It's the End of the Nerd as We Know It... And I feel Fine!

by Celtonerd Steve Winick

Well, friends and readers, all good things must come to an end. Many of you out there have wondered what's happened to your favorite Nerd in recent months. I've been hibernating since September, and in that time I have come to a realization: It's time for me to hang up my beak and wings and pass the "small-label Celtica" torch to another writer. For history nerds, Steve Winick's first appearance in the mag was in issue #26 in the summer of 1989. The first use of the moniker "Celtonerd" in our pages was in a review I wrote in issue #27, and the first Nerd column was in issue #28. This locates the genesis of the Nerd around the turn of the decade, and it's only appropriate to end the column's run around the turn of the millennium. On to my last nerd's nest of albums!

Despite the title Boudicca [Screeching Bird SBM2612 (2000)], which refers to a British heroine of the 1st century AD, Rene Corbin's CD is not particularly ancient in its approach. In fact, it's sort of a run-down of folk-rock standards from "Three Drunken Maidens" to "She Moved Through the Fair," and from "Ae Fond Kiss" to "Old Maid in the Garrett." In one sense, this is basically a cover album: Most of the songs here have been put down on albums in very similar versions by folk-rock aristocracy like Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, the John Renbourn Group, Tempest, Five Hand Reel, and Silly Wizard. Corbin's version of "Newerytown" uses the unusual tune and arrangement of Solas (right down to leaving out the last verse, which Solas' singer Karan Casey removed for philosophical reasons). The bouncy mandolins on Corbin's "Three Drunken Maidens" remind me immediately of Fairport's long-ago recording. So what does Corbin add to these tracks? In some cases, the guitar arrangements contain perfectly rendered hooks that will stay in your head forever. In others, Corbin's intense and dramatic vocals shake new life into old standards. The rest of this album is pleasant without being groundbreaking. Advice for a second recording: Find some more unusual material and run with it. You're going in the right direction.

There are seven more recordings reviewed in this article in Dirty Linen #95 (August/September '01).