Recording Reviews
a sampling of the hundreds of reviews in the current issue

Stephen Fearing
So Many Miles: Stephen Fearing Live
Red House RHR CD 149 (2000)

Did you ever go to a concert that was so good that you wished you could keep a piece of it with you forever? Then a friend proffers a tape, begged from the soundboard guy or bootlegged on a surreptitious Sony. You listen to it, and, while it's not quite the same as being there, it captures not only the musician's skill, but also his enthusiasm and that of his audience. I wasn't at the Tranzac Club in Toronto for the two shows that became So Many Miles, but I've seen a few Fearing shows, and Fearing and longtime producer Colin Linden have created such a good facsimile that you can almost smell the cigarettes.

Fearing's last two albums, The Assassin's Apprentice (1993) and Industrial Lullaby (1998), were his strongest, and among the strongest tracks on those albums, respectively, were the autobiographical "The Longest Road" and the bluesy "Anything You Want." And on So Many Miles, Fearing's versions of those two songs top the originals. That's just an inkling of how powerful a live album this one is. Fearing's acoustic guitar playing is awesome, a treat for anyone who appreciates the sound of Richard Thompson, John Martyn, or John Fahey. He uses the beauty of his coffee-rich baritone to great effect on the incantatory "Dog on a Chain," but the way he plays against its natural smooth timbre makes the raw, raucous "Anything You Want" a real kick. He reveals three new songs and even pulls out a few covers — which are rare in Fearing sets, since he's got a pretty large repertoire of his own compositions — most notably, Neil Young's "Thrasher."

My only complaint? That there's only one disc. Such treasures as "Vigil," his version of John Martyn's "I Don't Wanna Know," "The Life," "Carsten," and "Home" deserve to be part of a Fearing live collection. That's another example of what a good documentation So Many Miles is: A typical Stephen Fearing show is a rosary of rough gems that seem to be tumbled and carved right before your eyes, and no matter how long the cord, it's always too short.
— Pamela Murray Winters (Arlington, VA)p

Bruce Molsky
Poor Man's Troubles
Rounder 82161-0470-2 (2000)
Whenever Bruce Molsky is involved in a recording, I know it has to be good, and his latest effort on Rounder doesn't disappoint. Featuring Molsky as the lead artist on a set of eight songs and 12 instrumentals, Poor Man's Troubles is exceedingly rich in stellar performances of material steeped in the old-time tradition. Fiddle is his instrument of choice on a baker's dozen cuts including the solo title track which Molsky learned from a 1938 radio transcription of a West Virginia fiddler, three fiddle/guitar duets with his wife Audrey Molsky, a guaranteed foot-tapping fiddle/banjo/guitar romp called "Lonesome John," and a moving, emotionally-charged song "Peg and Awl," about how the industrial revolution permanently changed the lives of shoemakers circa 1804; Darol Anger adds baritone fiddle on this tour de force. Molsky picks the banjo on three pieces, including the solo instrumental "Chinquapin Pie" from the repertoire of the late Virginia multi-instrumentalist Hobart Smith, and the high-stepping song "Cousin Sally Brown." "Brothers and Sisters," a Molsky composition based on the rhythms of choral music from Zimbabwe, spotlights Molsky's skills on guitar, as does a beautiful song from the late 1800s about the loneliness of Texas cowboys, with Dudley Connell as co-vocalist. Other guest musicians are Martin Hayes on fiddle, Paul Brown on banjo, and guitarist Beverly Smith. The booklet contains thorough notes from Molsky on all 20 selections. An excellent CD.
— Al Riess (Buffalo, NY)

Los Jubilados
Cero Farandulero
Corason 66611-1140-2 (2000)
Various artists
La Música de Cuba,
1909-1951
Columbia/Legacy CK62234 (2000)
Various artists
The Story of Cuba
Hemisphere 5 34337
The Cuban bandwagon is rolling along now, as various companies scramble to capitalize on the popularity of Buena Vista Social Club. Not that I'm complaining; these unpredictable fads are often the only way for some good musicians to get heard. Los Jubilados ("The Pensioners") is an engaging group of veterans who play the music with an enthusiasm that belies their lengthy involvement with it. The group was formed a few years ago by retired members of the Conjunto Cubanero, the most highly regarded Santiago band from the Golden Age of son, but later added other pensioners from other groups. The singing is spirited, and the rhythms relaxed but irresistible. Whether or not North American audiences pick up on this great music, it's evident that these guys are having a blast.

Just as highly recommended is the excellent collection on Columbia/Legacy, which traces the development of the music from its earliest recorded days. The sound quality is surprisingly high, owing to the fact that the original metal parts used in recording have survived in good condition. Most of the music here is from the 20s and 30s, and the excellent (if difficult to read) notes by Dick Spottswood are a great aid in appreciating the different styles. Like the best anthologies, the musical flow from track to track is excellent, even though the organization is strictly chronological. Listeners who have already picked up the Arhoolie collection of early Cuban recordings will be pleased to note that only one tune is duplicated here.

The Music of Cuba also dovetails well with The Story of Cuba, a Hemisphere collection devoted to recent recordings. Only a couple of tracks sound too slickly contemporary, and they are balanced by some very earthy Afro-Cuban stuff, but this anthology does suffer in comparison with the Columbia in one regard; information about the individual groups and recording dates is lacking. We are only told that the music is "mostly" from the 90s. Certainly the point that the various styles, which seem largely defined by the dances, have survived with only minimal changes is born out on this engaging disc. Again the music is intelligently organized to move from one feeling to another that's complimentary.
— Duck Baker (Richmond, CA)

Kathryn Tickell
Debateable Lands
Park PRKCD50 (2000)
Has it really been that long since Northumbrian piper and fiddler Kathryn Tickell emerged as one of the first stars of a new generation of British folk musicians? She's still only in her early 30s, but now, 16 years after her first recording, she's well established as one of the master traditional instrumentalists in the British Isles. Debateable Lands, her eighth album, is named after a rugged strip of once-disputed country on the Scottish/English border. It showcases a new backup band — Kit Haigh on guitar, Julian Sutton on melodeon, and Gregor Borland on fiddle, viola, and bass — while expanding her already rich legacy of original pipe tunes.

The Northumbrian smallpipes have a sweet and gentle sound, in contrast to the trademark blast of their Highland cousins. In Tickell's hands they can fly through a cheerful hornpipe like "The Wedding," bouncing riffs off Sutton's oscillating melodeon, or chant quietly and pensively on "Our Kate," a memorial for the late author Catherine Cookson. About half of the tracks on this disc are Tickell originals written in traditional styles, the showpiece being "Stories From the Debateable Lands," a nine-minute suite that mixes different tempos and textures to capture both the cold bleakness and the wild beauty of that area. Another highlight is "The Return," a mesmerizing pipe/cello duo featuring guest cellist Ron Shaw. Tickell is an ace fiddler too, on tunes like the traditional Scottish slow reel "In Dispraise of Whisky," and on fellow Tynesider Alastair Anderson's "Road to the North," which she arranges as a stately fiddle/viola duet.

The disc was recorded live in studio, and the instrumental mix is bright and fresh throughout. Haigh has a light touch on his guitar, which is usually used as rhythmic base, and Sutton's earthy, multi-textured melodeon riffs complement the purer tones of the smallpipes. With Debateable Lands, Tickell further secures her place as one of the champions of a living British tradition.
— Tom Nelligan (Waltham, MA)

Oliver Mtukudzi
Paivepo
Putumayo Artists PUTU 168-2 (2000)
There's no musician in Zimbabwe who'll put the chimurenga groove on you like Mtukudzi. Paivepo opens with "Pindurai Mambo" and "Kunzwe Kwadoka," a pair of infectious rhythms that carry social commentary to the hearts of his African listeners. While you may not be able to understand the Shona dialect, Mtukudzi's music is sufficiently uplifting to make your day. Like so many African musicians, Mtukudzi addresses most of his lyrics to his people, and Zimbabweans are confronting a number of difficult issues nowadays. Though they gained their independence many years ago, transforming Rhodesia into Zimbabwe, the people still struggle with issues of social justice. Mtukudzi addresses these concerns and others head-on, with the reasonable expectation that his advice will be heeded. African songwriters have little in common with American pop artists when it comes to the intellectual content of their songs. Regular back-up singers Mwendi Chibindi and Mary Bell make their usual, glorious, contribution to Mtukudzi's tunes, as tracks like "Mutserendende" and "Mkuru Mkuru" drive home the good word. Mtukudzi even sings a song to money – "Iwe Mari" – in which he asks money why it's such a pain in the butt. Maybe money will answer on the next album.
— Philip Van Vleck (Raleigh, NC)

The Klezmer Conservatory Band
Dance Me to the End of Love
Rounder 11661-3169-2 (2000)
Metropolitan Klezmer
Mosaic Persuasion
Rhythm Media Records RMR 002 (2000)
If there is such a thing as mainstream klezmer, these two discs typify the sub-genre splendidly. First up, the Klezmer Conservatory Band, Hankus Netsky's groundbreaking ensemble, which helped pioneer the klezmer revival over the past two decades, continues its marvelous string of inspiring recordings on this, its ninth collection. Featuring mainstay vocalist Judy Bressler, the Conservatory pulls out all the stops on a selection of traditional bulgars, freylekhs, and lullabies. There's also a definitive reworking of Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me to the End of Love," in which the group makes this classic its own — not an easy accomplishment. What's best about these guys is their continual ability to find overlooked gems and bring them to life. An example is "Yism/You Shall Rejoice," a Shabbat chant that was first made into a "popular" melody by Shloymke Beckerman in the 1920s.In today's noisy klezmer world, the Conservatory continues to stand out as a group of inventive traditionalists who understand quite well how to eke out new meaning from songs that were thought to have belonged solely to the past.

Following in their footsteps is Metropolitan Klezmer, who similarly adapt a variety of traditional recordings, notably those first made popular by Naftule Brandwein, a 20th-century klezmer stalwart. Like others that populate the klezmer mainstream, this group does a good job of choosing a mix of traditional bulgars and the like, and also digs deep for overlooked poetry that can be set to music. A sterling example is "Unter di Khurves fun Poyln (Under the Ruins of Poland)," a poem by Itsik Manger, lamenting the loss of a girlfriend during the Holocaust. Mostly, though, these songs are uplifting, a happy collection of tunes meant to convey the broader range of emotions to which klezmer has always provided a soundtrack.
— Ed Silverman (Millburn, NJ)

Al Berard & Friends
Play Cajun Music
from the Heart
Swing Cat 1612 (1999)
Al Berard &
Karen England
Feet off the Ground
Swallow SW-6162 (2000)
Al Berard is the fiddler for the Basin Brothers, and the Friends CD features seven other musicians from Louisiana, as well as Karen England (although there are never more than four musicians playing at any one time). The Friends album is chock full of traditional Cajun tunes (19 to be exact), and includes another eight original tunes for good measure. Five tracks feature Berard's vocals.

Karen England has been playing Cajun music ever since she became Dewey Balfa's protégé 20 years ago. She plays fiddle with the Seattle Cajun band How's Bayou, a group which, like the Basin Brothers, has released three albums. Berard and England both have a special fondness for the late Dennis McGee, and several renditions of his tunes are featured. On Feet Off the Ground, Berard sings a few songs but mostly plays with England in the dual lead/seconding fiddling traditional style of Dennis McGee and Sady Courville, with half the tunes being drawn from the McGee repertoire. The duo creates a sparse, droning sound with the help of special tunings and the result, although eerie at times, is surprisingly original for this kind of (mostly) traditional material.
— Paul E. Comeau (Comeauville, NS, Canada)

Alessandra Belloni
Tarantata: Dance of the Ancient Spider
Sounds True STA MM00117D (2000)
The heart and soul of this CD, as it is for most of the recorded work of Alessandra Belloni and/or her group I Giullari di Piazza, is the tarantella music and the traditional sounds of the south of Italy. Although things haven't changed, Belloni goes beyond that here; the liner notes mention things such as "new world music arrangements of healing prayers, processional chants, and love laments, as well as original songs..." and "[in] this recording, the [instrumental] arrangements are a result of group improvisation." Lead vocalist Belloni plays tambourine, an instrument connected to musical rituals associated with women in the southern Italian culture. Her chief instrumental collaborators are classical guitarist John La Barbera, frame drummer Glen Velez, Steve Gorn on Indian bansuri flute, violinist Joe Deninzon (who plays in a "Russian/jazz style"), and Charlie Giordano on accordion. Thus, there is an interesting array of influences adding to the finished product, and the mix is a very entertaining, successful one. "Canto di Sant'Irene," a Belloni original built around the catchy, swaying rhythms of Brazil's Bahia region, is a song inspired by the Madonna of the Sea in Calabria, Italy, and the Yemanja goddess of love and waters in Brazil, similar religious icons. There's a medieval prayer sung in Latin, a traditional Sardinian dance with nonsense lyrics driven by guitar and intense tambourine work, a women's work chant, and a set of three traditional offerings from Italy's Puglia region — a love lament, a tarantella with erotic lyrics, then a wild fiddle-led dance. Belloni's deep, vibrato singing adds a rich texture to the proceedings. A thorough booklet includes lots of information on the music, the musicians, and all 16 tracks.
— Al Riess (Buffalo, NY)