Some Fine New Early-ish Music CDs

Here's one of my enduring dream/fantasies: I'm walking the halls of some old building (school, church, warehouse -- whatever) and I hear the distant strains of recorder and lute. Some musicians are taking advantage of an empty building that's blessed with astounding acoustics to practice. Well, these two albums have made my dreams real.

You'd think that classical music producers would be sensitive to ambiance, but I can't tell you how many albums I hear that have just smeared the soundstage, until everything (EVERYTHING) sounds front and center, bold and in your face with no sense of the room. Music moves through physical space when it's recorded live; it moves the air. You don't get that with earbuds and you don't get that if you manipulate the sound in the studio (and a combination of the two just kills the whole experience.) But the two jewels pictured above, both from the Attaignant Consort, are exquisitely performed and impeccably recorded.

 

"Madame d'Amours" was released in 2007, and "Le Parler et le Silence" is from 2013. "Madame" is music for Renaissance flute consort (late 1400s to late 1500s), and "Le Parler" features flute consort and lute from the late 16th to the early 18th centuries. "Madame" has the old reliables, pieces you may know from John Renbourn and yes, Jethro Tull. "Le Parler" has more variety -- Morley, Gibbons, Dowland, de Visee, Hotteterre -- but seems pensive, even wistful, like the pieces were written as a slightly mournful look back to another era. I'm sure that's just my take, and most likely, not the least bit accurate. I'll spend some time reading the comprehensive liner notes and let you know!

Oh, and props to Arkivmusic.com and Fanfare Magazine (fanfaremag.com) for the best tips and recommendations for classical music.

Saint Patrick and the Banshee

My family has quite the Irish background, yet I'm not really much of a fan of Irish music. I think I have 4 Irish CDs, 3 of which I got for free because I was the music purchaser at one of my jobs. And the one I paid for ("The Lilting Banshee") was $1.99 at Value Village. Unfortunately, the copy I have is the Musical Heritage Society reissue, not the cool Saydisc original pictured here.

"The Lilting Banshee" is an instrumental collection featuring Irish pipes, harp and bodhran. Very pleasant, though the inclusion of a Howard Jones song baffles me.

There have been Irish albums in the past that I've enjoyed very much, but I never made the upgrade to CD. Maybe it's time to reconnect with the Bothy Band, the Chieftains and early Clannad. After all, you're only Irish once! 

Play It Again, Sam

 

Looks like Value Village is turning into my go-to place to find great CDs. (I'm not sure if that's a good thing or just very, very sad. I'm leaning toward the latter.)

 

Sam (Leslie) Phillips was a Contemporary Christian singer (think Amy Grant -- man, I really need to post about her music some day) who eventually turned her back on that genre -- maybe it was "the Cyndi Lauper of Christian music" tag that did it? -- and now releases albums with more of a pure pop '60s-informed style. "The Indescribable Wow' was the first foray into the new world, and it's an incredible 'debut'.  

 

 

Sam's voice is thin and reedy (imagine Stevie Nicks sped up) -- but that's not a bad thing here. So much 'pop' music is basically vocalists with limited range performing exceptional material, and that's the case here with Sam (though she does push her voice to the edge on "What You Don't Want to Hear"). Check out the musical talent on display here: producer/performer T Bone Burnett (and Mr. Sam Phillips, at least at the time), drummer Steve Jordan (Keith Richards), percussionist Alex Acuna (Weather Report, Joni Mitchell), bassist Buell Niedlinger (don't even ask..), and arranger Van Dyke Parks (The Beach Boys' "Smile"), and of course, the exceptional songs by Sam. Lyrically insightful, incredibly tuneful.

Naturally, this album pretty much went nowhere. Those of us who were aware of it at the time continue to carry a torch, and retrospectively, it has attained 'lost classic' status. I still hear new things I missed after all these years. Subtle, rich, poppy yet deep.

It's pretty much out of print now, and I got it for less than 2 bucks. Is this a great country or what?

Valentine's Day, Quiet Village and Value Village! A Late Post

Total bonus here: $1.99 at Value Village, the CD includes both the "Exotica" LP AND "Exotica II" AND my mother-in-law loves the original vinyl releases (stored in the garage that her wheelchair can't access)...so I burn a copy for her, suggest to my wife this would be a great Valentine's Day gift for her mother, and YES, I will score total bonus points!!

Okay, so her first reaction was: what the heck is this? (That might be your reaction.) But last week, she called to say how much she loved it.

If  "Exotica" means nothing to you, let me illuminate. Servicemen returning from exotic (sorry) locations brought home souvenirs of their ports of call, and musicians began to capitalize on the rosy romantic view (in hindsight) -- so they provided hokey versions of what we'd imagine tropical music to sound like. Martin Denny's band had an Hawaiian nightclub residency. One night, performing "Quiet Village" ( a Les Baxter tune) -- pseudo-Polynesian tiki music -- the club's caged birds (part of the club's interior ambiance) began chiming in. Band members provided the bird calls on subsequent performances, and a sound was born. Eventually, the band was recorded, and "Quiet Village" was the single. I have to believe their version was an in-joke; there's nothing quiet about this village. We now refer to the whole genre as "exotica". (For the full story, the liner notes are priceless, and they formed the bulk of the Les Baxter interview in "Incredibly Strange Music"  -- I reviewed those books a while back, as I'm sure you remember...)

No, this isn't really something I'd slap on the system to relax, but if you're looking for an 'ironic' soundtrack for a backyard barbeque (and you wanted the hipsters in the neighborhood to think you were cool), the CD is a lot of fun, and how many albums are just fun anymore?

Adam Steffey: Post-Alison Krauss And Kicking It

 

 

 

I heard some of this album on KSER:  "Bluegrass Express" possibly (thanks, Miss Nicolette!) or more likely, Dave Long's late, lamented "Stringband Theory". Very much enjoyed it, but Adam's name nagged at me -- how do I know that name...  Eventually the brain pan sorted it out -- Adam was in an early edition of Union Station, Alison Krauss' bluegrass band. Oh, did I mention? (Yeah, I did.) Saw Alison Krauss at the Backstage with her (mostly) original band, including Adam Steffey. Adam was, umm, built a little differently then. Our nickname for him was Mr. Big Pants.

Sorry about the 'Mr. Big Pants' handle, Adam. No, seriously -- really, really sorry (and congrats on the spiffy new look!)

So -- how's the CD? Totally fantastic, and, rare for me, a bluegrass album that gets richer each time I hear it. In my experience, bluegrass albums are pretty much 'figured out' on first or second hearings, so the re-listening experience involves enjoying the well-executed performances. Listening to "New Primitive", it seemed like Adam took a chapter from Alison (record bluegrass music with the best ambiance and studio mastery) and a tiny bit from Tony Rice (don't be afraid to expand the boundaries). Nothing too radical -- all the songs are traditional, 3 with vocals, and there's a good rotation of solos from mandolin, fiddle, banjo and guitar (with bass by then-and-current-Union Station member Barry Bales). It's  a fresh and invigorating take on a traditional style. "New Primitive" is perfectly titled and entertainingly rendered. 

Neko Case -- Better and Better

 

 

The latest Neko Case album is her best so far, sez me.  I've been a sporadic listener, loved bits of "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" and  "Blacklist"  and "Middle Cyclone", which features the fine, fine song "This Tornado Loves You" -- but "The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight: The Harder I Fight, the More I Love You" is by far the best of the batch, more consistent, tighter, and the melodies don't wander, as I found was the case (no pun intended) in other albums.

I really would have liked a lyric sheet. I'm a reader, sue me. Neko's lyrics are hard for me to follow just by listening to them , they're complicated and she doesn't travel down familiar byways.

"Man" is the track that announces itself boldly (3 cuts in). It's by far the most in-your-face track (but what's with that insect-buzz guitar?)

Even though Neko's voice is nothing at all like Grace Slick, I still hear some connections -- maybe it's the laser-like intensity that both Grace and Neko share on certain words and phrasing? And on this album, Neko seems to be in total control of her voice, her songs, the whole package.  

Mississippi Along the Skagit

 

Just a shorter, post-card moment: my dear, dear wife isn't in the best of health, so many times, my day off is basically spent getting her out of the house for a drive. A week or so ago, sun unseasonably beaming (as it continues to be), we took off. On to Lake Cavanaugh, over a former logging road to Oso, then north to Darrington, desperately in need of a restroom (found a park -- whew!) Arrive in Darrington, which felt like a town hanging on for dear life before all that's left is a gas station - slash - mini-mart - slash - nail salon - slash - tattoo parlor. And yet there's a library AND a bookstore -- so maybe

there's still a chance for D-town to get through the tough times.

 

Darrington is surrounded by amazing mountains, but...well, here's the deal: Concrete and Rockport and Marblemount have built a 'American Alps' tourism campaign -- and it's working! Eagle viewing, wineries,  gluen-free bakeries and ghost tours -- Concrete is finding a way to capitalize on the gorgeous, inviting surroundings. Darrington, it seems, not so much. 

Anyway, we drove the Concrete-Sauk Valley Road, late afternoon sun illuminating the river and so many are-you-kidding-me-you're-right-on-the-banks-of-the-freakin'-river cabins. What music could we listen to that would accompany, even enhance, this journey? Turns out this album did just fine.

The songs are tradtional, but Mississippi John Hurt's singing is kindly and delicately subtle. It suggests slowing down, seeing the beauty in the common and the everyday. We drove on, past kids (babies in tow), walking dogs - or rather, accompaning dogs on their walks -- farms, ranches all lit up in a golden glow -- man, what a fine, fine, fine day. And we both agreed --- Mississippi John was the perfect soundtrack.