Dirty Linen

This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen #115 (December 2004/January 2004).
The full article is in the magazine, available on newsstands, by subscription, and at the Dirty Linen webstore.

Recording Reviews

Pete Morton: Swarthmoor
Harbourtown HARCD 044 (2003)

In times when it sometimes seems as if every television newscast provides fresh reasons for despair, the music of English singer/songwriter Pete Morton is a steady beacon of hope. Whether he's writing about ancient conflicts or marveling at love, adapting traditional stories or having a laugh over how silly the human race can be, Morton looks at the world with wonder and hope and a heartening notion that if we all just tried to treat each other decently, it could be a wonderful place.

A powerful, compelling singer, Morton is also a master of pithy lyrics. Swarthmoor leads off with "The Two Brothers," a striking metaphor for the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians that portrays the antagonists as a pair of squabbling children, who although they fight are intimately connected to and dependent on one another. "I don't care who started it," says the exasperated voice of a parent, "Just try and get along." This quiet, simple song says more about the Middle Eastern situation than a hundred news analyses.

"Nasby Field" narrates a dream that links past and present, personalizing war as seen by a 17th-century soldier. "The Shepherd's Song" also connects times and places, a rollicking melody with lyrics that celebrate the English rural life of two hundred years ago while looking askance at the power structures of big city business. "The Government Wall" is a pensive song of lost love and disillusionment built around an image of separation.

On a much lighter note, "Six Billion Eccentrics" is a playful, uptempo salute to the human race and all its foibles, while "The Luckiest Man" is an affectionate look at a long and happy marriage that was inspired by the singer's parents. If there's one thing missing on this disk, it's that Morton's solo voice-and-guitar arrangements dispense with the fiddle, accordion, and female harmonies that nicely sweetened the sound of his previous album.

The closing track, "St. George Slew the Dragon," is a gentle song of reassurance and hope, a calm reminder that sometimes life's problems are only the creation of our own minds. With his mix of involvement and intensity, optimism and humor, Morton remains one of the most convincing songwriters on either side of the Atlantic.

--Tom Nelligan (Waltham, MA)

Anita Carter: Appalachian Angel: Anita Carter, Her Recordings 1950-1972 & 1996
Bear Family BCD 16414 (2004), 7-CD+book

Bear Family has lovingly compiled a seven-disc box set of the work of Anita Carter, the youngest of Mother Maybelle Carter's three daughters. Anita began singing with her mother, uncle (A.P. Carter), and aunt (Sara Carter) in the late 1930s when Anita was four years old. During the 1940s, she played string bass and joined her sisters, Helen and June, and her mother in a performing and radio group. This box begins with Anita's first singles for RCA in the early 1950s, when she was still a teenager, includes her solo and duet work for a variety of labels through 1972, and concludes with her final session (unreleased until now), recorded in 1996, three years before she died of complications from rheumatoid arthritis.

Despite her good looks and exquisitely beautiful singing voice, Anita was never a country music industry star, and she never had a monster hit on her own. This is discussed at length in the LP-sized 76-page hardcover book that accompanies the package. Observations by the book's author, Hank Davis, plus essays based on interviews with friends, family, and music associates, agree that the reasons for her not achieving superstardom included the choice of material and the arrangements used, Anita's lack of ego, her lack of enthusiasm for going on the road as a solo artist to support her recordings, her dedication to the Carter family and interest in keeping the family group together, and her choice to place family first in her life.

Disc one contains her earliest solo sides, 1951 and 1956 duet singles with Hank Snow, including the top-five charting "Bluebird Island/Down the Trail of Achin' Hearts," and an excellent rendition of "I Dreamed of a Hillbilly Heaven" on which Anita's lead singing is backed by her mother and Helen. The high-points of CD two are the tracks from her fine 1962 duet album with Hank Snow, Together Again. My favorites from this mostly-ballad LP are "My Adobe Hacienda," "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again," and from the Carter Family songbook, "I Never Will Marry." Snow and Carter team up for great harmonies on an album that remains entertaining and satisfying. Disc two also includes some of the mismatched material (a wretched country-rockabilly arrangement of the Nellie Lutcher R&B classic "He's a Real Gone Guy") and a batch of 1956-57 country/pop-rock singles on which her voice carries too much echo, and the songs aren't memorable. CD seven houses the 19 sides that feature Anita as one-third of the vocal trio 'Nita, Rita, and Ruby (Rita Robbins and Ruby Wright, the daughter of Kitty Wells and Johnny Wright of Johnny and Jack). The 1955-1957 offerings are a product of their times: they lean towards mid- 50s rock and pop and they're lots of fun to listen to, with standout selections such as the rollicking "Rock Love," "Lovey Lips," and "Leroy."

Sessions that produced two Mercury "folk music" LPs from 1963 and 1964, Anita Carter Sings Folk Songs Old and New and Anita of the Carter Family, comprise most of disc three, and this material is the highlight of the entire box. The Folk Songs set features Anita's solo vocals supported by only acoustic guitars and bass, and this minimal backing is perfect behind her lovely voice. Song selection is impeccable, including "Fair and Tender Ladies," Anita's composition "All My Trials" and the first recorded version of what was to become a signature song for Johnny Cash, "(Love's) Ring of Fire." On Anita of the Carter Family, she is joined on most of the dozen tracks by Helen Carter, with instrumental accompaniment like that on Folk Songs. Songs from the Carter Family repertoire resurface here, and every cut is a total delight.

Tracks for the singles market made for the RCA or United Artists labels between 1965 and 1968 are the focus of CD four. Some songs work better than others: I enjoy the unreleased lilting-with-a-hint-of-Hawaii "Carmel By the Sea," a rendering of Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)" backed with strings and a vocal chorus that works well in a country-weepy sort of way, and four duets with Waylon Jennings including the mid-tempo top-five hit "I Got You." CD five features late-1960s solid duets with Johnny Darrell, Anita's final United Artists recordings, and singles and album tracks for Capitol Records. I agree with Davis, who states in his essay "Capitol Records... following the path of her final UA session, surrounded her humble vocals with all the excesses of over-production money could buy. Arguably, Anita Carter was not showcased to best advantage surrounded by a roomful of strings and voices." But Bear Family to the rescue. On CD six, Bear's engineers extract Carter's vocal tracks from nine of the aforementioned Capitol single selections, and overdub them with solo acoustic guitar accompaniment recorded in 2001 by Richard Bennett. This is the way to hear Anita Carter sing: a master stroke! This disc finishes up with Carter's final session, dynamite duets with either her sister Helen or Jerry Hensley, backed by acoustic guitar, mandolin, and bass on cuts such as the Carter Family's "I Ain't Goin' to Work Tomorrow" and Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now Baby Blue."

Whatever the material she was presented with, Anita Carter sang beautifully. Institutions and libraries that collect important country music recordings, and Carter Family enthusiasts with deep wallets, will want to acquire Appalachian Angel; its thorough book contains a complete discography and nearly 100 photographs from all stages of Carter's life. Others should get the one-disc Ring of Fire [Bear Family BCD 15434 AH (1989)], which contains the tracks from the LPs Anita Carter Sings Folk Songs Old and New and Anita of the Carter Family, then hope Bear reissues its out-of-print LP Rock Love (with the 'Nita, Rita, and Ruby material) on CD, and pray that Bear Family offers this collection's sixth disc as an individual release.

-- Al Riess (Buffalo, NY)

Steve Earle

Steve Earle: The Revolution Starts... Now
E-Squared/Artemis ATM-CD 51565 (2004)

Imagine if John Lennon and Pete Townshend teamed up with Hank Williams and these good ol' boys all paid a visit to Woody Guthrie. That's a fairly good idea of what mischief is behind Steve Earle's newest release, his 13th album in 25 years. Politics is the name of the game here, and Earle doesn't beat around the Bush to let you know what side of the road he's driving his pickup truck on. And you can't help but be swept away by Earle's sincerity and passion and thunder as he barrels down the two-lane highway, and you're in the back seat with no safety belt in sight.

So grab on for dear life. The song of the moment, the one that's bustin' out on some of the more progressive radio stations is "Condi, Condi," a rousing plea for Condoleezza Rice to throw off her blouse and throw away her Republican party line for a little romp in the sack. The song is built around a catchy Caribbean riff and you can't help but joining in when Earle pleads, "People say you're cold but I think you're hot." Another gem is the title song, "The Revolution Starts Now," which is a blistering call to action to follow your heart as you "tear down the walls." It's a catchy little number, and if you listen carefully you can probably hear little bits that seem borrowed from the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" and the Who's "Baba O'Riley." The Southern accent is a clear indication that you're not in Liverpool, however, but in middle America walking a picket line for justice and hope for all.

Another 60s reference is fairly straightforward in "Warrior," a rambling tirade against war and destruction that would've made Jim Morrison proud. And what's a good politically-charged rock 'n' roll album without a swipe directed towards the Federal Communications Commission? It seems like every American bureaucratic office is fair game for Earle's wrath as he thrashes out "F the CC" with a whole lot of shakin' fists at the FBI and CIA, very reminiscent of the Ramones and the MC5. Just when you think you've had a bellyful of ranting and raving, Earle rolls out the red carpet with a beautiful duet with Emmylou Harris on "Comin' Around," a tender and soft revelation on the possibilities of finding peace and love in these times of troubled waters.

Earle makes no effort to hide his political leanings (this is, after all, an election year) and he uses his guitar as a battering ram.

--T.J. McGrath (Woodbridge, CT)

Isidro López ("El Indio") 15 Original Hits [Arhoolie 9042 (2004)] Simply translated, "Tejano" means Texan. Today, Tejano music is a roots-music hybrid comprising traditional Mexican rancheras, cumbias, and polkas (plus a few boleros and waltzes) that have been influenced by strains of American blues, pop, and country. In the mid-50s, Isidro López became the father of modern Tejano music (now known as classic Tejano) by combining traditional Mexican music and instrumentation (accordion) with a "big-band sound." Though López played alto sax, it was his tender, warm voice that propelled him to the front. This collection represents López's later hits recorded between 1957 and 1961 and includes such chestnuts as "Comprende Cariño," "Sufriendo y penando," "Emoción Pasajera," and "Nuevo Contrato." The majority of selections are brisk-paced, story-sung rancheras that are supported by a lush layer of horns, accordions, and spicy percussion. There's an occasional slinky bolero ("Inconsolable," "Y") and even a lone polka ("La Calloza") and danzón ("La Hiedra"). While López always makes his vocal presence felt, it's on the vals rancheras where he unleashes his best gut-wrenching passion into a tearful, emotive performance. This collection also shows López's ability to stay trendy with topical tunes like "Mala Cara," a rock ranchera, and the dazzling big band stomp that's interestingly titled "Marcho Rock & Roll." Like the expansive difference between today's R&B and R&B from a half-century ago, Tejano has similarly progressed but still retains the signature, innovative spirit that López once forged. (Dan Willging)

William Pint & Felicia Dale Seven Seas [Waterbug WBG 0055 (2004)] A new recording from the hearty, harmonious duo of William Pint and Felicia Dale is always a treat, and this one is no exception. The music of Pint & Dale has often been heavily scented with salt air, and Seven Seas is almost completely devoted to sea songs, both traditional and recent. Their voices and harmonies are strong and their rhythms tight, but the most distinctive part of their acoustic arrangements is Dale's spine-tingling hurdy-gurdy, whether it's wailing a high-flying melodic counterpoint on their uptempo arrangement of the old pirate tale "High Barbaree" or keening softy on "The Mary Stanford of Rye," a tribute to a British coastal lifeboat crew lost in a storm. "The Prince's Royal" is a an uptempo instrumental set that combines a Turloch O'Carolan air with a pair of Northumbrian dance tunes that closes the disc with a wonderfully hypnotic spin. (Tom Nelligan)

Jeffrey Foucault Stripping Cane [Signature Sounds SIG 1286 (2004)] A native of Wisconsin, Foucault is best known for opening for such artists as Rosanne Cash, Gillian Welch, Richard Buckner, and Guy Clark. Foucault is in good company. A blues/folk artist in the vein of Kelly Joe Phelps, Foucault deserves the scrutiny of being a headliner in his own right. His 2001 debut, Miles From Lightning, received deserved acclaim and caught the eyes and ears of audiophiles for its clean and spare acoustic settings that showcased a lyricist beyond his years. His followup is as impressive, if not more so. Country blues, ballad, roots, and Americana, Stripping Cane receives David Goodrich's as-always good production values. Best known for his work with Chris Smither and Peter Mulvey, Goodrich understands that often less is more; Foucault is the beneficiary on his sophomore release. Mulvey (electric guitar/vocals) and Kris Delmhorst (fiddle/vocals) contribute their talents to this satisfying recording. A finely crafted, economical work. (Pieter Hofmann)

Bebel Gilberto [Six Degrees 657036 1101-2MJ (2004)] With her debut album, Tanto Tempo, and the subsequent volume of remixes, Bebel Gilberto had established herself as bossa nova's heir apparent -- having not just the family legacy (she's the daughter of innovator João Gilberto and vocalist Miucha), but the seemingly innate ability to integrate electronics with the gentle traditions of Brazil's swaying sound. This self-titled sophomore release shows her less reliant on beats and more on her voice and material (she wrote or co-wrote nine of the 12 tracks). The album kicks off with "Baby," a tepid reworking of the 60s Os Mutattes classic, but quickly finds its stride with "Simplesmente," a breathy slice of heaven co-written with keyboardist Didi Gutman and Marius de Vries, the album's producer. From here forward we hear Gilberto's beautiful voice supported nicely with lyrical strings, gentle percussion, and plenty of sultry acoustic guitar (especially sweet on "Every Day You've Been Away," a song co-written by Daniel Jobim, grandson to Antonio Carlos Jobim). It's a lovely and uncomplicated record, evidence that Gilberto has found a voice and place of her own in the rich tradition of Brazilian music. (John Bobey)

There are 134 more recordings reviewed in this issue.

[cover #115]