CD Review: Respect the Dead (Otis Taylor)

Respect the Dead
Otis Taylor
NorthernBlues Music
2002
12 tracks

The folks at Canada’s NorthernBlues Music have a knack for finding artists who have sunk into obscurity and putting the polish back on their careers. After more than a dozen years playing his unique brand of the blues, in 1977 Otis Taylor retired from the music business. In 1995, he was persuaded to return to the stage and enjoyed a degree of success. After he signed with NorthernBlues Music in 2001, Taylor began to receive accolades on many fronts, including numerous W. C. Handy nominations and awards, a fellowship to the Sundance Institute Music Composers Laboratory, and creation of the “Otis Taylor special edition electric banjocaster” by the Blue Star Guitar company. Not bad.

The music of Otis Taylor stands apart from what a lot of blues fans might consider to be blues music. Many blues fans tend to have a sort of tunnel-vision, listening only to very traditional acoustic blues in the tradition of Big Bill Broonzy or Leadbelly or to the hard-rocking electric blues of artists like B. B. King, Muddy Waters, and Buddy Guy. These fans might not even recognize some of these songs as The Blues. More open minded listeners will see in this set something very special, an evolution of The Blues that carries the music of past into the future.

This music may be of the city, but the sound leans heavily toward the folk side of things. As I listen to the songs, I’m reminded of a strange brew of artists that includes Richie Havens, Leonard Cohen, Tony Joe White, and even vocal groups such as The Spinners. These are story songs, rich with history and imagery, sometimes sung but sometimes simply spoken over the music. Excellent as the music may be, in these songs the words are the driving force, delivering characters and events that grab and hold our attention.

The stories here are powerful and evocative, with a definite political edge. Taylor’s delivery is powerful and dramatic, his writing tight yet with the relaxed flow of the oral tradition. This is a perfect combination of the written and the spoken or sung word.

Behind the words flows equally dramatic music, performed with precision by Taylor along with Kenny Passarelli, and Eddie Turner. Cassie Taylor adds class to the act with her powerful backup vocals that fall somewhere between the dramatic vocals heard behind Meat Loaf and Leonard Cohen.

Of all the songs on this release, “Just Live Your Life” comes as a real surprise. I’ve begun to think that every release by a Canadian artist must include at least one song with a Leonard Cohen sound. Although Otis Taylor is an American, the final track in this set has that same obligatory Cohen feel. It’s more than the jumpy near-reggae rhythm, the dark lyrics, and the quirky instrumental mix. At the beginning of the song, Taylor drops his voice into a deep whisper that actually sounds like Cohen. Cassie Taylor’s vocals slip in behind the lead with the sort of attack to be heard in many of Cohen’s songs. Most of all, the song tells a tale that could have been ripped straight out of the Cohen songbook.

Although Taylor is originally from the urban north of the United States and had spent time in England as well, most of the songs here have a very southern and rural feel. Even when complex and studio-mixed, the instrumentals have a very back-porch ambience which at times turns swampy. The vocals carry a sense of the old time storyteller, carrying the old tales from village to village, farm to farm, person to person. The result is that even the darkest stories have a comfortable, familiar feel to them.

Although every song on Respect the Dead was written by Otis Taylor, the entire set respects the tradition from which the songs come. Blues fans, folkies, anyone who loves great music and great stories powerfully told should look up Otis Taylor. It will be well worth the effort.

Anyone wanting more information about Otis Taylor can find it at the NorthernBlues Music website or at his own website.

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CD Review: Wise and Otherwise (Harry Manx)

Wise and Otherwise
Harry Manx
NorthernBlues Music
2001
12 tracks

The first time through, as I listened to this set, I kept thinking that Harry Manx sounds like somebody, but I couldn’t put my metaphorical finger on just who he sounds like. Then it came to me, in his voice and vocal style, Manx mostly sounds a whole lot like Kevin Head, an artist local to my area who has had some success nation-wide in Canada, and less often he sounds just a bit like Van Morrison. How Manx sounds instrumentally is something else entirely. This music is a purée of Indo-European blues-rock with a folk-jazz edge that leans toward a sort of Cat Stevens profundity. Now how do you put a handle on that?

For lack of a more accurate description, Manx is most often classified as a blues artist who happens to mix raga and other eastern forms into his western blues music. In fact, this very eclectic artist blends a dozen styles at the intersection of East and West and does it so subtly that their concurrence seems to be perfectly natural. Most of the music on this release sounds not so much like The Blues as it does the sort of evolved folk music Van Morrison had been doing during his very Jazz period.

While most of the songs in this set were written by Harry Manx, seemingly without effort Manx manages to seemlessly integrate songs by artists as diverse as B. B. King (“The Thrill is Gone”), Van Morrison (“Crazy Love”), and Jimi Hendrix (“Foxy Lady”). In each case, Manx takes the song and reinterprets it so that it becomes his own.

While performing with such western instruments as guitar, slide guitar, banjo, and harmonica, Manx also includes a contemporary instrument from India, the mohan veena. Invented only during the latter part of the last century, the veena can best be described as a cross between the Indian sitar and the slide guitar. The veena has a wide range of rich sounds that are at once exotic, mysterious, and intriguing. Over the years, Harry Manx has become proficient at weaving the sounds of the veena into his music.

This music can reach the listener at several levels. A disinterested listener will find the music pleasant and easy to include as background no matter what the activity. A listener with a more inquisitive bent will find aspects of the music intriguing and even exotic, worth turning up louder just to experience those little surprises that crop up from time to time. An aficionado will want to listen again and again and will most likely become an avid fan of the creativity of Harry Manx

Harry Manx is a very good singer. He’s a talented musician, expert at the instruments he plays. He’s a skilled lyricist who tells stories sure to hold the interest of his listeners. What really sets Manx apart, though, is the oblique angle from which he approaches his words, music, and performance, in the process carrying his audience into a very special world they may otherwise never have seen.

The best way to describe the songs on Wise and Otherwise is to have someone hear them and, unfortunately, I’ve not been able to locate some suitable clips online. I do recommend that you give Harry Manx a listen, and it seems the best way to do that will be to beg, borrow, or buy the CD.

Anyone wanting more information about Harry Manx can find it at the NorthernBlues Music website or at his own website. If you’re interested, you can read my previous review of the Harry Manx debut release, Dog My Cat, at the Sound Bytes archive.

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CD Review: Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man (Motion Picture Soundtrack: Various Artists)

Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man
Motion Picture Soundtrack: Various Artists
Verve Forecast
2006
16 tracks

I have to admit that I come to this CD with more than a little bias. For more than forty years, I’ve been a fan of Leonard Cohen the poet, the man, the musician, the artist. In 1964, while I was sitting in a high-school class not doing much of anything, a friend loaned me Cohen’s book A Spice Box of Earth, published less than a decade earlier. At the time, the only singing Cohen was doing was with his little Country and Western band in Montreal. I was hooked.

When I was a young poet, my greatest living influence was Leonard Cohen. I read all of his poetry. I studied and revered it like some Holy writ. As soon as Beautiful Losers was published, I bought and read it and discovered the prose of Leonard Cohen. When his first album, The Songs of Leonard Cohen, was released, I rushed to buy a copy. As Cohen evolved as an artist, so on some lower plateau did I evolve.

I remember, somewhere around 1970, an influential publication [I think it was Rolling Stone but can't remember for sure] had on its cover an illustration of all the great music stars of the day, stacked like a pyramid. The illustration was titled “The Rock Pile.” At the time, Cohen was still pretty much considered a folk artist, but there he was, Leonard Cohen, a Canadian poet, right at the top of the rock pile. Ask me if I was impressed.

The people I spend the most time with are writers, musicians, painters, actors and other artists. In this community, Leonard Cohen is more than simply an icon, more than a towering idol. Cohen is the ideal toward which we each aspire. It’s not that any of us wants to actually become Cohen, but that we want to achieve the depth and beauty and power in our own work that we find in Cohen’s.

This CD, like the motion picture from which these soundtrack recordings were drawn, is a loving tribute to the man and to his words and music. Listening to the performances, you can feel the love, the deep and enduring respect that these artists have for Leonard Cohen. There is a tangible beauty here that goes beyond simply the performances and should touch any listener, even one unfamiliar with the works of this Canadian poet.

Originally conceived by the Canadian Consulate in New York as a live outdoor concert in Brooklyn titled Came So Far For Beauty: An Evening Of Leonard Cohen Songs Under The Stars, the concept soon grew. Performances were mounted in Brighton, England and Sydney, Australia and ultimately film of these concerts became Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man. In the end, concert producer Hal Willner and film director Lian Linson have created an unique and lasting tribute to the artistry of Leonard Cohen.

The selection of artists on this release is outstanding, both for its diversity and for the very high quality of the performances these artists deliver. Fronting the band are Martha Wainwright, Teddy Thompson, Nick Cave, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Beth Orton, Rufus Wainright, Anthony, Jarvis Cocker, The Handsome Family, Perla Batalla, Julie Christensen, U2, and Leonard Cohen himself. The backing band includes Batalla and Christensen, Steven Bernstein, Rob Burger,Charlie Burnham, Dave Coulter, Don Falzone, Smokey Hormel, Briggan Krauss, Maxim Moston, Chris Spedding, Joan Wasser, and Kenny Wolleson.

Each of these new interpretations of Cohen songs is excellent. There are some powerful treatments here of Cohen’s words and music and, while the theme is unified, each performance is unique and stands on its own. Without writing a small book, it would be impossible to comment on each of these songs, and to comment on only one or two would be unfair to the others. The excellence of the work presented here is a fitting tribute to Leonard Cohen, the artist and the man.

If I’m disappointed in this release at all, it’s only that there isn’t more. There were many more performances in the film, enough that a double CD set could have been created without much difficulty. What I’ve heard here has been tasty, but it’s only made me hungry for the rest of it.

This CD belongs in the collection of every Leonard Cohen fan. It should also be added to the collection of anyone who wants to learn more about the work of Leonard Cohen. I would definitely recommend this soundtrack recording to anyone.

You can find everything you could want to know about the film Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man at it’s own website. The site looks like a poster for the film but most of the credits in gold at the bottom are links to other pages. Click on the “soundtrack” link and you’ll find a full track listing for this CD plus a player on which you can listen to clips of the songs. If you want to know more about Leonard Cohen, just type his name into your search engine. There’s a lot out there.

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CD Review: Live! (Roy Rogers & The Delta Rhythm Kings)

Live!
Roy Rogers & The Delta Rhythm Kings
Chops Not Chaps Records
2004
12 tracks

Listening to this music, it quickly becomes clear that this Roy Rogers is not the King of the Cowboys. Bluesman Roy Rogers has been nominated eight times for Grammy Awards and three times for the prestigious W. C. Handy Awards. Between recording albums with his band, The Delta Rhythm Kings, Rogers has been featured on albums with Bonnie Raitt, John Lee Hooker, Zucchero and other artists. When he’s not performing, he hosts a Saturday morning radio show that discusses genres that have grown from our musical roots and the influences on each.

While Roy Rogers is widely-known as a bluesman and this release is clearly at root a blues album, the sound here is not necessarily pure Blues. What I hear more clearly is the blues-influenced end of the Rockabilly spectrum. There’s a very thin line that divides electric Blues and Blues-based Rock and Roll. Slide a ways across that line and throw in a few country music influences and you’ve got the Rockabilly sound of artists like Carl Perkins and Wanda Jackson. I hear that sound in this live set.

Take the classic rocker “Shake Your Moneymaker” for example. This song started out as a Rockabilly hit by author Elmore James. Later it was recorded by a dozen other artists, including Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, who released a heavy up-tempo Rock & Roll version. Rogers actually takes the song back a step or two in the other direction, slipping in elements of Western Swing that give it a certain Bill Haley flavour.

Willie Dixon’s “Built for Comfort” and Robert Johnson’s “Terraplane Blues” especially take the listener back to the middle decades of the last century. “Terraplane Blues” actually harks from earlier in the century, but the treatment here is very 1954. “Built for Comfort” moves the mood up somewhat to ’56 or ’57. Doesn’t much matter the year, though. In any year, this music just sounds great.

A master guitarist in any style, Roy Rogers is especially known for his polished technique on slide. While some of his slide guitar work is clearly influenced by the Blues, a lot of his playing takes me back to the great slide guitar sounds I was hearing on Rockabilly and Country & Western music during the Fifties. This very country sounding slide guitar definitely contributes to the Rockabilly sound of many songs on this release.

Six of the songs on Live! were written by Rogers. Set against the classic numbers that are also included, these original compositions stand up very well. Strong rockers with well-written lyrics, these songs demonstrate that, more than simply a guitar player, Rogers is a highly talented all-around musician who has clearly earned the acclaim and respect he receives from fans and his peers.

A treat on this release is vocalist Shana Morrison. This girl rocks and rolls with the best of them, wailing out her words with howls that immediately bring to mind Buddy Guy’s unique vocal style. And these vocals are rich and sensual, imbued with feeling that’s darkly primal and sexual. It’s unfortunate that this powerful vocalist sings lead only in a duet with Rogers on “Stranger Blues” [listed on the cover as "I'm a Stranger Here"] originally recorded by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.

“Gertie Ruth” starts out with a very bluesy guitar break then quickly slips into a very Cajun sound complete with bayou-flavoured fiddle, almost like a Louisiana take on “Long Tall Sally.” Shana Morrison powers this one up with some very gutsy backup vocals. The effect reflects not so much authentic Cajun folk music as it does the faux Cajun sounds created by Chuck Berry (“You Never Can Tell”) or Hank Williams (“Jambalaya”), but with a tad more of that Rockabilly energy.

This release is an enhanced-CD. I usually enjoy getting an enhanced CD because of all the extra features it can be expected to offer. Placed in a CD player, it will play like any other CD. Put in a CD-ROM drive, the enhanced mode will kick in. On such releases, I’ve found extended liner notes, interesting biographical information on all players, extra mp3 tracks, videos, internet links, and more. This CD is no such joy. Most enhanced-CD products offer the user the choice of using the enhanced section or not, and they do not install programs on the computer. This CD asks the user to install and then sign up for something called Bandlink before the bonus features can be accessed. This is more likely to turn-off than please listeners.

Even with its clunky computer enhancement, this CD, recorded live in the Big Room at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, would make an excellent addition to any collection of contemporary Blues artists or to the music library of any fan of the very best Rock & Roll music.

Those who may be interested can find additional information about Roy Rogers & The Delta Rhythm Kings at “The Slide Zone” website. You can listen to some clips of Roy Rogers & The Delta Rhythm Kings at the same website.

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CD Review: live at Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society (Margie Baker and friends)

Margie Baker and Friends Live
Margie Baker
Consolidated Artists Productions
2005
20 tracks

From the outset, it’s clear that Margie Baker knows the music and loves the songs she sings. She’s a competent vocalist with a groovin’ big band giving her superior backing. The quality of performance is consistent throughout the two discs of this set. Margie Baker tries hard but still comes off as a very talented amateur and not, as she admits in her patter, “a full-time singer.” It’s hard to define what exactly is the line between the two, but throughout this set it feels as though Baker has not yet crossed over.

The liner notes point out that this artist “has been wowing audiences for more than thirty years in hotels, nightclubs, and concert halls” but, based on other comments in the notes and in her own patter, it’s clear that she has always played home-court, performing for local audiences and friends. At that local level, Baker is certainly star-quality. It’s always easier to be the big fish in the small pond.

Baker is also an academic with a very dry university degree and decades as an educator and school administrator. At times it feels like on stage Baker is still in this academic mode, not quite comfortable to just break loose and let herself go. There’s a great deal of feeling in her performances but not a whole lot of the exuberance some of these songs demand.

At the beginning of the set, really just between and during the first few songs, Baker tries on a bit of patter. These bits of talk are not so much interesting as just irritating, interrupting as they do the music. Baker is addressing her local audience, people who have been listening to her live for three decades, so they may find what she has to say of some interest. When recording her performance for national distribution, Baker and her producers should consider that maybe other listeners less familiar with Baker’s personal life may just not care. Fortunately, for the rest of the set, Baker pretty much sticks to singing the songs.

Baker has selected an eclectic mix of classic Jazz, Blues, and R & B songs that are mostly well suited to her voice and vocal style. She’s smart enough to not try to “cover” or copy the original recordings but to grace each song with her own interpretation. By singing each song in her own manner, Baker brings interest, consistency, and even a sort of grace to this set.

The big band, seven pieces that sometimes sound more like twenty, really makes this recording. In music, as in most things, success often depends on who you know. Clearly Baker knows some of the finest musicians in the business. A couple of times, I found myself listening to the band and not even hearing this singer. That’s how excellent they can be once they get going.

Although never a “full-time” singer, Baker comes with excellent credentials. Mentored by the great Dizzy Gillespie and friend of several other Jazz and Blues legends, after teaching school and on weekends, Baker has worked a number of prestigious engagements, most notably performing at several hotels in the Hilton chain.

The songs on this set make comfortable listening but don’t really stand out as anything special. They might serve well as a soft background for a romantic evening at home or perhaps to create a quiet ambience in the workplace. This is Margie Baker’s first nationally released recording, so it may just be that she had been uncomfortable with the process and held back a bit. It would be interesting to see what a second release would yield.

Oh, by the way, the full and very cumbersome title of this release is Margie Baker and friends live at Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society. Whew!

Unfortunately, Margie Baker doesn’t appear to have a website or even a MySpace page. There are clips of two of the songs on this release available on her record company’s Jazzbeat website.

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CD Review: If All The Land Would Rise (Ethan Miller & Kate Boverman)

If All The Land Would Rise
Ethan Miller & Kate Boverman
Riot Folk
2005
13 tracks

Throughout history, the making and distribution of anti-establishment art has been problematic. For most of the last century, so-called “Socialist” art was endemic, ripped from its roots in the Communism of Lenin and Stalin and adopted by German Nationalist Socialists, Italian Fascists, and every cause and movement of any colour that followed after. In mid-century, when I was a teen, there was a lot of this art around. Here, protesting the war in Vietnam, Communism, Capitalism, Male Chauvinism, and about any cause you could make up, was the dark vision of Socialist art. This art was well-intentioned but, for the most part, was ineffectual and failed to get the intended message to the intended audience.

We’ve all seen it. Whether a painting on a wall, a book, a play, or a song, this is black, strident art that insists on being heard and so is easily ignored. This is the stark, black and white, deliberately crudely-formed woodblock prints of workers struggling, the plays about simpler people in simpler places and times [for example, The Good Woman of Schzechuan), the chapbooks filled with the accusatory poetry of this literary underground or that, the hard-edged songs that protest this wrong or that. Heartfelt works created with love, much of this art is interesting and well-conceived. However, the harsh confrontational first impressions turn away precisely the audience the artist wants to reach. In the end, the artist is left with preaching to the already converted.

More than anything else, If All the Land Would Rise feels like Socialist art. Worse, the words and the performances add little if anything new to the social discourse. The result is that many of these songs sound like anachronisms, locked in the Sixties or even, in some cases, the Thirties. After listening for a while, even the converted might stop. This is not music for the protest meeting but for the local folk music club. It's more the stuff of nostalgia than of rebellion. The performances by Ethan Miller and Kate Boverman are excellent and should hold the attention of a room full of aging folkies but are unlikely to change anyone's mind.

Forgetting the political content, this is an interesting and enjoyable set of music. The musicianship is superb and the two singers sound good separately and together. The harmonies are the most interesting vocals, ranging from a sort of Peter, Paul and Mary slickness to something that sounds like a small scale choral arrangement to some segments that are original and hard to describe.

In their songs and in their publicity and packaging, these artists decry all things that smack of control by others. Incongruously, they choose to include the folk-music classic "Lonesome Traveler" and then whine [in print] about having to pay mechanical royalties to use the song. Since, in context, there seems no reason to include this simple song among the original protest songs on the CD, one can wonder if it had been included only so the complaint could be made.

A nice touch is the included 28 page booklet, which includes not just lyrics for all the songs but also notes by the authors about the background of each song. Those who are not turned away by the abrasive approach of this Socialist art will find this booklet an interesting read.

Listening to the range of subjects in this song, it strikes me that these artists perhaps want to protest on too many fronts. This scattered focus serves only to distract the listener from any one issue and, in consequence, from all issues. In the end, all the listener will hear is the noise of protest without any clear message coming through.

Part of the difficulty this release will have in finding an audience is that its very approach may tend to drive away the precise audience it most hopes to reach and educate. What’s worse, though, is that the artists appear to have chosen to speak up on issues which are past their due date and have been discussed to death. While these issues may still be very important, it will take a very creative and perhaps more focussed approach to be heard above the clamour to address newer issues.

Am I against Socialist art? Absolutely not. I love it, both for its aesthetic and for its positive goals. I’m just not convinced that it often does achieve the goals toward which it aspires. I suspect it usually doesn’t. For the music, I do recommend this release. As for getting the message across, well I wish Ethan Miller and Kate Boverman a lot of luck.

Those who may be interested can find additional information about Ethan Miller and Kate Boverman at the “Riot Folk” website. There are full length mp3 downloads of all of the songs on this release on the same Riot Folk website. This website makes interesting reading and is well worth looking up.

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CD Review: The Toronto Sessions (Archie Edwards)

The Toronto Sessions
Archie Edwards
NorthernBlues Music
2001
14 tracks

While it can’t be denied that the late Archie Edwards (September 4, 1918 – June 18, 1998) was an accomplished guitarist and singer of The Blues, this wasn’t his greatest contribution to this traditional American music. He only released a few recordings and was not widely recognized as a recording artist. However, as a teacher, a mentor, and a “caretaker of tradition” [as is stated in the exhaustive liner notes], Edwards was very influential and important to the preservation of this music.

Archie Edwards was well known to all of the blues artists of his day. He learned his craft from those who had preceded him and, to those who came after, he passed on what he had learned. This old bluesman was a sort of Professor Emeritus of the blues who had a lasting influence on Blues artists spanning several generations.

Blues University was Edwards’ barbershop, the Alpha Tonsorial Palace, which became a Washington D.C. landmark. For decades after the barbershop opened in 1959, between haircuts and shaves, a rotating gathering of players that spanned the generations picked away at the Blues, continuing a tradition of passing on the old songs from the old players to the young.

A historian both of his own life and of his art form, Archie had a keen sense of his own place in history and a comfortable awareness of his role as a spokesperson for the Virginia country blues tradition that he felt was undervalued and neglected. [ Barry Lee Pearson's liner notes]

In June of 1986, Archie Edwards was in Toronto to perform a concert and was persuaded by producer Serge Sloimovits to go into the studio. The result was enough songs on tape to produce two albums, but the songs were never released. When Fred Litwin founded NorthernBlues Music in 2000, he heard about this nearly forgotten musical treasure and approached Sloimovits, from whom he bought the master tapes. The result is this historic CD.

This is no field-recording but a clean, well-produced studio recording of an accomplished musician in his prime. It’s a pleasure to hear these simple songs performed in the traditional Piedmont style as passed down from generation to generation. The playing is flawless and the vocals strong and heartfelt. In these recordings of a man and his guitar, his love for the music is evident in every note and every word.

This is more than just a music recording. The Toronto Sessions is an archive of historical importance. Included is a 28 page booklet packed with information on Archie Edwards and the music he played. In this booklet are extensive liner notes, including a biography of the artist by the scholar Barry Lee Pearson; notes from the publisher Fred Litwin; period photographs of Edwards taken throughout his lifetime; a lengthy and interesting commentary written by Edwards; and complete song lyrics, each including Edwards’ commentary on how the song came to be.

Everyone who has an interest in American folk music, blues music, or even the roots of Rock & Roll should have this recording of Archie Edwards in his or her library. It’s an important connection to an earlier time that might otherwise have been lost.

Those who may be interested in Learning more about Archie Edwards can find an excellent biography at “The Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation” website.

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CD Review: Roots ‘n’ Roll (Bill Culp)

Roots ‘n’ Roll
Bill Culp
Independent
2004
14 tracks

Bill Culp has created a quirky set of songs that’s not so much eclectic as erratic, swinging between classic Rockabilly and what is now called Americana or Roots Rock. There’s a sense that Culp hasn’t yet decided whether he wants to be Carl Perkins or John Mellenkamp. Given the rhythm-driven performances and consistently high quality on this release, I’m not sure it matters who Culp evolves into. The result is sure to promise a rockin’ good time.

The main focus here seems to be on Rockabilly music, and there’s where the best music is to be found. Often releases in this genre will focus on just one facet, one stylistic variant of this music. Coming from country and folk music, the blues, and Rhythm & Blues as well as drawing on native American and European influences, Rockabilly was in fact a rich and diverse musical style. Very influential in its time and since, this citified country music has often been under-rated. Culp presents a variety of Rockabilly styles with the respect and energy they deserve.

Mostly, Rock ‘n’ Roots presents music in the style made famous by artists like Buck Owens, George Jones, Carl Perkins, Conway Twitty, Marvin Rainwater, and others. It’s cowboy music with a touch of the blues and whole lot of soul and rhythm. Blended into his set, Culp includes sounds like Springsteen, Mellenkamp, Neil Diamond, and Rockabilly influenced artists like Keith Richard and even a bit of Meat Loaf.

“Two Left Feet” takes me back to the country side of Rockabilly music. This is the slow country rock of Jerry Lee Lewis songs like “Crazy Arms” as well as many songs by Conway Twitty, Buck Owens, and others, including Bill Haley and his Comets. In this music can be found the roots of contemporary country music. Many songs in this vein were recorded by female artists, including Patsy Cline and Wanda Jackson. In this arrangement, Mary DeKeyser is absolutely perfect, her vocals adding a soulful balance to Culp’s harder-edged, more bitter treatment.

Lieber and Stoller’s “One Bad Stud” is an interesting choice for this set. Rather than this obscure classic, most artists would choose to cover a better known song from the wide range available. In fact, this 1954 Honey Bears classic is perfect for this set. It’s great jumping jive that harks back to the beginnings of the rock and roll era.

“Last Hurtin’ Song” falls at the opposite end of the era. One advantage of growing up in Canada some forty years ago is that we got to hear the hits from both America and Britain. We never had a “British Invasion” in the sense the Americans did. The British stars had been here all along. A big star of the time was Cliff Richard, singing with and without the legendary instrumental band, the Shadows. This song definitely brings to mind the sound of Cliff Richard and the Shadows.

Dave Alvin’s retro-classic composition “Marie Marie” rocks out with flashbacks to Chuck Berry in his Cajun period. Recorded by The Blasters and a dozen other artists, this song pumps along like there’s no stopping it. Just try not dancing to this one.

“Full Time Fool” and “Your Sins Will Always Find You” are other up-tempo rockers designed to get you up and dancing.

It helps that Culp has managed to assemble a band of some of the finest musicians in Canada for these recordings. The lineup is more than simply impressive. It’s stellar.

Those who may be interested can find additional information about Bill Culp at his “Roots ‘n’Roll” website. There are short clips of three songs from this release on Bill Culp’s My Space page. [It's a shame that longer or even full-length clips are not included to give listeners a better feel for Culp's style.]

Here’s a little Fact Check. According to the liner notes, Bill Culp seems to think that songwriting legends Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller (“One Bad Stud” on this CD) are Canadians. Not so. Lieber and Stoller (“Kansas City,” “Hound Dog,” “Charlie Brown,” “Stand by Me,” “Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots,” and many more.) are both Americans.

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CD Review: Midnight Fool (Johnny Eden)

Midnight Fool
Johnny Eden
Independent
2003
13 tracks

It happens every time. In the silence of the room, someone snaps a finger then snaps a second time and a third. Snapped out of my complacency, I turn to see who’s there. Except for me, the room is empty. After 20 finger snaps, the jazzy groove of “A Taste of Honey” begins and I’ve already been drawn into the world of Johnny Eden.

In this case, “A Taste of Honey” is not the classic heavily-orchestrated movie song, but a jumpy little number composed by Johnny Eden. This is the kind of rock-influenced jazz epitomized by popular artists such as Georgie Fame. If the soul of this song is in Eden’s vocal and Bill Barnes’ guitar, then its heartbeat is in the solid bass and cool drums of Eden’s exceptional rhythm section.

While there’s a certain blues flavour to the songs on this release, the core of the set is pure, contemporary jazz with a rock edge. In its very eclectic blend, the set manages to be unified and consistent. The first song sets the stage and the rest follow suit in a parade of creative, evocative performances.

“A Room Built for Two” is an especially jazzy number with much the same feel as the often-recorded “Masquerade.” The sound is cool and, to a certain extent, erotic. This is jazz in soft-focus, romantic and allusive, enhanced by Eden’s vocals, soft and at times almost whispered.

It’s no secret that Leonard Cohen has been a major influence on an entire generation of Canadian poets, songwriters, and performers. That influence can be heard especially in three of the songs on this release. “I’m a Fool” and “She’s Not For Me” immediately bring Cohen to mind, and the final not-so-hidden track “[13] Is My Lucky Number” brings back that Cohen sound one more time.

Like Picasso, Leonard Cohen has passed through several distinct periods on his journey. The Johnny Eden songs that appear to show Cohen’s influence seem to draw upon a period that includes songs such as “The Tower of Song” but also reach back to softer, more romantic modes.

With a deep, rich voice, Johnny Eden sings in a style that ranges from a sort of Barry White romanticism to a dark, bluesy style. His voice has a rawness to it that brings to mind artists like Tom Waits or Leonard Cohen, but is smoother than those artists and less ruined.

The six musicians who worked with Eden on this release support his vocals with excellent performances. The music shines but never so bright that the talent of Johnny Eden can’t shine through. The sound is creative, consistent and captivating.

The final song in this set appears to be a parody of the apparently obligatory hidden track. Eden’s track 13 does begin with about two minutes of dead air which sets it apart from the other songs. The title, following from the track number 13, “Is My Lucky Number” reads like a private joke shared with the listener. Although set up like a hidden track, this track is listed on the set list.

Johnny Eden is a Canadian artist to watch. For anyone wanting to discover what this writer and performer can do, Midnight Fool is a great place to start. It’s well worth the listen.

Those who may be interested can find additional information about Johnny Eden at his “The Last Troubador” website. There are four songs by Johnny Eden at My Space.

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CD Review: Out There (The Unseen Guest)

Out There
The Unseen Guest
High On Chai
2004
10 tracks

In the music of Declan Murray and Amrith Narayan, East truly meets West, creating something new and strikingly original. Not what one might expect, this music is not some sort of Celtic meets Raga folk-amalgam but more of a fusion between Twentieth Century western folk/blues and that not always definable blend most often called World Music. Even if it weren’t recorded on a budget, the music on this set would be impressive.

Besides Murray and Narayan, this release features the playing of six other musicians. The sometimes exotic arrangements include the sounds of at least twenty instruments traditional to Ireland and India, among other countries and cultures. The overall sound is always full and sometimes very big and dramatic.

Declan Murray’s vocals and especially his lyrics are exceptional. The music ranges across a variety of styles and the words are always poetic, at times bringing to mind Leonard Cohen, another artist who draws upon the world for his influences.

Parts of “Anywhere Somewhere” especially have this Cohenesque feel, both in the way the music is set up and in the sensibility of Murray’s lyric. The chorus flows out in a way that Cohen slides through songs like “Chelsea Hotel #2″ as one example. The similarity is striking.

“Mangala Express” begins with a guitar line reminiscent of Cohen’s “Suzanne” but moves from there into a cool, jazzy instrumental piece that allows both Murray and Narayan to demonstrate their skills as musicians.

I’ve always been a lover of drums and I must say that Murray’s work on the bongos is outstanding. Although he plays bongos on most of these tracks, the best example is “Never Enough” with its extended bongo solo. To find a comparison sufficient to describe this performance, I have to go back more than 40 years and say that Murray’s playing reminds me most of the wonderful Preston Epps.

“Out There” and “In the Black” are perhaps the most mainstream songs in this set. The title song, “Out There” has a sort of mid-century American folk-country ambience and yet the choice of instrumentation imbues a certain edginess. “In the Black” moves the listener forward a decade or two, with lyrics and music that sounds very much like some of the folkier songs released by The Hollies some 35 years ago.

With its simple, straightforward lyrics and steady blues rhythm, “Listen My Son” is perhaps the song in this set that surprises most. The general impact of this song is that of the great acoustic blues songs of the Thirties and Forties. Some of those exotic sounds do slip up through the background, bringing the song a certain eccentric character, but for the most part this is simply a good solid blues song.

In Out There, The Unseen Guest has created a musical experience that is both original and very special, creating from the sounds of East and West a new sound all their own. That sound is well worth hearing again and again.

Those who may be interested can find additional information about The Unseen Guest at the Unseen Guest website. There are four songs from this release at My Space.

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