CD Review: Girl Time! (The ChoirGirlz)

Girl Time!
The ChoirGirlz
Riverdale Records
2006
11 tracks

Every time I play this CD, the final song comes far earlier than I might have hoped. This release is a sweet confection like my mother’s divinity fudge, rich and delightful and addictive. At only 41 minutes long, this set leaves the listener wanting more, lots more of this tasty treat. Debbie Fleming, Mary Ellen Moore, and Dorothy McDonall each have a lifetime of experience and it shows. Together, they are wonderful. This is perhaps the finest a capella singing trio in Canada.

On this release, The ChoirGirlz are only a capella for one song. On the rest of the songs, they are supported by members of the Canadian western swing band Bebop Cowboys. In part because the vocals are set against this Bob Wills ambience and in part because of some of the lyrics and vocal arrangements, at times I feel as though I’m listening to a reissue of an album from 1953.

Some listeners might compare this trio to fellow Canadians Quartette (Cindy Church, Caitlin Hanford, Gwen Swick, and Sylvia Tyson) or to the American Trio (Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Linda Rondstadt). When I first listened to these songs, I was transported back in time some fifty years. At first and now after listening several times, I’m reminded most of The Dinning Sisters, who had perhaps the longest successful career of any singing sister act, from Thirties Jazz to Fifties Rock & Roll. When listening to a couple of these songs, I’m also reminded of the British vocal group The Seekers.

There’s a definite country music feel here, but the sound evokes the country music of mid-century, before Rockabilly started to take hold and subtly change the music. It’s quiet music with a comfortable ambience that brings back those old times when the world was less dangerous.

Ten of the eleven songs on this release were written either by Debbie Fleming or by Fleming in partnership with her two singing partners. Listening to the CD, it soon becomes clear that the talent in this group transcends singing and harmonizing and extends to composing and arranging and writing lyrics. In fact, all of the lyrics are tightly written and expressive, ranging from humourous tales to touching family reminiscences.

It’s not obvious at first, but there’s a weird selection of songs on this CD. Of course, it may be just a Canadian thing or it may be that I spent far too much time watching Canadian children’s TV with my kids. While some of the songs are quite adult and some even tend toward a certain darkness, others tend to be what I would call “Sharon, Lois, and Bram” songs, the sort of song these performers would perform on The Elephant Show. “Favourite Book,” “Good Ol’ Jim,” and “Chocolate” especially have this feeling and, while it’s a bit more esoteric, “See BC” comes close. With these kiddie-crossover songs, moving adult songs, dark foreboding songs, and a gospel hymn all included I’m impressed how consistent and unified this set seems.

While I enjoyed all of the songs on this release, both for the excellent vocals and harmonies and also for reasons individual to each song, two of the more serious songs stood out as special favourites: “Tennessee Waltz” and “Back to the Light.”

“Tennessee Waltz” was on the hit parade when I was only five or six years old. So, believe it or not, was the gruesome “Waltzing Mathilda” by, I think, Mitch Miller. In my young mind, I somehow confused and combined the two songs. So I had a couple waltzing on the big patio of an antebellum mansion then breaking up, after which the man (or the woman sometimes) wanders off into the surrounding darkness and is murdered beneath a tree by the billabong. Although most covers of “Tennessee Waltz” present this as a sweet love song [it is not], The ChoirGirlz sing it with a certain dark sorrow which is enhanced by the mournful violin of Drew Jurecka. Immediately following the bridge, the dark closes in as the most bitter verse of all is sung with all the sorrow of “The Long Black Veil” and sets the song up to end in a very “Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte” mood.

While I enjoy the music of the Bebop Cowboys and it certainly adds to my pleasure listening to ten of these songs, where these three singers really shine is on a capella harmonies. The final song in the set, “Back to the Light” is the only a capella song on this release. This is a very old-fashioned, traditional gospel song written by Debbie Fleming. It reminds me very much of Hank Williams’ “I Saw the Light” or several of the Carter Family’s gospel songs. On this recording, the song is delivered in a very reverent, sincere fashion that makes it the ideal song to close out the set.

The second CD released by The ChoirGirlz, this one is a very special treat for anyone who enjoys sweet harmonies, country music with a bit of swing, or just plain excellent playing and singing. Just be warned, like divinity fudge, the ChoirGirlz just may be addictive.

Discover everything you want to know about Debbie Fleming, Mary Ellen Moore, and Dorothy McDonall at The Choir Girlz Official Website. Go to MySpace.com/choirgirlz to hear three songs from this new release by The ChoirGirlz.

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CD Review: Doug Sahm and Band (Doug Sahm and Band)

Doug Sahm and Band
Doug Sahm and Band
Collectors’ Choice Music
2006
12 tracks

Doug Sahm and Band is a superb compilation of classic Country & Western songs, Blues, and new songs that blend right into the mix. Besides the selection of songs, what makes this release special is that anonymous band backing Sahm. Really a pick-up band formed for this session, this is a super-group that prefigures another Sahm band, the Texas Tornados. Musicians in this band include several members of Sahm’s earlier group, The Sir Douglas Quintet, Dr. John, David Bromberg, Flaco Jimenez, and Bob Dylan. With talent like that, how could this session, originally released in 1973, not be wonderful?

As I’ve suggested, while the songs are mixed throughout the set and there’s some overlap that gives the set consistency, the music on this CD breaks down into three discrete categories. There’s classic mid-century country music, slow electric blues, and original folk-pop songs that overlap the other two styles.

Country songs covered here include “(Is Anybody Going to) San Antone” (Charlie Pride, 1970), “Poison Love” (Johnnie and Jack, 1951), “Faded Love” (Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, 1950), and “Me and Paul” written by Willie Nelson. The sound in these segments is pure Country and Western and would easily get dancers boot-scootin’ across the sawdust covered floor of any cowboy bar in America.

The blues songs in the set tend to be slow rockers, played and sung with agonizing emotion that takes the listener back two decades to the hard-bitten post war era when artists like Johnny Ace were rocking the blues on obscure labels. “Don’t Turn Around” (a rocking Doug Sahm composition), “Blues Stay Away From Me” and “Your Friends” all have this slow, driven quality, bringing a rock edge to what might otherwise simply have been a country music album.

Written by T-Bone Walker, “Papa Ain’t Salty” is more of a jump blues of the sort that you may have often heard played in local blues bars over the past decade or so. It’s music with a bit of a Wilson Pickett soul beat to it. Sahm’s composition “Dealer’s Blues” has much the same feel to it and also harks back to a much earlier era.

Bob Dylan, who shared vocals on three of these songs, played the guitar solo on “Blues Stay Away From Me” and organ and harmonica here and there through the set, also contributed one song to the set. At the time, this recording of Dylan’s “Wallflower” drew some attention from the media because it was a song of Dylan’s that he had not yet recorded himself. {As a point of interest, years later a young Jakob Dylan would name his band “The Wallflowers.”]

If the songs on this release had been recorded by anyone but Doug Sahm and if I had never heard of any of his band members, I would still recommend it highly. That the CD features such an elite cast of characters is a bonus that makes this release just that much more special.

This CD includes copious, detailed liner notes by Richie Unterberger that cover the entire musical career of Doug Sahm as well as the history of the recording sessions that resulted in this CD. These notes provide an interesting and informative read, filling out the story of both the artist and his music.

Go to Wikipedia to learn everything you ever wanted to know about Doug Sahm. You can find a variety of songs by Doug Sahm at the Sir Douglas Quintet and Genuine Texas Groover MySpace pages.

Doug Sahm passed away on November 18, 1999. There are many tributes and personal stories of Doug Sahm and his music on the Doug Sahm Memorial Page.

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CD Review: Texas Tornado (The Sir Douglas Band)

Texas Tornado
The Sir Douglas Band
Collectors’ Choice Music
2006
11 tracks

Although I’ve been a fan of the late Doug Sahm’s music for more than four decades, I’ve really been aware of only one facet of this artist’s multi-facetted work. I first discovered Sahm (1941-1999) through rockers like “She’s About A Mover” and “Mendocino” released by his Sir Douglas Quintet. Decades later, I found Sahm again at the heart of the Texas Tornados, a rocking band with a solid Tex-Mex attitude. My image of Sahm has been as a Tex-Mex rocker. In fact, Sahm is credited with having created much of the Tex-Mex sound as we recognize it today. Texas Tornado, an obscure title originally released in 1973, has shown me several new sides to the music of Doug Sahm.

Texas Tornado is a mixed bag of jazz, swing, Cajun, country and rock sounds that somehow hangs together in spite of itself. Most of the songs have that quiet sensibility that would relegate them to the afternoon drive slot on AM radio. While a couple of the songs are rockers, this is definitely not a rock album.

The impression I have is much the same as the first time I heard Bobby Darin sing a jazz song. I had first heard Darin singing songs like “Queen of the Hop” and “Splish Splash” as a young rock and roll star. I was very impressed to hear songs like “Mack the Knife” and “Beyond the Sea” performed so well by the same artist. Doug Sahm makes that same sort of seamless transition on this release, often sounding less like the lead singer of the Sir Douglas Quintet than Sammy Davis Jr. or John Prine. It appears that, in music, there was little if anything that this man could not do.

The title track, “Texas Tornado” is very much a country song, a roots rocker that would play well on any Americana chart. The lyric is a sort of Mellenkamp story of what happens as a tornado sweeps its way across Texas, clearing everything in its path. The interplay between Sahm’s guitar and the rocking piano provides a lively contrast to the steady drive of the rhythm section and gives a Rockabilly feel to Sahm’s very Country and Western vocal.

In contrast, songs like “Someday” and “Blue Horizon” take us back to jazz crooners like Mel Torme or Sammy Davis Jr. The band has a lively jazz sound, including flutes, brass section, and hand drums and Sahm proves that he can croon with the best of them. “Ain’t That Loving You” brings back the big band swing sounds of the same era with Sahm coming on strong like Frankie Laine or Bobby Troupe.

“Chicano” and “I’ll Be There” have a Cajun sound with a difference. Perhaps because much of the instrumentation is the same in the two styles, the ambience of these two songs seems to swing between Louisiana Cajun and Mexican country music. The result is a bright, interesting sound that makes good listening and should make good dancing.

While they have more of a swing-rock sound, “San Francisco FM Blues” and “Nitty Gritty” bring back some sense of the original Sir Douglas Quintet songs. As the first and last songs on this set, they bring this release a sort of historical continuity that serves it well.

Beyond the music, this CD includes extensive liner notes by Richie Unterberger. These notes provide an interesting and informative read, filling out the story of both the artist and his music.

Go to Wikipedia to learn everything you ever wanted to know about Doug Sahm. You can find songs by Doug Sahm in his various incarnations at the Sir Douglas Quintet and Genuine Texas Groover MySpace pages. There are many personal stories of Doug Sahm and his music on the Doug Sahm Memorial Page.

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CD Review: When the Tide Rolls In (J. C. Andersen)

When the Tide Rolls In
J. C. Andersen
Norstar Records
2005
10 tracks

Still in his early twenties, the young American artist J. C. Andersen already shows a lot of promise. He has a good voice and he’s learning how to use it to best advantage. Looking at the liner notes and the publicity materials, he also seems to have garnered a lot of support from other artists early in their careers as well as member of the Nashville establishment. If this combination of latent talent and networking doesn’t give this young man’s career a jump-start then nothing will.

Except for one song that he wrote on his own and one that he co-wrote with John Bulford, Andersen has chosen songs for his debut release that were written by other young Nashville artists. In making this selection, he has also avoided doing new interpretations of already well known songs. Each of these decisions is a wise one. Because the CD features mostly songs he has not written, listeners will be able to focus on his singing. Because there are no so-called “cover” songs in the set, he can’t be compared [potentially unfavourably] with some popular “original” artist.

Working with producer Ted Hewitt, Andersen has managed to come up with flawless, cleanly engineered arrangements played with a cadre of ten young musicians. This slickly produced musical bed provides the ideal setting for Andersen’s polished vocals. Between the quality behind these songs and Andersen’s youthful good looks [credits for this sound recording include a "Stylist" and "Hair and Makeup" artist], this young man’s recordings should appeal to a broad audience of young country music fans.

I must say that, to my ear, every song in this set sounds too slick and commercial. The sound feels manufactured, like the so-called “Boy Bands” of the Nineties or the “Formula” bands that were assembled in the Seventies to be instant hit-machines. The songs sound like a lot of the hokey schlock released by Garth Brooks in his prime. Listening to the music and hearing the lyrics, I almost get the sense that, rather than having been written from the heart, these songs were manufactured to some formula of hooks and phrases designed to grab the ears of popular radio programmers.

Part of this sense that these songs lack depth and are primarily about surface impressions may go to life experience, or lack of it. At 22 years of age, Andersen is singing about life events that he may not yet have actually experienced and may not experience until he is much older, if at all. If you don’t know or understand the emotion that underlies the story, then it’s difficult if not impossible to express that emotion.

None of this is necessarily bad. Andersen is just starting out on his career and still has lots of room to grow. Compared to most beginning artists, he’s already way ahead on talent and on Nashville connections and he seems to have a good idea of where he wants his career to take him. That Garth Brooks connection is not all bad either. With a similar blend of country music and pop-rock elements, Brooks propelled himself to the top spot among American country music stars, and he successfully held that position for longer than most. If he manages his career effectively, Andersen might just do the same thing.

There’s also a very Pat Boone thing about this young singer. His photographs show a clean-cut young man, looking a little shy. The image is not so much of a country music star as of the boy next door in the suburbs who you wouldn’t mind dating your sister. Comments in the liner notes and elsewhere demonstrate a strong Christian sensibility and middle-American propriety. This is no “Outlaw” country artist but a boy who wants to appeal to the rest of America. Who knows, he may even own a pair of white bucks.

Given time and dedication, I believe this young artist could go far. He certainly has lots of time ahead of him to learn and grow and, based on what I’ve seen and heard so far, I suspect he has plenty of dedication to go with it. Keep an eye out for J. C. Andersen. He may just be a rising star.

Those who may be interested can find additional information about J. C. Andersen at his band website. There are four songs from this release at My Space.

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CD Review: Not Life Threatening (Solomon)

Not Life Threatening
Solomon
Eye of the Storm Records
2002
11 tracks

I’m taken back to another time and place. The music of Bill Gibbs, Dennis Gurgul, and Lenny Solomon harks back to a time so long ago that country music was still called folk, or western, or perhaps hillbilly. It’s old-time music that manages somehow to not be old-timey, generating instead a timeless quality. Lenny Solomon’s vocals remind me most of John Prine, as does his writing, but there are also elements of the old country and western singers like Merle Travis, Stonewall Jackson, Roy Acuff or Doc Watson.

These songs tell stories. Some reach inside the narrator, pulling out something very personal and making it so universal that any listener can understand. It’s these songs that most remind me of Prine’s writing. Others feature a more direct style of storytelling that brings to mind artists like Tom T. Hall and a whole tradition of country storytellers before him. In each song, Solomon’s gentle, raspy voice carries just the right degree of emotion to bring his story into the listener’s real world. One is reminded of songs like Hall’s “Old Dogs, Children, and Watermelon Wine” or “Faster Horses.”

Some of the songs on this release lean toward rock and roll or jazz or pop styles, but they never really lose their old time country flavour. One song especially seems to break the mold. “Firefly” rolls along slow, with soulful electric guitar underscoring Solomon’s equally soulful vocal. While the country flavour is still present, the overall feel is more like lazy Southern Rock. As I hear this song, I’m reminded ever so much of The Marshall Tucker Band’s “Can’t You See.”

For the most part, the songs on Not Life Threatening range from the gentleness of a Motel 6 commercial through what I tend to call “cowboy music” to a sort of light country rock. Over all, on a quick listen, the set is quiet and enjoyable. Paid closer attention, the music and the lyrics show the quality that only a lifetime of craft can add. The music combines interesting elements in sometimes quirky ways and the lyrics are tight and well formed to most effectively tell their stories.

This band is clearly the creature of Lenny Solomon, a folk and country musician with the soul of a poet. This is a very American set of music, reaching musically and lyrically into the diverse roots of American music and bringing them new life.

Drifting as it does across folk, country, and light popular music styles, Not Life Threatening would fit well in any music collection. The songs are comfortable and thought-provoking at the same time, well-suited to play in the background or to be given a close listen.

Those who may be interested can find additional information about the band Solomon at the Solomon Band website. There are clips of all the songs on Not Life Threatening at CD Baby.

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CD Review: Inside My Secret Pocket (Eddie Lawrence)

Inside My Secret Pocket
Eddy Lawrence
Snowplow Records
2004
22 tracks

First and foremost, Eddy Lawrence is a story teller. A skilled musician, Lawrence first lays down a comfortable bed of instrumentation then settles in and tells a series of captivating stories that have both personal and universal appeal. There is a sparcity to his tales that belies the depths to which he reaches into the human spirit. And the songs of Eddy Lawrence also make easy listening simply as music. This is a winning combination.

There’s something about the mood of these songs that always suggests there’s a country boy somewhere at their core, but the sound ranges easily across any number of genres. Travelling through folk, country, jazz, rock, blues, and other territories, these songs manage nonetheless to maintain a consistent sound. This is not a disparate scrapbook of short-stories but single, thematic collection.

The eighth release by this prolific songwriter, Inside My Secret Pocket maintains the consistent high quality for which Eddy Lawrence has become known. Listening to his recordings, it becomes clear that each song is written and recorded with consummate care. Beneath the artistry of Eddy Lawrence lies a lifetime of finely-hewn craft that can’t help but shine through.

Lawrence has described the songs on this release as “the diary of a divorce” and the emotions of this divisive process lend power to stories that would have been powerful and emotive in any event. These are stories that can be understood and felt by any one of us who has been involved in a human relationship or who has loved and lost.

It would be difficult to pick any one of these 22 songs as standing out above the rest. Each has its own merits and each tells its own part of the larger story. The strength of this release is not in one individual song but in their cumulative effect. The quality is consistently high throughout.

If you haven’t already discovered Eddy Lawrence, then this release might be a good place to start. Eddy Lawrence stands in a long tradition of American storytelling. Although he’s one of the finest modern narrators of American life and does have a certain niche audience, Lawrence remains largely unknown. That’s a shame.

Those who may be interested can find additional information about Eddy Lawrence at the Snowplow Records website. You can find my review of the previous Eddy Lawrence release, Going to Water at Sound Bytes.

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CD Review: Seedling (Jane)

Seedling
Jane
Tomboy Music Group
2004
10 tracks

This is a safe set of music, unlikely to offend anyone but with little to distinguish it from a horde of other releases by female vocalists. Jane sings well and her musical backing is professional and well arranged. There is a sense that she has not yet decided who she wants to be as a singer. Her vocals range from the breathless wispiness of old recordings by Montreal’s The Bells to the rock tinged edge of Sheryl Crow, with a number of stops in between.

Jane quickly establishes her folk roots by starting “Never Thought it was Love” with a bit of countrified guitar and a whole lot of harp but quickly shifts to a more pop-music style for the remainder of the song. This song establishes more than that. Like the rest of the songs on this release, the first song is comfortable enough but the approach and sound is at best inconsistent.

If this were Jane’s debut album and not her second, one might forgive the artist feeling her way a bit and trying out different roles as both songwriter and singer. One can only hope that, as her career grows, Jane will find and slip into an image that fits her comfortably. In the meantime, this release makes a respectable showing, presenting the singer in a positive light and giving the listener a comfortable experience.

This is a very eclectic set featuring a pot pourri of blues, jazz, latin, country, folk, funk, and other stylings, both vocally and instrumentally. What holds it together is the consistent fullness of the sound and the clearly professional quality of the production.

Seedling features some excellent folk and blues harp as well as a smattering of very cool keyboard sounds by Mark Street. These help to raise the CD at least slightly above the bland middle-ground.

It will be interesting to watch this emerging artist as she moves through her career. Will she grow and develop the talent that is clearly present or will she continue to avoid risk and present the sort of safe material found on this CD? Time will tell.

Those who may be interested can find additional information about Jane at the Jane Music website. You can find clips of four songs by Jane at My Space.

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CD Review: The Town’s Old Fair (Josh Lederman y Los Diablos)

The Town’s Old Fair
Josh Lederman y Los Diablos
Nine Mile Records
2003
16 tracks

If a Mulligan Stew of western folk music styles were cooked up, then Josh Lederman y Los Diablos would be right in the thick of it. This is broadly-based, eclectic, sometimes exotic music from America that gathers its sources from the world. The result is an easy listening, sometimes provocative, and often humourous stew of musical styles that never loses its flavour.

Featuring almost a full hour of mostly country music imbued with Irish, European, and Mediterranean spice, this CD is an excellent value even in today’s erratic economy. This is not guy-and-a-guitar material but the big band sound of a brilliant five piece combo plus a supporting cast of exceptional musicians. Although this music shows strong international influences and draws upon many traditions, including Pop and Rock, at root the music tends always to sound very American and more than a little Country. Coming out of cosmopolitan Boston, this band could as easily be from South Texas.

The raw baritone lead vocals are rich and interesting, not the usual reedy singer-songwriter vocals we’ve come to expect on a lot of homegrown folk music recordings. Although this is not quite an accurate comparison, I’m reminded of the early work of the Crash Test Dummies (for example: “Superman’s Song”) with their dry vocals.

The instrumental “Palinka” is very interesting. The first few seconds are reminiscent of a Drifters (Sixties version) opening but with the drums giving the music a lot more drive. Then the song shifts gears and becomes very Middle Eastern, not in the traditional sense so much as in the sense that Dick Dale gave “Misirlou” that cool Middle Eastern ambience. The result is a very exciting and exotic sound.

Ranging through country songs that would make Johnny Cash proud, Skiffle-sounding bits, near-Irish ballads, Euro-Pop stylings and more, yet all the while maintaining a comfortable consistency, The Town’s Old Fair bears and even invites repeated listens, with something new to discover on each play.

Those who may be interested can find additional information about Josh Lederman y Los Diablos at Coffee Stain Music. You can find clips of four songs by Josh Lederman y Los Diablos at My Space.

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