Rate this:

My review of Flatt Lonesome’s disappointing debut disc has been posted to Fervor Coulee Bluegrass.

…Although I do like the album cover…

The bluegrass world is pretty insular, and writing negatively about any band’s recording isn’t commonly done. For the most part, I avoid writing negative reviews for any number of reasons including it makes me feel like a heel. Still, sometimes albums come out and appear to be embraced by the bluegrass community, and I just can’t figure out why. This is one of those times, and I felt compelled to stand up and write what I have been thinking since hearing the album a couple weeks back.

As a very independent writer, it is not in my ‘best’ interest to write negative reviews. I rely on publicists, labels, and artists to get albums into my hands. I’ve learned the hard way that if you slag an artist, you get ‘cut off.’ I haven’t received an album directly from Rural Rhythm- or their publicist- since I wrote negatively about one of their most insipid releases five years ago.

And that’s their perogative. I hope that doesn’t happen this time, but I can live better with myself having written honestly than cocooning faint praise within a publicity piece. Chris Jones, always insightful, is touching on this type of writing over at Bluegrass Today. I’ve likely been guitly of doing this type of thing in the past, at least in my days with Bluegrass Now where negative reviews were not permitted; if you wanted to be even a little critical, you had to couch your writing in the manner Jones describes in his first example.

In those days, Bluegrass Now was paying me to write for them, so I had to follow their guidelines. Now, I’m writing for myself, and on a good day, a few hundred others. I owe it to myself, the people who read my writing, and to the artists I write about to do so as honestly and as transparently as possible. I’ve written positively about artists who have personally insulted and offended me, or who have shown up for gigs (apparently) coked to the gills, or who have been less than forthright or honest in their dealings with myself and those I’ve worked with. That is how it should be- when writing, I am doing so from a critical not personal perspective.

I don’t expect to get a thank you note from Flatt Lonesome, or their publicist, for this review. I don’t expect them to even care what I’ve written. That isn’t why I write about roots music. I do hope I guide some readers toward making a more thoughtful decision before laying out ten or fifteen dollars for their album.

As always, thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee. Donald

BTW- I’m listening to Leeroy Stagger’s Radiant Land right now, and dang- it is freaking great!

Rate this:

Over at Lonesome Road Review, Aaron has posted my review of the quite terrific collection inspired by some of the music referenced in the Little House books. The link will get you there: http://lonesomeroadreview.com/2012/10/22/pas-fiddle-charles-ingalls-american-fiddler-by-various-artists/

Worth checking out, in my opinion. As always, thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee. Donald

Rate this:

Well, that is one long entry heading!

I was recently assigned the latest from Bobby Osborne to review. Glad to do it as it is a very fine album, full of memorable performances. Find it at the Lonesome Road Review:  http://lonesomeroadreview.com/2012/09/25/new-bluegrass-old-heartaches-by-bobby-osborne-the-rocky-top-x-press/

As always, thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee. Donald

Rate this:

Cowboy Junkies The Wilderness: The Nomad Series Volume 4 Latent

Having celebrated 25 years as one of the country’s most dynamic recording groups, Cowboy Junkies embarked on an ambitious campaign 18 months ago: release four distinct albums within a year and a half. Starting with the exquisite Renmin Park in late 2010, the seminal Canadian outfit have since released a tribute to Vince Chesnutt (Demons) to rave reviews and a set of dark, heavy sounds (Sing in My Meadow) that was remarkably diverse.

The Wilderness may be the strongest album of the four. Certainly it is closest to the ‘classic’ Cowboy Junkies sound: languid vocals from Margo Timmins and delicately complex, occasionally trippy backing tracks that are immediately recognizable as coming from the Ontario-based collective.

The liner notes tell us- if the album title wasn’t enough of a clue- that these songs are about those elements that bind us within their isolation: loneliness, loss, chance, desperation, fragile hopes and elusive beauty. The basic stuff of singer-songwriter efforts since the days of traveling troubadours, then.

One tranquil song effortlessly slips into the next with little but the contribution of visiting guests such as Jeff Bird (mandolins), Joby Baker and Jesse O’Brien (keyboards), and Miranda Mulholland (violin) distinguishing one from another. This consistency in sound is what makes The Wilderness so appealing: nothing jars the listener out of the inviting and profound sound-space the band has created.

By my count, The Wilderness is Cowboy Junkies 15^th album of new material. It easily ranks with their greatest recordings such as Lay It Down, Black Eyed Man, and Open.

Originally published in the Red Deer Advocate March 16, 2012

Rate this:

Various Artists Moody Bluegrass Two…Much Love Bunny Rae Records

Billed “A Nashville Celebration of The Moody Blues,” this is the second volume of bluegrass-amplified, mostly acoustic interpretations of songs from the deep catalogue of the British prog-pop band.

Featuring some of the finest instrumentalists and vocalists from the bluegrass world, these 16-tracks occasionally sound like square rock songs being forced through circular
bluegrass holes. At other times, as when Vince Gill takes the lead on I Know You’re Out There, Larry Cordle’s rendition of Have You Heard, and Ronnie Bowman’s interpretation of The Story In Your Eyes, things sound natural.

Much more than the latest installment of some generic Pickin’ On series, Moody
Bluegrass Two…Much Love has a consistent sound and vision, and it helps
that the Moodys drop by to make vocal contributions. That it doesn’t overwhelm
us comes down to a matter of taste and preference. (www.TooMuchLove.com)

Rate this:

April Verch That’s How We Run Slab Town Records

A native of the Ottawa Valley, April Verch’s name has been so prominent within the roots music community for the past decade and a half that it seems impossible that she is only in her early 30s. A veteran of the road, Verch’s eighth album is of the quality that causes the phrase tour de force to come to mind.

Having flirted with various music styles over the years, and mastering them all, on That’s How We Run Verch deeply delves into old-time Appalachian traditions.  With her roots in the foot-stompin’ traditions of community dances, Verch brings the vitality of live performance to this recording.

Comprised of a succession of ascending notes, the title track is a plaintive cry for understanding within a fracturing relationship. Traditional numbers comprise a goodly chunk of the album with Kasey Chambers’ “This Flower” providing a contemporary interlude. One of the album’s most memorable pieces, “This Flower” is dually highlighted by Verch’s honest vocal interpretation and Clay Ross’s guitar.

As well, Verch contributes half a dozen originals. Any concern over one fiddle tune blending with those before it are put asunder early. While there is certainly no shortage of instrumentals included, each is lent distinction by featuring a variety of instrumental lineups, tempos, and styles. Especially impressive are Cody Walters’ clawhammer parts, prominent on the album’s first three tracks and –in large measure- establishing the album’s tone.

Riley Baugus provides a masculine interlude on “Lazy John” while Verch takes several leads. Band members Ross and Walters share lead turns with Verch on the campfire-y “Moonshine Mac.” Verch has a sweet voice, not as emotive say as Alison Krauss but more chipper and certainly enjoyable.

Verch successfully  mixes in a mainstream (circa 1955) old-time country vibe with renditions of “I’m Waiting to Hear You Call Me Darlin’” (a bluegrass standard from the Flatt & Scruggs repertoire) and “Still Trying,” an original song that should have been recorded by Kitty Wells.

Verch and her touring band- Walters and Ross- provide the instrumental core augmented by the likes of Baugus, Bob Carlin, Chris Sharp, and Dirk Powell here and there.

Generously timed at almost 57 minutes, That’s How We Run is much more than a fiddler’s latest project. It is one of the most impressive roots music albums I’ve heard this year.

 As always, thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee. Donald

Rate this:

I haven’t heard them yet, but I am very excited to receive news that Steve Forbert has readied for release two albums from the 80s, both with bonus tracks, and a recent live recording.

Little Stevie Orbit, maybe my favourite of the first four albums released on Nemperor/CBS in no little part that it was the first Forbert album I purchased the week of release back in 1980, and Steve Forbert have been remastered and supplemented with bonus tracks and- in the case of Little Stevie Orbit- a live set from 1980.

Also ready for shipping from http://www.steveforbert.com/ is Don’t Look Down, a set of live solo recordings from two shows in 2010 and 2011. Available exclusively from Forbert’s website, the albums are available in two deluxe bundles. See http://www.steveforbert.com/news/news_orbit_forbert_release.html for details.

I can’t wait until my set arrives.

Thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee. Donald

Rate this:

In today’s Red Deer Advocate Roots Music column, I am pleased to advance the local roots happenings and review Mark Davis’s album Eliminate the Toxins. Released Tuesday, this third album from the ex-Old Reliable co-frontman is- as expected- very impressive.

As a musician matures, their music must progress. The most accomplished artists frequently undergo their metamorphoses undetected by listeners: the changes are natural and organic, perhaps individually insignificant but which collectively become apparent in retrospect. I think that is what we have here with Davis. Garnering a lot of airplay on CKUA, the songs work both collectively and as single snapshots of a greater work. Wonderful stuff.

http://www.markdavismusic.ca/home.html will get you information about purchasing- I’m guessing Edmonton outlets such as Blackbyrd and Permanent will have it available. http://tinyurl.com/42whb48 will get you to the column and review.

Originally published in my Roots Music column in the Red Deer Advocate, June 3, 2011

Mark Davis Eliminate the Toxins Saved by Radio

Edmontonian Mark Davis didn’t grow up playing music, but over the past 15 years has become one of the stalwarts of the province’s independent music community. Since the release of Old Reliable’s Gone Are the Days in 1999, his distinctive voice and astute vision have provided perceptive listeners with much to contemplate and relish.

With the release of his ambitious two-album set Don’t You Think We Should Be Closer? and Mistakes I Meant to Make four years ago, Davis became the most played Canadian roots artist on Galaxie radio. Eliminate the Toxins is every bit as strong and invigorating as that substantial project.

Eliminate the Toxins  has a sound that is even more adventurous than his previous releases but retains the intense focus and introspection one has come to expect from a singer-songwriter whose best works can be appreciated on a poetic level while also serving as impetus to dance, albeit dance slowly.

Similar to Stan Ridgeway, Davis’s music has a cinematic quality that cries out for visual interpretation. “Go to Ground,” one of Eliminate the Toxins’ more catchy numbers, is easy to imagine as soundtrack to a dark, desolate desert pursuit from which the conflicted protagonist has no hope to escape. “In the Waters” and the title track are cleverly-crafted pop songs bathed in a wash of guitars and harmonies harnessed from years of exposure to The Byrds, Nice Cave, and Calexico. 

The eight-minute epic “Throw it Away” is a composition of swirling guitars and keys that evokes a trance-like sensation through remarkable execution. This journey of perception concludes with “Wounded King,” yet another song where Davis evokes other-worldly mystery. With a similar musical genesis, these songs wouldn’t sound out of place on Iron & Wine’s latest if Sam Beam rocked a lot harder.

Working with Calgary’s Lorrie Matheson, Davis benefits from his co-producer’s willingness to consider sonic possibilities. Multi-layered, Eliminate the Toxins is so all-encompassing that listeners will find themselves sinking into its warmth.

Thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee. Donald

Rate this:

I was quite excited earlier this month when I was assigned Laura Cantrell’s tribute to Kitty Wells to review. Cantrell is one of those singers who I love to listen to, but seldom am reminded to pull her albums off the shelf. This weekend, with a self-imposed deadline in sight, I spent time quickly refreshing my memory of Cantrell’s music; it is every bit as impressive as I remember. I love a good tribute album and find that almost all of them have something to offer; it is nice to hear music that is inspired by a deep respect for those who came before.

Kitty Wells Dresses: Songs of the Queen of Country Music is a wonderful albeit rather short salute to a singer whose music I haven’t truly delved into- even when I was in my twenties and beginning to explore country, Wells seemed to be too far removed to really appreciate- sort of like Jimmie Rodgers, I suppose.

Laura Cantrell”s own writing has frequently taken a back seat to her interpretations of other’s songs and this 10-song tribute to Kitty Wells shouldn’t come as a surprise. Songs such as her own “Broken Again,” “California Rose,” and “Early Years” contain the same balance of vulnerability and backbone that Wells’ finest songs captured.

Given the current state of commercial country music, a tribute to Kitty Wells may not seem to be the most viable idea; in fact, one wouldn’t be surprised if some reading her name will consider it presumptuous that Cantrell is paying tribute to Mrs. Bruce Robison.

The impact Kitty Wells had changing the course of country music is well-documented if frequently neglected: 75 charting songs, 50 consecutive charting singles, three number ones including “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels,” a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4699 will get you there. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee. Donald

Rate this:

Kimmie Rhodes Dreams of Flying Sunbird

I’ve been listening to Kimmie Rhodes for many years more than I have Eliza Gilkyson. I first encountered her as the proverbial rose among thorns in a mid-90s Austin City Limits program where she appeared with Waylon, Willie, Billy Joe, and Kris; to hold her own in such considered company one rightly assumed she must have stones of substance. The deal was sealed listening to her (again)at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, and her catalogue is one I continually explore; West Texas Heaven is one of the most perfect albums I know.

Like Gilkyson, Rhodes has a consistent way with songs while at the same time inviting the listener to discover each subtlety of song and gem of inspiration interdependently with what she and her production team capture. If that makes any sense, which I don’t think it does.

With a tight five-piece band providing support, Rhodes has produced only the latest in a string of albums capturing the wistful majesty of one of North America’s most beautiful voices. With music this lovely, this heartfelt and sincere, one just knows that the soul is every bit as special as the talent it fosters.

Joe Ely slides in for a duet of Donovan’s “Catch the Wind.” Propelled by John Gardner’s shaker, the song’s arrangement is quite unusual (at least to these ears) as it starts with a distinctive guitar focus (I believe from producer/son Gabriel- didn’t he used to be Gabe?) and imperceptibly metamorphoses into a rich, piano showcase for Mike Thompson.

A distinct British influence is heard in a few places. “Turnin’ My World,” a song from other son Jeremie, induces a bit of Kinks’ “Waterloo Sunset”-era influence into the proceedings while Kimmie’s own “Luh Luh Love” channels Kirsty MacColl via Muscle Shoals.

The preceding may be the strangest and least sensible paragraph I’ve ever written, but each word appears true to me!

Back-to-back, “Unholy Ghost” and “Not a Cloud” wouldn’t sound out-of-place on Emmylou Harris’ recent Hard Bargain, and each features impressive guitar sounds courtesy of Gabriel.

Dreams of Flying is likely not the best place to be introduced to Kimmie Rhodes, and I’m not exactly sure why I feel that way. Perhaps the album just doesn’t seem as accessible as some of her previous albums. Still, discovering an artist like Kimmie Rhodes- one who flies under the popular radar even within the fairly underground genre (if it can be even called such) that is Americana- is an intimately personal experience. If this is your first experience with Rhodes, maybe it’ll spark as intensive a survey as my first listen to her did 15 years ago.

I certainly hope it does.

As always, thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee. Donald