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| This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen Magazine #97 (December 2001/January 2002). The magazine is available on newsstands and by subscription. |
Dirty Linen Video Reviews
James Galway and the Chieftains in Ireland
BMG DVD 0902660751 (2001; orig. 1991)
Celtic reels, jigs, and hornpipes, the music of Turlough O'Carolan, and a lively exchange of good musicians in a top performance venue are pretty timeless, so this concert, taped 15 years ago at the Grand Opera House in Belfast, holds up well. There's a Carolan set including "Fanny Power" and "Carolan's Concerto;" a flute solo from Matt Molloy on the haunting "The Humors of Kilfenora"; and Galway's trademark arrangement of "Danny Boy." The few behind-the-scenes and rehearsal shots give a taste of ambiance to the 55-minute program. It's been remastered in 5.1 surround sound for DVD, and there's a website link. The graphics and haunting music that accompany the menu selections are tasteful, too, but otherwise not much as been added to the DVD version from the original program.
— Kerry Dexter (Tallahassee, FL)
Drills and Tunes for Flatpick Guitarists
taught by Steve Kaufman
Homespun VD-KAU-CD01 (2001); 70 min.
Steve Kaufman offers a wealth of good, solid, information in this tape, illustrating his points with well-chosen and clearly-shot examples from tunes such as "Old Joe Clark" and "Soldier's Joy." Though he starts right off with ideas about how hand position and mechanics of chord playing can affect ability to increase speed, he also makes it clear from the beginning that, while speed playing can be fun, when you get down to it, it's a tool the guitarist needs to use in the service of the song. Kaufman is a clear and relaxed teacher whose lesson should be useful both to beginning players wanting to speed up and experienced pickers looking for new ideas.
— Kerry Dexter (Tallahassee, FL)
taught by Darol Anger
Homespun VD-ANG-FI01 (2001); 88 min.
For experienced fiddlers, Darol Anger teaches mainly by example how to understand blue notes and blues riffs into one's playing. Anger's credits and training range from classical to country, from the bluegrass of NewGrange to the blue jazz of Turtle Island String Quartet, and one of the interesting aspects of his presentation is his attention to the blue part of bluegrass playing. Though it's well photographed to show what he's doing on the fiddle, these are lessons you'll absorb best if you have a solid background in techniques and can and want to learn by ear.
— Kerry Dexter
(Tallahassee, FL)
Vestapol 13090 (2001)
Setting a mixture of gospel, traditional blues, folk standards, and cabaret classics to his sweet voice and sophisticated acoustic guitar picking, Josh White was one of the prime influences on the American folk revival of the late 1950s and early 60s. The power of White's performances is documented by the 19 black-and-white videos, spanning the 1940s to the 60s, that comprise Free and Equal Blues: Rare Performances. Although he displays a mastery of a wide range of traditional material, White makes his strongest points with tunes like "Strange Fruit," "I Wish the World Was Colorblind," and the title track, which all reflect on the horrors of racism.
— Craig Harris (Waltham, MA)
Ten Stellar Songs and Instrumentals
Homespun VD-BLA-GT02 (2001)
Any experienced guitarist can identify Norman Blake's flatpicking within two or three bars of music. The deep, warm tone, the smooth attack, the fluid and relaxed runs could come from no one else. But now, in volume two of a series, the good people at Homespun Tapes have set Mr. Blake down in front of the cameras and helped him help you figure out just how he does those amazing things with six strings. The production values are excellent, with most of the shots of Blake playing done with a split screen that shows right and left hand at the same time. Blake is not a natural teacher as some musicians are, but host Happy Traum sits close by and is sure to ask Blake to explain all the sly little things he does, like using his middle and ring fingers to pick strings while he holds the pick and some of the clever slides and pull-offs he uses. More than this, Blake discusses at considerable length all sorts of things about his relationship to, experiences with, and ideas about the guitar. We hear about his influences (Maybelle Carter and Riley Puckett), his preference for 12-fret guitars, his lack of interest in playing way up on the neck. The selection of music is excellent. Seven are instrumentals, and of these my favorite is "Uncle Joe (Miss McLeod's Reel)," just because it is such a simple tune and really demonstrates what makes Blake's style distinctive. Three are songs, including a fine version of "Give Me Back My Fifteen Cents." I would recommend that any guitarist who would like to be able to play more like Norman Blake (and I wouldn't know what to say about somebody who didn't) open up the guitar case and throw this tape in the VCR.
— Bruce E. Baker (Chapel Hill, NC)
BMG DVD (2001; orig. 1994)
Filmmaker Robert Mugge frames the 1993 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards show in commentary by Peter Rowan and offstage interviews, remarks, and impromptu performances by the participants. The heart of the film, however, is the onstage mix of top professionalism and spontaneity shown by the musicians featured. They include Tim O'Brien ("The Church Steeple," and with Del McCoury, "When I Paint My Masterpiece"), The Nashville Bluegrass Band ("Father I Stretch My Hand to Thee"), Doc Watson ("Ramshackle Shack"), and Ralph Stanley ("Mountain Folks"). There's a rousing, and fitting, finale by Rowan and the Panama Red Raiders with "Walls of Time." A random-access picture icon index and 5.1 sound capability have been added for the DVD release — but what really stands out is that eight years later, almost everyone on the bill is still going on to make even more exciting music in contemporary bluegrass.
— Kerry Dexter (Tallahassee, FL)
