Recording reviews: Dirty Linen #69

Here's a sample of the dozens of reviews that appear in every issue of Dirty Linen.

Dervish
At the End of the Day
Kells 9507 (1996)
Whirling Discs WHRL003, Ireland
This is the third album by an Irish sextet that has been favorably compared to the legendary Irish six-piece group of the 1970s, the Bothy Band. Dervish is not the second coming of the Bothies — it has neither uilleann pipes nor keyboards, using accordion in their stead — but the band's well-arranged, crisply-played, fiery instrumental sets are the closest thing the 90s has to offer for Bothy Band comparisons. And the sound, vocal timbre, and approach of singer Cathy Jordan reminds me of Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill's work with... guess who. Judged solely on the merit of its recordings in general, and this disc in particular, Dervish is clearly one of the best traditional Irish music ensembles operating today. Few groups can match the consistent energy of Dervish's jig and reel medleys. Jordan's vocals in English and Gaelic are equally effective, and the instrumental backing for the intelligently selected and interesting songs always frames her singing nicely and doesn't overpower her. On the instrumental "Josefin's Waltz," Dervish is joined by the Swedish band Väsen, and together they create quite a stir. Tune sets and songs alternate throughout the album and that could make for an all-too-predictable and unimaginative set-order, but Dervish is so talented there's no real problem. — Al Riess (Buffalo, NY)

Tarika
Son Egal
Xenophile XENO 4042 (1996)
Let's face it, it's hard not to love Malagasy music. It's like having the best of Africa and the Pacific rolled into one attractive, melodic passage, rolling rhythms topped off by the zither-like cascades of notes from the valiha and marovany. But on Son Egal Tarika have topped all their previous work. They've managed an album which — apart from having wonderful music — is also a.) unabashedly political, and b.) a healing for their country. One hundred years ago the French took control of Madagascar, using African troops known as Tirailleur Senegalais. Fifty years ago the populace rose up against the colonial power, and again these 'Senegalese' troops were used to put down the revolt, leading to understandable hatred of the Senegals by the people of Madagascar. However, it turns out that the term was generic — most of the troops didn't come from Senegal after all, and this album aims to correct the animosity that's existed for far too long, bringing in members of Baaba Maal's band (from — you guessed it — Senegal) to heighten the unity. And the music? It's the Tarika you should already know and love, with the added oomph of Maal's people, and a nice sheen added by producer Simon Emmerson (Afro-Celts), making for quite the poppy, international album. But while the gloss attracts, the substance really sticks. An album of the year? Quite possibly. — Chris Nickson (Seattle, WA)

Bruce Cockburn
The Charity of Night
Rykodisc 10366 (1996)
For decades Bruce Cockburn has been one of Canada's — make that North America's — best songwriters (and one of its most underrated). His intelligent, politically fearless songs combine angry indignation with memorable melodies and a strong rhythmic groove. In 1996, he was signed to Rykodisc, which is releasing The Charity of Night this year, continuing Cockburn's distinguished 26-year string of recordings. He is accompanied by an impressive stable of musicians, including Gary Burton, Rob Wasserman, Ani DiFranco, Bonnie Raitt, and Bob Weir. The disc is moodier than some of his previous endeavors, with less of the pop hooky-ness that characterized albums such as Stealing Fire.
On the starting block is "Night Train," a straight-ahead choogling rock number with garage band muddy guitars. This is followed by the angry and profound "Get Up Jonah," the first of several songs on the disc which feature a combination of spoken and sung lyrics. "Pacing the Cage" is a folky acoustic song about the regrets of wasted time and self-doubt. Gary Burton is given a chance to shine in "Mistress of Storms," a sweet instrumental featuring guitar and vibraphone. "Birmingham Shadows" is a dusky piece which oozes into a smoky jazz guitar jam. But it is on "Mines of Mozambique" and "Strange Waters" that Cockburn does what he does best — bitter political diatribes against corruption in high places. Cockburn comes by his anger honestly, having traveled to such places as Mozambique and Central America and witnessed the atrocities taking place there. This gives his music an edge which prevents him from sinking into the overly earnest morass occupied by so many singer-songwriters. — Peggy J. Latkovich (Cleveland Heights, OH)

The Whisky Priests
Life's Tapestry
Whippet WPTCD14 (1996)
England's Whisky Priests have been around for nearly a decade. This guitar-accordion-guitar/mandolin-bass-drums folk-rock quintet has always revolved around the creative juices of twin-brother founder-members Gary (lead vocals, guitars) and Glenn (accordion, keyboards, vocals) Miller. From its inception, Gary Miller's craggy, dynamic vocals, loud electric guitars, and uptempo music played in a furious, full-steam-ahead fashion have been the hallmarks of this aggregation. Happily, little has changed. The Priests are still a passionate, energy-laden band that energizes the listener, from slower tracks such as the ballad-like "He's Still My Son" to the mid-tempo "Legacy of the Lionheart" sporting a militaristic drum beat, to "Which Side of Bedlam" with its infectious sing-along as you drink-along chorus. And the feel of Gary Miller's lyrics, which fit well with the instrumentation, carry traditional sensibilities; if English musicians used screaming electric guitars 150 or 200 years ago, songs like "Workhorse" (about a plow horse that drops dead from overwork), "Ranting Lads" (about colliers), and "Farewell Jobling!" (about an innocent man hanged for another man's crime) would have been folk tunes of the day. The band is not as raw as it was in the late 80s, but it remains rough-edged, raucous, and rowdy. And that's just great; I wouldn't want the Whisky Priests any other way. Highly recommended, especially when played at maximum volume. — Al Riess (Buffalo, NY)

Various artists
Armenians on 8th Avenue
Traditional Crossroads CD 4279 (1996)
What's so controversial about digitally restored 78 r.p.m. recordings originally made in Manhattan during the early to middle part of this century? The musicians are mainly Armenians who fled or survived the 1915 genocidal campaign carried out by the Ottoman Turks. Not twenty years later Adolph Hitler would sell his final solution for Jews and Gypsies to Nazi skeptics by asking "Who today remembers the Armenians of Turkey?" These Armenian survivors recorded in Turkish rather than Armenian. Authoritative rural and urban musicologist Harold G. Hagopian has written a captivating and concise account of the culturally fertile 8th Avenue musical scene circa 1920s-40s. These recordings bring to animated life the legendary characters Hagopian introduces in the CD booklet, such influential cafe and cabaret stars as Sugar Mary Vartanian, Marko Melkon, Kanuni Garbis Bakirgian, John Pappas, Madlen Araradian and Middle Eastern fiddler of choice Nishan Sedefjian. Kanuni Garbis, so called for his mastery of the kanun, who performed for sultans and patriarchs while leading ensembles on tours of Istanbul, Jerusalem, Cairo and Alexandria, wound up as an unlikely pop star of sorts on the Columbia, RCA and Kaliphon labels. He also started his own ethnic Stamboul Recording Company. These sides have all the seductive, flavorful, and tragic Anatolian bluesy elements that afterhours attracted such modern American musical innovators as Lennie Tristano, Dave Brubeck, Herbie Mann and Tony Scott (not to mention an undoubtedly bleary-eyed Lenny Bernstein, who it seems never slept in his youth). They and their own musical disciples frequented the cafes, Greek nightclubs, and theater district cabarets that by the 1950s had moved downtown to the more bohemian Greenwich Village. Greek and Sephardic Jewish musicians would sit in on sessions and in the clubs adding more than a hint of rembetiko and kley-zemer (klezmer, though sounding here much closer to eastern rather than European roots). Sugar Mary Vartanian still lives in Greenwich Village where Hagopian last saw her performing for an AIDS benefit. Café Feenjon lives on in the Olive Tree near Bleeker Street, but this clearsounding CD has preserved at least one more Dead Sea Scroll of influential Armenian music in America. Who knew that hot ancient tones accompanied the Birth of Cool? For more context than could be delivered in the CD booklet see the newly published and definitive History of the Armenian Genocide: Ethnic Conflict From the Balkans to Anatolia to the Caucasus by Prof. Vahakn N. Dadrian (Berghahn Books). — Mitch Ritter (Berkeley, CA)