, Ken!
Shanks Ken!!!! I saw a segment of "Live on 54th Street" a couple of weeks ago when I was visiting relatives in Ohio. Looks promising, and (now that i have cable) something i might actually keep up with!.
The first show on the Sept Ark calendar that has peaked my interest is John McCutchen on September 5th, Fri.
Arabella & I are back from the Philadelphia Folk Festival -- 2/3rds of of the Festival, anyway -- and I'll type in some random thoughts over the next few days.
...and you would have gotten two screens of reviews if my net connection hadn't locked up, dad blast it. Maybe tomorrow.
Dar Williams will be at the Ark, September 2, for a 7:30P and a 9:30P show...
The Friday afternoon concert at the Philadelphia Folk Festival
is intended to be a showcase for relatively new performers.
Cordelia's Dad -- A pretty good set of American traditional songs from an
old favorite band of mine. (See response #1 in this item.)
Chuck Brodsky -- I'm generally allergic to singer-songwriters, but Brodsky
has a pretty good streak of black humor, which showed most
memorably in his song about freeway drivers with guns. Perhaps he'll bring
that song to his free show at the Ark, Tues. Sept. 9.
Suzzy Roche -- She's temporarily working as a solo act while The Roches
take a break following the death of their father.
Unfortunately the quirky vocal stylings which are fun in harmony settings
irked me in her solo singing.
Salamander Crossing -- On record, this band has been pleasant but nothing
too special. Live, their old-timey/bluegrass/folk
stylings really sparkled, and the fiddler/singer sounded better than I'd
heard her in the past.
(Also on Friday afternoon: Kristina Olsen, who made my ears perk up
just a *little* bit; Malaika, a women's acapella group from Canada;
Lucy Kaplansky; David Olney.)
-----
Friday evening:
Pele Juju -- Discovery #1 of my festival weekend. This band of women from
California have a very catchy, percussion-based version of
sounds from Africa and the Carribean, and they were a big hit with the
festival crowd, who vacuumed up their (self-released?) CDs.
Kate & Anna McGarrigle -- Despite some buzzing problems with the sound
system, I was delighted to finally have a chance
to see them perform. Most of the songs came from the new album MATAPEDIA;
from the catalog, they sang "Heart Like A Wheel" and "Heartbeats
Accelerating," plus a funny song from Kate's ex-husband Loudon Wainwright.
Kate & Loudon's daughter Martha Wainwright was there: she sang harmonies
on a few songs, and she also sang one of her own songs. Martha has
a tape out, so I guess she's going to try to follow in her parents'
footsteps. Leslie quite liked Martha's song.
Dan Bern -- Hoo hah!! Bern is one of the unfortunate recipients of
the "new Dylan" marketing tag. I don't see why; he seems mostly
to rant about sex, in largely free-associational style. He started out with
a song about how Marilyn Monroe should have married Henry Miller
instead of Arthur Miller. There was a song which purported to be
about Tiger Woods with the memorable line, "My balls are big but I wish
they were bigger!!" While a Philadelphia TV station was getting ready
for their live remote from the top of the hillside, Bern was in the
background screaming the F-word rather often.
Heh. Definitely not my style. As the Festival is trying to market itself
as a family event, I'm confident Dan Bern will not be invited back.
Tempest -- I don't like Tempest. Every now and then I hear something
by them which I *do* like, but they don't seem able to
sustain this liking for more than a song or two. Their singing grates
on me; after watching their Spinal-Tap kickline dancing for a few
moments, I went back to tending nieces at Leslie's mom's craft booth.
The crowd loved them, and their CDs were huge sellers.
Also on the Friday evening bill: guitarist/singer/songwriter Les Sampou,
cowboy singer & yodeller Don Edwards, and Keb' Mo', who I had to miss
completely.
Tempest is really uneven, but I like more of their stuff than I don't.
Okay, I was wrong about Dar Williams at the Ark...it's *October* 2, not September 2... Silly me...
Has anybody checked out the Smithsonian/Folkways re-release of the American folk music recordings, compiled and annotated by some interesting fellow whose name I can't recall at the moment? Comes in a box set, runs about $75. Looks real interesting... There's a big display over at Schoolkids', with a blow-up of an article from the _Metro Times_ about it. Can't miss it...
Hmm...I think we've got a Pele Juju CD. I've listened to it once or twice, didn't find it that memorable, but maybe I should pull it out again.
Way back to #50: Twila *still* needs to bring us a review of the INDUSTRY album by the Thompson Twins (*ahem*). Mark #65: I haven't been to Schoolkids recently, but Bob Blackman featured quite a few tracks from the Smithsonian anthology on his Sunday night radio show -- I guess it must have been two weeks ago. At $75, ow ow ow, I will probably drop some hints that it would be a nice Christmas present. orinoco #66: Could you follow up on that Pele Juju CD? What's it called, where did you get it, stuff like that.
Ken- yeah, pricey...but it looks like it's worth it. These days I don't pick up much, so setting aside some extra cash for something good is worthwhile, to me.
Oooh, yeah THIS is the item for that review.... Um, what can I say? Quite good, really. The album is very nicely balanced between instrumental tracks (I assume Danny Thompson's work) and vocal tracks (Richard's, for sure). The liner notes for INDUSTRY are fascinating -- "I think it's im- pressions of industry and the end of industry... anhe transition between industrial to post-industrial...that is hopefully reflected on the album." Richard Thompson. He also states that the song "Saboteur" is a direct translation of a statement he found in the Karl Marx and Trades Union Congress libraries. The songs -- "Sweetheart on the Barricade" is about a strike and the young man's sweetheart, who's passionately involved -- I get the feeling that the time period is probably early 1920's or so. "Big Chimney" is more of a rock song, very driving... "Drifting through the Days" and "Lotteryland" are both riffs on the theme of unemployment and the hopelessness of those who are displaced by machinery or "progress" -- though one is more of a ballad and the other is upbeat in sound, if not in lyrics... The "Saboteur" song is chilling, since it's in a format that emphasizes the words and the ambiguous feelings that the saboteur is experiencing... And "Last Shift" is about a mine closing.... I can't really describe the instrumentals, but they are all very atmospheric. So, Ken, how's that? I really liked this album, a lot more than I thought I would (I seem to dislike Richard Thompson's "experimental" stuff a whole lot, and I was afraid that this would be more of the same.)
Anyone want to give me a good reason to pick up the McGarrigles _Dancer With Brusied Knees_? I've been eyeing it for a while, now...
Twila's review gets an "A". Your assignment for next week is... :) ----- Continuing our slow-paced review of the 1997 Philadelphia Folk Festival, from response #62: From 11 until 4 on Saturday and Sunday, the festival presents informal "workshop" concerts on three stages around the festival grounds. The Tank Stage is over by the well faucets, where in earlier days the water tanker truck was parked. The Craft Stage is located where the people working in craft booths can hear. And the Camp Stage is located near an entrance to the festival campground. I only got to hear one workshop concert on Saturday, but it was the one I was the most eager for. The theme was "Young People Play Old Songs," and there were just two bands, Salamander Crossing and Cordelia's Dad. Salamander Crossing really hooked in the audience, got a lot of feet tapping on the dusty hillside. Cordelia's Dad, on the other hand, almost seemed out to antagonize: leader Tim Eriksen opened with a long solo acapella ballad which went on for six minutes or so, and which sent a handful of people wandering off towards the neighboring stages. It's things like that which make me describe Cordelia's Dad as "militant hardcore traditionalists." Cordelia's Dad's drummer Peter Erskine mentioned from the stage that they had just finished recording their next album, which is now scheduled for a January 1998 release. Steve Albini (!?!) is producing. The main stage concert for Saturday afternoon opened with Kate Campbell and Bill Miller. Miller is a festival favorite; he does a Native American folk-rock thing, and I probably should pay more attention to him sometime. Saturday's star was Emmylou Harris; mostly she sang material from her most recent album, WRECKING BALL, and often it sounded better than the album. She also had a great song about John the Baptist which I need to track down. Not sure what else I can say about Emmylou; she was a childhood favorite of mine when she released her first albums, and it's interesting coming back to her after so many years. She's got a very good band working with her.
Steve Albini? Arrrggghh.. I was hoping his record production license had been revoked or something..
re #72, why? IMO Albini has produced some of the most influential albums of the late 80s and 90s, for example PJ Harvey's "Rid of Me," and Nirvana's "In Utero." Yes his sound is raw and harsh, however, I sometimes find that refreshing esp. if I have been in a rut say listening to overly slick, techo, ambient, or hip hop tunes
Hrm, but slick is so nice..
re #73: What can I say? I just don't like his sound (and haven't since his Big Black days..)
I've seen Bill Miller, and have his first album. Stumbled across his in-store performance at Schoolkids' several years ago, and really enjoyed the album that I immediately picked up, afterwards.
I'll just pass a few notes to Twila in public: The title of the new Dougie MacLean cd is RIOF. I have no idea what that word means. I also suspect that I never told you about a Dougie CD which came out last year called THE PLANT LIFE YEARS. Plant Life was a UK folk label which had some early Dougie work back in the 70s, maybe early 80's.
Sorry to change the subject-- but I wonder what Seals & Crofts are doing, besides touring. I might have seen them at the Gorge at George, WA some time ago, but I missed my chance. I became enchanted with the group listening to _Summer Breeze_ (the album, not just the song) and _From Here Until Sunday._ I acquired their "best of" collection when I was a college freshman about 5 years ago. Very refreshing music, and so interesting to note the Ba'hai references in their songs.
When is it coming out? Must have. Must have. (I am a Dougie FREAK!(
Twila, Dougie MacLean's RIOF album is probably already out in the UK, it's being advertised in the current FOLK ROOTS with a claim that it's available at Virgin Records. Bug Schoolkids Records; they seem to stock Dougie pretty reliably.
<tpryan gets out his Seals and Crofts vinyl for a possible
listen>
This includes Seals and Crofts I & II, re-issue of their
TA label ablums, Seals & Crofts" and "Down Home"; The TA(Bell)
release "Down Home", then the WB albums: Summer Breeze, Diamond[dale]
Girl, Unborn Child (Quadradic version), Sudan Village, Takin' It
Easy and The Longest Road.
Somebody, in some item in this conference, was interested in sea songs. While digging in the basement I came across a couple of CDs by people who specialize in them: Pint and Dale, and Tom Lewis. Let me give the Pint & Dale discs a spin and I'll get back to you. I saw them at the Philadelphia Folk Festival some oodles ago...
I'd be interested in the Tom Lewis. I've toyed wiht buying an album of his off and on, but haven't quite decided yet...
Thanks, Ken...I believe that was me. Yeah, tell me how they sound. How many oodles ago, exactly? tpryan, I'm not sure of the name of the song, but there's a Seals and Croft song that has the line, "...we may never pass this way, again...". I just recently "discovered" this song and am in love with it.
I don't recall how many oodles ago I saw Pint & Dale at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, but they are still around; they have a new CD out on the Waterbug label. Twila: There is a $5 copy of Tom Lewis's SEE DOG, SEA DOG album at Wazoo in EL, I'll go pick it up so we can have a listen.
Cool, Ken...I'll look for it.
--- IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT --- (woo, I am excited!!) Elderly Instruments has now put their recordings catalog on line!! http://www.elderly.com/recordings/recordings.htm David, take a look at the "sea songs" category. You could do worse than the various artists compilation on Topic Records, BLOW THE MAN DOWN.
Thanks, Ken!...what a great web page! I'm going to try to check out a few of these.
I neglected to mention in #87 that Elderly Instruments is America's largest discounter of folk music CDs. Hannibal and Green Linnet labels priced at $12.50/disc; most other labels between $13.50 and $15. Elderly probably has the most comprehensive selection of folk CDs in the US; the stuff they do not have is generally only distributed regionally.
I'm going to Elderly's in about a half hour, to go bass shopping not folk shopping.
I'll grab thgat note in my car I scribbled while listening to some guy play sea tunes. He's got an album out called _Voices Across the Water_...
NP: "Classic Anne Briggs," a compilation of material recorded by the British revival singer between 1963 and 1971. Briggs usually sang unaccompanied, or with a very spare guitar/bouzouki accompaniment, and a lot of the 70's electric folk singers took a bit from her, in both material and in style. Maddy Prior on Anne Briggs: "Before her there was a twee style of women singing English folk songs and she brought balls to it really. I think it changed the way that English women folk singers sang." (From the liner notes, of course.)
Sigh, I haven't been in music.cf since Oct 12th. Yes, Dave the Seals and Crofts song you seek is "We May Never Pass This Way (Again)" on their greatest hits CD and their "Diamond[dale] Girl" album, that I haven't seen in CD format.
I have now heard 1/6 of the Smithsonian/Folkways reissue of Harry Smith's _Anthology of American Folk Music_. I have to play it again, in fact, because I was so absorbed by the liner notes!
Well, I fiannaly managed to wander my way into here...:) I'm a HUGE fan of Dar Williams, and have managed to get as many people as possible hooked onto here. :) I also went to her concert in sept at the Ark, and loved every minute of it. There was a guy opening for her by the name of Richard Shindell that was really really really good. (I'm actually listening to his "Great Divide" cd right now!!) One of the songs that he and Dar did at the concert is called "The Ballad of Mary Magdelan", sung from Mary's point of view...It's a wonderful son, and at the concert, Dar actually sang it with Richard doing the backups on it...it was WONDERFUL!!!!!! I actually got the cd that night. :) I can highly reccomend it. :) My other major favorite folk group is actually not touring anymore. (or if they are, they shouldn't be!) I grew up listenig to Kingston Trio, due to the fact that my dad has all of their RECORDS. :) Talk about massively wonderful. :)
Grin. I saw Dar at a free show at the Ark about three years ago? I loved her live, but I'm less than impressed with her recordings. Just because they don't sound qute as good as her there.
Hi, Megan! You might like the Weavers, too, if you haven't already heard some from your dad. They are probably best remembered for their adaptation of "Wimoweh".
#94: rats, my strategy did not work, and I did not get the Harry Smith Box for a Christmas present. :/ It was on sale at the Tower Records in Annapolis; I'll have to see if there is a similar discount here. The Weavers are incredibly significant because they mark the creation of folk music as commercial product; I've always had a sneaking feeling that Pete Seeger regrets that, just a bit. Their influence was blotted out in the anti-communist hysteria of the 1950's, they were blacklisted and their career effectively ended. Unfortunately the Weavers' commercial recordings were done in the pop style of the day, which now sounds pretty dated...
What doesn't sound dated, from 40 years ago? In any event, apparently they were appreciated enough to reach Carnegie Hall twice, once for a reunion concert.
I dug into a long-unopened box sent to me by a trading pal and fished out PINGHA FRENZY, the live album from the latter days of Blowzabella. Blowzabella was an English dance band from the 1980s who specialized in the music of continental Europe. They were anchored by hurdy gurdy player Nigel Eaton, and the other lead instruments were usually fiddle and cittern, with the occasional saxophone. This feeds into one of my minor interests, which is continental European instrumental folk music, usually French or Breton. I used to joke that the hurdy gurdy was the medieval version of the synthesizer, mostly because it produces a continuous tone -- no strumming, bowing or breathing.
Um, I don't know what a hurdy gurdy is. Care to enlighten me?
I think instead of strumming, bowing, or breathing, you turn a crank..
...which rubs a string with its edge, continuously making sound. A set of levers are used to clamp the string down at various points, changing pitch.
...and those levers are attatched (sometimes) to a piano-type keyboard, meaning all you have to do is crank and push buttons - none of this pesky bowing business.
and if you have everything set up right, the ball drops on the ramp, causing the little plastic figurine of a man to jump into the bathtub, which vibrates the pole on which the cage is suspended, and the cage falls down and captures the mouse. oh, wait.. sorry, wrong contraption.
Yeah, and you missed a few steps too.
Did I? I was just going for the last couple of steps, not everything that occurs from the time you turn the crank. "Roll the dice, move your mice.." Carry on..
Oh yes-- it produces a droning sound, doesn't it? If it's what I think it is, I remember an exchange student playing one he made himself in h.s.
I think it does have a few strings besides the melody string, for some sort of drone effect. Wow...that's neeeat.
Speaking of curiosity about instruments, there's quite a wonderful encylopedia put out by Facts on File called _Musical Instruments_, published in 1976. It's a large trade paperback that runs about $20.
re my previous response 100: Blowzabella, the English dance band dominated by hurdy-gurdys, refuses to go away. NP: "The Duellists," a disc I picked up in Philadelphia over Christmas. It's not an official Blowzabella disc, but it features Cliff Stapleton and Nigel Eaton on hurdies -- both longtime Blowzabella players -- and another Blowzabella player, Ian Luff, on bass and cittern. This is mostly faux European courtly dance music -- faux because it's all credited as contemporary compositions.
Lately I've been enjoying the album "Pink Moon" by Nick Drake.. I've entered this in the folk item because that's where his albums usually get filed and because he seems to be better known among folk fans (perhaps for his association with members of the 60s British folk scene) though I'm not sure I myself would classify him as a folk musician.. Anyways, I'm looking for recommendations from anyone familiar with the body of his work -- I like the fairly sparse, unadorned vocal and guitar sound that prevails on "Pink Moon" but have heard work from at least one other album where the instrumentation was much different, and frankly intolerably cheesey -- brief encounters with that stuff prevented for several years my buying any of his albums. Recommendations for stuff that sounds most like "Pink Moon" would be appreciated.
I'm not real familiar with Drake's work, but I have often heard that PINK MOON was the class of the set. He only released four albums while he was alive, I think, plus two posthumous collections.
ichard Shindell at the \ark June something. He appeared with Joan Baez at the Michigan Theatre last month. HIs songwriting is tremendous and his voice is amazing.
Catie Curtis will be at the Ark tonight, Saturday May 16, for two shows: one at 7:30P and one at 10P. Worth checking her out...
Richard Shindell and Dar Williams were supposedly in the studio putting together an album together....:) I'm REALLY looking forward to hearing it after listening to them together live!
I'm kinda bummed that only 24 people showed up at the Artisan show at the Ark last night. They are a truly gorgeous three-person a capella group from Yorkshire, and they gave a kick-ass show. I was glad I was there. Upcoming Ark shows for me: Moxie Fruvous, Capercaille, Frances Black.
Oh, when's Moxy Fruevous going to be there?
June 10. What do you think of them? I don't know much about them!
Twila- I've only heard a few songs off one album...and I guess I'd describe them as alternative "babershop quartet". Thanks for mentioning the show date!
I *WILL* be at the Moxy Fruevous show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *screams of excitement*
twila/#117: only 24 in the audience for Artisan? Darn. Leslie and I would have made it 26, but we had a previous, um, engagement; we've veen fans of Artisan for some time. Reminds me of the English singer Peter Bellamy, who rarely drew more than 20 people for his Michigan concerts. Item from the Progressive Torch & Twang radio show: there is going to be a touring "Newport Folk Festival" concert package this summer, and it might have a stop at Pine Knob. (For out of towners: Pine Knob is a music amphitheatre in southeastern Michigan.)
It's been on the Pine Knob schedule for months.
So, Ken, are you going to see Richard Thompson? As a bonus, you'll also get to see Bruce Cockburn and Dar Williams, two favorites of mine... I think they're all playing the Royal Oak Music Theater this month sometime soon...
Hmmm.. I thought Thompson put on a really good show last time I saw him (a year or two ago at the Michigan Theater) but I'd pay money *not* to see Cockburn. For some reason he just *really* annoys me. Probably not his fault, I guess, but it's hard for me to enjoy anything involving him..
I'd heard about this tour, but not about a Detroit-area stop. I'm somewhat doubtful that I'll go, alas, just because I'm being a lump. I don't share Mike's antipathy towards Bruce Cockburn, but I also feel that Cockburn and Dar Williams would just be taking away stage time from Thompson.
Picky, picky, picky...
Billy Bragg, who I've long considered the British "Woody Guthrie", is about to release _Mermaid Avenue_, an album of updated, previously unrecorded Guthrie tunes with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, featuring some stunning guests that will include Eliza Carthy and Natalie Merchant. We owe some thanks to Guthrie's daughter, Nora, for the wise choice. Looking forward to it!
hmmm.. that could be interesting..
Bragg and Wilco are supposed to be touring together this summer, too. That would be a very cool show...
For those that are interested, Dar Williams and Richard Shindell put togethr an album together, with a bunch of other people....I'll let you know more as I find out more...it was recorded in April, but not out yet.
British folksinger Martin Carthy was awarded an MBE in the Queen's birthday honors list, for services to folk music. (MBE = Member of the Order of the British Empire, which I think is about as low an honor as the Queen gives out.) Carthy's resume includes: a fairly influential folk guitar style; a duo act with fiddler Dave Swarbrick; two tours of duty with the electric folk band Steeleye Span; marrying into the great English acapella singing family, the Watersons; a folk brass band, Brass Monkey; a trio act with his wife Norma and their daughter Eliza, under the name Waterson:Carthy. Almost everything he's recorded in his 35+ year career has been kept in print or reissued.
(Is the MBE the same honor as was given the Beatles, or did they get something higher?)
RE #133 The Beatles received MBE honors in 1965 or 1966, and a number of recipients turned in their honors in protest. John Lennon returned his MBE in objection to British support of the Vietnam and Biafran wars. I believe that the MBE is the highest honor in Britain short of knighthood.
An OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) appears to be higher. Fantasy author Terry Pratchett received an OBE, which is why folks I know were discussing this.
Well, pleased to see hear Martin's being recognized, officially. Well done!
Now, if only Waterson: Carthy would drop by the Ark sometime soon, I'd be even happier!
Right now I imagine Eliza Carthy is busy touring to promote the RED RICE album, so I don't expect to see Waterson:Carthy here this summer. (This is just a ploy to get me to talk about RED RICE, isn't it? :) )
Well, let's see. I was supposed to talk about Capercaille here. It was a good show, as these things go, although there was a synthesizer up there on stage, along with two drum sets. That kind of takes the folk out of folk music, but it was pretty darn exciting during the instrumental sets -- the fiddler and the Northumbrian small pipes were especially noticeable. I wasn't as happy with the arrangements on most of the songs because it seemed much too pop-oriented. Too smooth, almost, like elevator music, although I don't think most of the audience cared. I did enjoy it but not as much as I had thought I would.
That's pretty much why I was more in favor of seeing Frances Black, although she hasn't exactly been stuck on traditional styles, either.
So I was eating this rice the other day...it was red...
There is a longish biography article on Sandy Denny, and by extension on the Fairport Convention circle, in the June issue of Mojo magazine, from the UK. $8; I held off for a while due to sticker shock, but it will be well worth it for fans. More after I absorb it for a bit. (There's also a brief interview with Eliza Carthy.)
I enjoyed the Norma Waterson album a few years back, where she covered a few songs, including one by Billy Bragg, I think.
Wow, close brush with death. I nearly lost my Simon and Garfunkle album, my Weavers album, *and* my Cat Stevens album, all in one fell swoop. *Whew*
dd they try to kill you or wwere you and the albums in danger of death?
(I put an open diet pepsi into a bag of CDs, duh. What did mziemba do?)
Is anyone here interested in disonant acoustic and or punk or world music influenced folk/bluegrass? Some people that jump to mind are the Horseflies, Tony Triscka, Bela Fleck (when he isn't doing smooth jazz banjo), the Violent Femmes, Kristen Hersh, Camper Van Beethoven (yes I know pretty electric), Ani DiFranco's CD with Utah Philllips, etc. It's interesting because much tradtional folk music that features someone just strumming on a guitar (ala early Joan Baez) is some of my least favorite music, while some experimental folk is some of my most favorite music.
I dunno, write some things and see what happens. I have actually seen and chatted with the Horseflies, nearly a decade ago at the Philadelphia Folk Festival; there are some Trishka CDs around here (thumbs up) and at least one Fleck CD (thumbs down). On the other hand, it's hard for me to think of the Violent Femmes or Camper van Beethoven in the folk pigeonhole, and Kristen Hersh seems like one of those singer-songwriters who just strums on a guitar... I'm still curious to see what Steve Albini did with the new Cordelia's Dad album. (The CD is riding around in my car waiting for me to have some free time for it.)
Wow Steve Albini produced an acoustic album. Please review that as soon as you listen to it...
Well, *I* like it! Um. It's called _Spine_ and it's very aggresively acoustic, very aggresively American folk, and it's just fantastic. I was a little disappointed that they decided to go for a few more instrumentals than has been the case on previous albums, and that they didn't do any ballads, but they did do some very amazing shape-note hymns, and two exceedingly bawdy songs, that have to be heard to be believed. If you don't like your voices rather sharp-edged, then you won't like Cordelia's Dad, though.
I'm listening to Spine, now. I suspect after several listenings I will like it, but I'm suprised how tradational folk it is considering everything else Albini has produced. I like the tracks with intensive fiddling and/or vocal harmonies. I like the almost troubador quality to some of the (perhaps they are modal tunings?) songs, some of it however has a flat dragged out quality to my ears.
(way back in resp:1 & resp:2 of this item I wrote a quickie history of Cordelia's Dad.)
Actually the CD *is* growing on me. I guess I'm figuring out a new way of listening kind of like when I first got Bartok (only different in this case). There is a sublime simplicity to this album that at first sounded kind of like leaden celtic to me. The vocal harmonies are amazing and the song "Granite Mills" about 300 people dieing in a mill fire is chilling. Their web site http://world.std.com/~steeple/cordelia.html is worth checking out as well for some interesting liner notes with a lot of music history.
Since we were discussing Martin Carthy up a few responses.... a disc in heavy rotation this week has been the Albion Country Band/BATTLE OF THE FIELD. This is an early 1970s recording which just got reissued on CD last year, and when I was playing the old vinyl 20+ years ago I did not register how much Carthy sings on it; he's the lead voice on almost every track. This is at least as good as Carthy's Steeleye Span albums as an electric folk work. The rest of the band is Simon Nicol, from a period when his guitar work was most influenced by his association with Richard Thompson; accordion player John Kirkpatrick, who would go on to become a key part of the Thompson ensemble; leader Ashley Hutchings, who was starting his third electric folk band; and rounded out with Sue Harris (on oboe!) and a drummer who is either Dave Mattacks or Gerry Conway -- damn, I can't recall without fishing out the jacket. So fans of Steeleye, Fairport, Carthy, and Richard Thompson's folkier side really need to get acquainted with this album. I've played through half of the new Cordelia's Dad disc and it is excellent, probably tying HOW CAN I SLEEP as their best album. And the traditional half of the Maddy Prior disc is exceptional, too, at least as good as Steeleye Span's TIME album and probably better. Prior is at the Ark on Tuesday, July 7.
Cool, thanks for more details on Martin Carthy...
I have an unconfirmed report that the next Gillian Welch CD is due out July 28. The Schoolkids staff person I talked with could not confirm the date, but she did say that the Welch cd was definitely on the way.
Cool. I'll spin the last one while I wait...
She`s on the Horse Whisperer soundtrack, too, along with many other woderful artists. Also, she`s in Hope Floats.
whoa...the horseflies are one of my fave bands...i think i own every release of theirs including a side they did with the chicken chokers...
Is there more than just Human Fly & the other one that I have only seen called something like Gravity Dance? I know some members of the Horseflie played with Tony Triscka in a band called farm report.
let's see... "where rivers flow north," which is a movie soundtrack (awesome movie by the way!) Human Fly Gravity Dance Old Time Music with the Chicken Chokers...really fun trad appalachian stuff, especially their rendition of Benton's Dream their fiddle player is Dick Hyman's daughter Judy Hyman btw.
Time to kick this long dormant item... One incentive to get up for the Saturday morning Grexwalks is that I get to listen to some of the Folk Show on WCBN, which runs from 10 am to 1 pm Saturdays, and is followed by a country music show. Today on the drive to the Grexwalk I heard some fine bluegrass from Del McCoury; on the drive from the walk to lunch there was a good Wolfstone instrumental set which I probably own but had completely forgotten about. Driving home after downtown we were into the country show, and I (finally!) got to hear some Stompin' Tom Connors. The show played two Stompin' Tom songs: one about streaking in honor of the upcoming Ann Arbor event, and the other about a woman who wanted her husband, the narrator, to pawn his guitar to buy her stuff.
Well, here's a disappointing news report from Usenet. There's a report that Bok Muir & Trickett say their current tour will be their final one.
Kate and Anna McGarrigle did a gorgeous concert at the Ark tonight. Alone they have such odd quavery voices, but when they sing together the harmonies are glorious. I'd hoped that their children would be along for the tour, as the promotional material had suggested, but Kate & Anna said their offspring were singing on the West Coast. Backing them up were a fiddler and an electric bass player, and Kate and Anna swapped around on melodeon, banjo, guitar and piano. They played some old classics -- "Heart Like A Wheel," "Talk to Me of Mendocino," "Complainte pour Ste. Catherine" -- and the new ones, "Matapedia" and "Going Back to Harlan." Gosh. Such gem-like songs. Such a sweet evening. Kate is struggling with reading glasses, and they both have grey hair. We're all getting old together.
Darn. I would've gone to see that, had I known they were performing locally.
OK, I kick myself for not mentioning it ahead of time. I meant to, just never got around to it, *sigh*
I guess this is the right place to post this... I'm doing a radio show devoted to the music of Nick Drake on Sunday, June 20, from 6am-9am. (Drake's birthday is on the 19th, so the show is in honor of that.) For those who don't know about Drake, he was an excessively talented British singer-songwriter who unfortunately died at the age of 26 in 1974. He was a brilliant guitarist and worked with such luminaries as Richard Thompson and John Cale from the Velvet Underground. If you want to know more, you can listen to my show at 88.3, WCBN Ann Arbor, or tune in via RealAudio at www.wcbn.org.
Hmmm.. I'll have to try tuning that in if I remember.. I really like "Pink Moon" but wasn't crazy about "Bryter Later"
There's some great songs on "Bryter Layter" (e.g. the John Cale collaborations) but it's a little patchy. Try "Five Leaves Left" instead.
I wish I were geographically placed to hear your Nick Drake show. I've only heard his work a couple times, and it didn't really do anything for me - I strongly suspect I was missing something, or just wasn't in the right mood.
Yeah, it is sort of music you have to be in the mood for. Very low-key, melancholy, gentle sort of music - and very British. Sometimes a little too precious for its own good. There's a good compilation called "Way To Blue" which is worth picking up, if you want a sampling. You could have listened to the show on the WCBN website... :)
Natalie - I'll take a note of that Nick Drake compilation. Alas, listening to web broadcasts is _way_ too technologically advanced for me.
Something called The National Folk Festival is landing in East Lansing, Michigan, Friday August 13-Sunday August 15. It's all free, says the postcard! Concerts are in the afternoons and evenings at two outdoor locations in East Lansing, Valley Court Park and the Albert Avenue parking lot. Names I recognize include Cephas and Wiggins, Natalie MacMaster, Bill Kirchen (who was just in Ann Arbor for Top of the Park), Marcia Ball, bluegrass singer Lynn Morris and Irish fiddler Eileen Ivers. For details, see their website at www.nff.net. The Elderly Instruments web site at www.elderly.com also has some information. Unfortunately this festival is the same weekend Leslie gets back from her extended stay in Austria, so I'll probably just make it to Natalie MacMaster's Friday night performance.
Wow, it's been a year since this item had any activity. Once again it's time to give a little plug to the National Folk Festival in East Lansing, Friday August 11 - Sunday August 13. Their web site is at http://www.nff.net. Performers I'm interested in include New Orleans jazz piano wizard Henry Butler, cajuns Beausoleil, and the Irish-American band Solas. I can see Henry Butler and Beausoleil if I stay in East Lansing after work Friday, so I might just do that and skip driving up on Saturday or Sunday, unless Twila wants to twist my arm really hard.
Sight don't look good under lynx.
Want to do Solas! Want to go! Arm-twist! Arm twist!
Two hours of driving for a one hour Solas concert? Besides, weren't they just at Frog Island?
There's two on Sunday, yes there are. (Solas concerts, that is.)
Heh, I figured you'd pick up on both Solas sets. Between the two Solas sets, the stuff that appeals to me the most would be the Swedish-American fiddlers at 2:30 and the Harmonia Eastern Europeans at 3:30. Or we could just wander aimlessly among the five stages for a few hours. Decisions, decisions. You'll have to let me know how much wandering you are up for.
I made it to some of the Friday night events at the National Folk Festival. Henry Butler's New Orleans jazz/blues piano was very nice; I did not know that he holds a Master's degree from Michigan State! I was sort of cranky during the Beausoleil set: it may just have been that I was geting tired of either standing or sitting on the ground when everyone else at the Valley Court Stage had lawn chairs. So about halfway through the Beausoleil set I wandered over to the "Masters of the Steel String Guitar" concert and that put me in a much better mood. I especially liked Eddie Pennington's thumbpicking style. A bluegrass band who I'm fond of, Appalachian Trail, is also here for the weekend. Their singer, Linda Barker Lay, sang a few songs with the guitarists. So I may drive up again both Saturday and Sunday, if I feel sufficiently motivated. News Item from the Elderly Instruments tent: British singer Kate Rusby is on the Ten Pound Fiddle schedule for mid-November.
We saw Solas at Frog Island, and are hoping to get tickets for their show at the Ark in October....but I don't know when the tix go on sale. But I *REFUSE* to miss that show. I also have 8th row tix for Great Big Sea in October, and I was hoping to make the Dar concert, but alas, I'm going to be leaving *that night* for Maine. (My parents won't wait until after the show. :(
Usually about a month before the concert. (Twila is definitely going to the ARk to see Solas.)
Found a notice that Dougie MacLean had made available five live songs from
a concert on Friday 18 August at this URL:
http://www.albamp3.com/dougieconcert.html
In order to get a username/password, a 4.00 UKP fee is required, allegedly
obtainable from Dunkeld Media's new online store. Alas, I paid for two such
downloads ('cuase I figured Twila'd need 'em, too) but haven't received any
sort of user name yet. Though I did get an e-mail confirmation this time,
which is more than I received from my last order.
Okey....before I try to post a review, is there anybody here who is actually a Dar fan? If there isn't there's no point in me trying to do a review, since I don't know that I can do anything but compare it to other stuff of hers.
I am a Dar fan.
Oh, yes ... please do! I like Dar, too.
nice dar williams article in today's NYTimes.
What did it say? (For those of us who don't read the NYTimes)
You can read the New York Times on-line if you want..
Only the current day's articles, unless you pay money, alas.
Not always. Depends on where it's at. Sometimes you can read old stuff.
I've got a question for all of you Fairport Fanatics.. On "Little Honda", an EP of covers from a couple of years back, Yo La Tengo do a very pleasant cover of a song called "By the Time It Gets Dark" I've never heard the original and it's just credited to "(Denny)" Would that be Sandy Denny? Yo La Tengo have covered Richard Thompson tunes in the past so I presume they're probably familiar with Sandy Denny and her work, but it could just as likely be someone from an obscure band I've never heard of -- they love to do covers of their favorite obscure songs. If it is a Sandy Denny song, what's the original like? Can anyone who's heard both compare them?
I don't remember the song, but the Google search reveals that Sandy Denny's recording is a demo which only appeared on the now-out-of-print 3-cd set "Who Knows Where The Time Goes?" And right now I don't know where my copy of this is.
That would make it exactly the sort of thing that YLT particularly enjoy covering -- an obscurity from a performer with a cult following..
This is for Happyboy. The Horseflies have a new album out, a live recording from a festival called "In The Dance Tent." No idea who would be carrying it locally; I saw it listed on Elderly's web page. I'll pick up my copy next time I'm out that way.
I like The Horseflies, too. I picked up "human fly" and the sndtrack to "Where the Rivers Flow North" last year, replacing the old cassettes. I'll keep my eyes peeled for this new, live, disc.
Came across a new "Walkabouts" album on some obscure import label; it's apparently an album of cover songs. Any idea about its quality, Ken, or have you stopped following the Walkabouts?
"Satisfied Mind" was a Walkabouts cover album from the early to mid-90s; is there another one? In general I have abandoned them; little they have recorded since 1991 -- I've heard most of it -- has been worthwhile. Their songwriting brilliance just burned out too fast.
Yes, from what I can recall.. I checked www.allmusic.com and the track list from "Satisfied Mind" wasn't the one I remember from the music store last night. According to AMG they had an earlier recording released this year on Glitterhouse, and that was the label name I remember. I suspect this one probably postdates that by a bit. According to AMG they're really big in Germany, but then so (supposedly) is David Hasselhoff..
I should warn everyone else that the Walkabouts have only the most tangential relationship to folk music. The new album is described in detail on the unofficial web site at http://www.thewalkabouts.com and it's covers of European songs. Hmm, could be interesting. I still like listening to Carla Torgeson's singing. I also see the band has a new drummer. Their previous drummer, Terry somebody, I didn't like. Yeah, their career moved entirely to Europe after about 1992.
Egads! It's been five years since I was to Elderly Instruments.
cool ken, i'll be up elderly way to do a *trade-up* on one of my instruments next month...i'll check the new "Flies thing then. i wonder if it's all oldtimey stuff?
The "Progressive Torch and Twang" show on the MSU student radio station was playing most of the soundtrack for Joel & Ethan Coen's new film, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" The soundtrack is produced by T Bone Burnett and it includes new recordings of old-time and country songs by Alison Kraus, Gillian Welch, John Hartford and Ralph Stanley. The host said that the movie is set in the 1930s and the music is an integral part of the story. "Folk Roots" magazine also had a rave review of the soundtrack CD. The movie doesn't open until December 22.
'a thistle & shamrock christmas ceilidh' appears to be a new to 2000 Christmas CD. While I got it this last weekend, I may wait till past Xgiving to give it a listen.
Hadn't seen that one, tpryan. May have to check it out (Twila hates most Christmas CDs, so this might be just the ticket...)
Let us know how it is...most of the Celtic Christmas stuff I've not been at all impressed with.
I did listen to it last night. Variety of artists. Competent playing. Last track being a 'live' concert track did throw me off as a listener. I trusted Fiona Richie to made good selections, and I would say I got good selections.
I picked up the Sing Out! 50th anniversary issue today. This
is one that Matt Watroba talked about on his "Folks Like Us" show
this past Saturday on WDET. A collection of songs from each year
that they have been publishing. Even if you don't intend to sing
the songs, the commentary on the half century of folk music has to
be worth it.
Borders downtown should have more later this week.
I got one at the Arborland Borders on Saturday. Read it through. What was really neat for me was reading the excerpts from various articles that talked about the controversies in folk music in the 60s.... wow. Of course, I was also a tad freaked out about *wry smile* the fact that it had been founded in 1950, and was thus 50 years old. I just don't think of then as that far away!
News item: Mimi Farina (of 60s duo Richard & Mimi Farina) has cancer; her sister Joan Baez has cancelled her winter tour, including the scheduled appearance at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival. (Baez' web page is at: http://baez.woz.org) Eliza Carthy is on the cover of the February issue of Tower's PULSE magazine. It's a decent interview. Her new album, ANGELS AND CIGARETTES, is due for US release. I'm still uncertain if I want a copy. The other featured interview is with Dolly Parton, who has done another traditional-ish album. Twila, I got a second copy of the magazine for you.
Wait...Mimi Farina is Joan Baez's sister?
(Yes.) I was going to go to the Folk Festival, and was bummed that I hadn't gotten around to getting tix yet. Then I found out that Peter Yarrow is replacing Joan Baez, and I'm glad I didn't get the tix.
Crap, we're all getting old. From today's Ann Arbor News: the Ark had wanted to get all of Peter Paul & Mary to fill in for Joan Baez at the Folk Festival, but Mary Travers isn't walking too well.
What about Paul Stookey (the other member of Peter Paul & Mary)?
He wasn't mentioned.
That's Noel. ;-)
my dads roomate in college - yale - was paul stookey.
Much of the previous discussion about the band Cordelia's Dad went
in this item, so I'll paste in this e-mail from them:
From: Cordelia88@aol.com
Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 09:33:17 EDT
Subject: Cordelia's Dad rocks on Friday
Hello,
Cordelia's Dad will be playing some of the rock and roll music this Friday
(tomorrow), July 6, at the Flywheel in Easthampton, Mass. It's all ages.
There are four bands, the first of whom start playing at 8pm: Years Apart,
Ellison, Tizzy, and us. We stop playing at 11:30. We'll be playing a bunch of
songs that will be on our next album, which we are currently finishing mixing
for Kimchee Records.
We hope to see you there.
-peter irvine
Cordelia's Dad
www.cordeliasdad.com
----------
Sounds like the band has taken yet another drastic change in direction,
since their last album was the militantly traditional "Spine," produced
by Steve Albini. Still, this is good news, since I had thought they were
likely to break up, with two of the key members doing solo albums and
the third in law school.
I am happy about this, too. Cordelia's Dad has always been an interesting band.
Michelle Shocked is playing the Ark on Monday?? How did this almost slip by? Are there tickets left? Do I care like I did 12 years ago?
I'm going to see her! I wouldn't miss it.
I got the next-to-last Michelle Shocked ticket from the allocation at the downtown Borders. The unofficial web page reports that she has a dub album for sale only at gigs, so bring a few extra dollars if you want one. This would be Ms. Shocked's fourth limited-release album, and the web page says a new broad-release album is scheduled for the fall.
resp:218 - "militantly traditional"?
re #223, #218: I think I can understand "militantly traditional", it's just the combination of "militantly traditional" and Steve Albini that's afflicting me with cognitive dissonance.. re #222: I'm not parsing very well today, I guess.. It took me almost a full minute to realize that when Ken talks about Michelle Shocked selling a limited release "dub album" that he doesn't mean the sort of album I think of when I think "dub album" (or does he? I presume he means it's a soundboard recording from one of her tours and not a collection of studio- remixed instrumental cuts of her work..)
Cordelia's Dad and their "militantly traditional" stage: they were being fanatical purists, as revivalists, in a way that musicians who grow up in the tradition rarely are. Remember that Cordelia's Dad started out in a style which I describe as "The Ramones Play Folk Music," and from that beginning, they moved to a more and more acoustic and traditional presentation. About the time the Steve Albini purist album was released, I saw them at a workshop stage at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, and their attitude was, "this is REAL folk music and you will LISTEN and APPRECIATE it, it's GOOD FOR YOU and you could see the folk festival audience getting somewhat cranky... i maybe it was just the afternoon heat... Mike: Michelle Shocked's limited-release album "Dub Natural" is (reportedly) a remixed version of the basic instrumental tracks from her forthcoming mainstream album "Deep Natural," so this is, at least conceptually, dub as you know it. I got a copy at the show tonight and will have more to say after I play it. And I will have to write up something about the Michelle Shocked concert -- probably it will just be a memory dump from my scribbled setlist notes -- but this was one of the great, great concerts. I was dazzled.
("militantly traditional": see my resp:71 in this very item, from
shortly after the concert...)
This weekend (Friday-Saturday-Sunday) the National Folk Festival will be held in downtown East Lansing. It's free, though there will be plenty of opportunity to spend on food, drinks and cds. Last year's festival was a lot of fun. Schedule is at: http://www.nff.net The biggest names appearing are probably Doc Watson, the Mahotella Queens from South Africa, Barachois from Atlantic Canada, Cherish the Ladies, and the Hot Club of Cowtown.
saw barachois last month at bliss saw the mahotela queens a few years back at frog island I WANT TO SEE DOC WATSON, never seen the ol dude
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