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Records
The Walkabouts " Ended Up A Stranger"
Produced by The Walkabouts, Phil Brown and Larry Crane. 2001. Glenn Slater : Analog and other keyboards ; Carla Torgerson : Vocals, guitars, tapes ; Chris Eckman : Vocals, Guitars, blips and bleeps ; Terri Moeller : Drums and percussion ; Joe Skyward, Bass. Many guest musicians ! Glitterhouse Records (Germany) 64 :30 minutes.
It took me awhile to come around to this album. I'm not even sure why really- perhaps the first song threw me a little bit, maybe the sequence itself, perhaps it was just a bad day ? Nevertheless I tried 3 or 4 times from the beginning and just couldn't get into it. Finally what I ended up doing was putting the CD on shuffle (random play) and voila, it all came together for me. Each song was unique and separate from the rest and I really started to enjoy it. After that, from the beginning made perfect sense and now I love this album! The Walkabouts have carved out a musical identity unlike any other band in the world and I think that's a hell of compliment in this day and age. The music compels at many different levels and I like that very much. Sometimes it's good and important for music to be simple or obvious but the Walkabouts songs are much more complex. This music really begins at "a place between shadow and light". What strikes first of course are the vocals of Chris and Carla. Carla's cyrstal clear singing is the strongest it's ever been and Chris's breathy singtalk is at its most confident level. The singing immediately identifies and evelopes. The lyrics are at once ignematic, spacious and yet still personal. The music is a swirling wash of chords colored gray, purple, blue and brown and frames the lyrics which is as it should be. There are no blistering lead guitar parts here, no high pitched vocal screams, nothing that jumps out of the ensemble. All parts are important and it all fits together as an organic whole and whole it is. Take away one part of this complex record and it would sound less. What you have here is music made by excellent musicians confident in their messege and in their voices. Comfortable with silence and space. Happy to let you paint your own pictures and draw your own conclusions. At ease with the wanderings of the soul and yet bringing you back to earthbound landings with a certainty that you are not alone in the crowd. Certainly the Walks most accomplished work. I started to include a song recommendation list here for you but after repeated listenings I couldn't really come up with a list of less than 8 songs. Another excellent record from an 18 year old band with a great track record (sic)! Lucky you. Buy the record and enjoy. Well done my friends! (If you live in Europe it's probably no problem for you to find this record at your local dealer or mailorder. If your anywhere else you might try their webpage for information on where to obtain the release. It's worth the effort!).
Gillian Welch "Time (The Revelator)"
Of course recognition is perhaps the best thing that having a song (or two or three) on a movie soundtrack will give an artist (not counting the money of course!). Indeed it was during the "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?" movie (an excellent collection of soundtrack songs- edited by T-Bone Burnett- by the way!) that I really gave her music a good listening too. I'd guess that I'd been hearing about Ms. Welch
for more than a few years now but for one reason or another I never really connected with her. For better or worse (probably worse) I do not listen to much real "traditional" American folk music (as versus Blues music) and I've always just sort of classified Welch's music in that genre. "Time (The Revelator)" is an eye opener for me though. I believe her music transcends the "folkie" boundary. Certainly the songwriting is "stick to the ribs" modern enough. The music itself is just basically Gillian singing her songs with a sweet and clear voice and traditional harmonies provided by her accompanist David Rawlings. She plays acoustic guitar and he plays an always fine and tasty rhymic-lead on his national guitar. I guess she plays banjo on a couple of songs although it's not really made clear on the liner notes. Nor for that matter do they even tell us Davids name but only that "all songs written by Welch and Rawlings". Although the liner notes DO credit both of them with the song writing you certainly get the feeling that she is at the very least, the lyricist. It's a very quiet album, and dare I say, perfect for sleepy headed late risers? It really will get under your skin though. My favorite cuts are the title track "Revelator", a haunting and scarry vision that could have been written by K. Cobain, "Dear Someone" a very sweet and meloncholy love song and the happy and (again) somewhat wistful "I Want To Sing That Rock And Roll". Clean and simple lines, great vocals and lyrics, excellent guitar work (always a favorite of mine!) and quite satisfying. One song too long perhaps but ageless. A really fine record.
Françoiz Breut.
Two Cd’s, one from 1997 just self titled and the newest from 2000 entitled "Vingt a trente mille jours ". If you haven’t heard of this woman yet I do recommend that you go find either one or both of these Cd’s ! I hate like hell to generalize but if I was pressed this music would fall into the general area of where Calexico, Katanoma or Lambchop all hang out. The songs are 90% sung in French and the music is French flavored but don’t let that scare you away. It’s very accessible and compelling. Her partnership with songwriter /guitarist/husband Dominic A is central to the strange, murky brew of tonal ambience that dominates the grooves. She’s got a warm, husky and intimate voice that is mixed front and center on all songs. I especially love the first Cd and find it to be a bit stronger but thats just prejudice because it WAS the first CD that I heard from her. The new Cd also has included a bonus Cd of 4 tracts. I must honestly say that her drummer Sacha Toorop is one of my favorite percussionests of all time. Remarkable player. I saw them all play live just last night not too far from here and it was very rewarding. It is my understanding that they were on their very first tour and it showed a bit in their stage presence and nervousness. After a while they did settle down and it was a great night for music and in a country that’s starving for high quality live music it was gratefully heard by an appreciative audience. Highly recommended live and, of course, the Cd’s!!
Emmylou Harris "Red Dirt Girl"
I just picked this one up by chance at the local record store and it has become my favorite early winter days.This Cd follows some of the same ground that she covered with the Daniel Lanois produced "Wrecking Ball" (’97 ?).In my opinion though "Red Dirt Girl" is a more fully realized project then the other. First of all the production is not as "dense" as the former but it still has the swampy feel. Produced by Malcom Burn. The other thing is that Ms. Harris has written all the songs on this one (with some little help by Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark, ect.) and fine songs they are indeed. Long, Dylanesque type ballads and stories, well crafted and musical. Great, great musicianship prevails on all tracks (12). One of the best drummers in the world Daryl Johnson (a Lanois alum) is present, Buddy Miller- guitar, Malcum Burns- bass, Ethan Johns- keyboards, guitars ect. And special guests fill out an all-star cast. The music is deep, rich and satisfying. And,of course, there is everywhere Emmylou’s wonderful and sexy voice ! What more could you ask for? A marvelous achievement!