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I’ve listened to most of his recorded out- fuse eastern European and African music tra- La Marine and the atmosphere of broken
put through the years since I first heard him ditions on this track but instead it sounds a down spookiness that hangs over the whole
in 1971 and seen him live two or three times – bit too ‘new agey’. undertaking. As with their musical friends
but it’s a long time since I heard him solo. I’d
Although they are all excellent musi-
Tinariwen, I had Lo’Jo down as a band who
forgotten just how good he is; or, of course,
cians and the arrangements are thoughtful,
had probably done all they were capable of,
he could have got even better. And the live
carefully balanced and pleasing, they lack
but like Tinariwen, they’ve freshened up their
performances display a lively good humour
the frenetic, heterophonic qualities of the
sound by stripping it down and allowing
which one would not suspect from listening
klezmer bands they are trying to emulate.
some space. Don’t expect any big sing-a-long
to his recent studio albums which are some-
Mazzeltov claim that the instrumental piece
choruses or happy-clappy uplift, but if you
what sombre, however accomplished they
Vos Shpiltse was inspired by the early
like music that relies on texture and feel for
may be. His guitar playing is outstanding.
klezmer 78 recordings by Belf’s Roumanian
its appeal, you’re in for a bit of a treat.
He’s evolved a style all his own, but from the
Orchestra and specifically their “raw, archaic www.lojo.org; distributed by Proper.
same influences that formed the guitar play-
feel”. Ironically, the track fails to capture the
ing of Al Stewart, Bert Jansch, Wizz Jones,
frenzied qualities that inspired the piece to
Jamie Renton
Dave Evans, John Martyn… strange that it’s
be written in the first place. One surprising
always British players that he brings to mind.
and slightly incongruous track is the rendi-
Something in the Canadian water perhaps.
tion of Windmills Of Your Heart (direct trans-
THE MEN THEY
His audiences are generally knowledge-
lation from the original French) in Yiddish,
COULDN’T HANG
able, enthusiastic and indulgent – there’s
which is a bit on the dark side but mesmeris-
even some repartee with a friendly heckler.
ing due to Kross’s strong voice.
Devil On The Wind Irregular Records IRR069
Of course, there is someone who has to go While this CD may be a diverse collection
There always was something about The Men
‘woo-hoo’ at a highly inappropriate moment of songs that the band have tried to weave
They Couldn’t Hang that hinted at an
in If I Had A Rocket Launcher because the together with their hybrid eastern European
inevitability, an endurance, a certainty that
numpty only realises what the song is when sound, it is the mixture of Kross’s vibrant
characterised songs like Ironmasters or Scar-
the title comes up for the first time in the voice and the solidity and seamlessness of the
let Ribbons. I guess any band that chooses an
refrain… an authentic touch, I suppose. [Triv- accompaniment that is really holding it all
Eric Bogle song as a launch pad is going to
ia note: Bruce is the only person to have ever together. Distributed in the UK by Proper.
have an amount of stickability. And so it has
turned down answering our Rocket Launcher
questionnaire! Ed.]
Laoise Davidson
proved. Here they are as noisy, brawling and
bustling as ever, rougher round the edges but
This is a splendid album; I recommend it. every bit as vagabond and relevant. Devil On
Now I’ve got to try to find a way of playing
LO’JO
The Wind may take some wearing in but soon
one of his lovely songs which has lodged you realise all the trademarks are in place
itself, unbidden, in my brain. Cosmophono IRL 041 and we’re back in a tumble of contemporary
www.truenorthrecords.com, via Proper.
concerns, Boy’s Own rock ’n’ roll, compassion-
There’s always been
ate conscience, spirit and lust for life.
Maggie Holland
something pleasingly
noir-ish about Lo’Jo.
The Men were never straightforward and
What with singer
the opening salvo here transports us through
MAZZELTOV:
Denis Péan’s Waitsian
a blender of images, ancient history, searing
ROLINHA KROSS
growl and the prominence of cabaret, jazz,
heat, present-day perils of the east and a mys-
chanson and dub influences, this French glob-
tic-sounding violin. Immediately following,
Amsterdam Fréa/Music & Words MWCD4058
al/ roots musical collective would undoubtedly
they churn out a pure piece of Anglicana, The
be described by Ann Widdecombe (in the
Ragged Shoreline, a melodic version of Coast.
One should always be wary of a band that unlikely event of her suddenly taking an inter-
Mrs. Avery is the Kinks channelling Dr. Hook,
purports to be ‘No. 1’ in their country or the est in such things) as possessing “something
whilst Heartbreak Park a sad commentary on
world. It somehow lacks class and immediate- of the night” about them. Cosmophono is
the darker side of urban life. They don’t shirk
ly makes you suspicious. According to their their tenth by my reckoning and it’s the dark-
for a minute and through 11 tracks all life is
MySpace, Mazzeltov featuring Rolinha Kross est thing they’ve done so far. From the shad-
here, why there’s even a straightforward love
is “the Netherlands’ no. 1 yiddish and owy sax-fuelled opener Petit Courage
song with as much rolling and riffing as a
klezmer ensemble”. However, in this versa- through to the stark, mournful closing track
Springsteen creation, Aquamarine, a horn
tile, eclectic and mature recording, they make La Liberté (just Péan accompanying himself on
powering through the mid section.
a very good case for themselves. piano), everything here is inky and nocturnal,
Sensibly picked up by Robb Johnson’s
With four CDs under their belt, their lat-
which I must say, suits them rather well.
Irregular imprint with distribution through
est release shows that they are prolific, This is an album of low key charm and
Proper, whilst The Men They Couldn’t Hang
adaptable and prepared to go beyond the beautiful touches: the El Mourid sisters’
may have racked up a quarter century,
confines of traditional klezmer. This collec- sweetly abrasive vocals swooping in as if from
they’re still mining a rich seam. A rich seam of
tion of songs and instrumental pieces moves nowhere, the intensity of Richard Bourreau’s
character that is and they’ve got it in abun-
away entirely from standard, over-played violin playing, the sudden shock of rock gui-
dance. www.tmtch.net
Yiddish songs. There are some classic settings tar and bursts of saxophone on Dresseur De Simon Jones
of poetry by great Yiddish wordsmiths Itzik
Manger and Mordechai Gebirtig, including
Dos Klejne Tsigajnerl (The Little Gypsy) and
Lo’Jo
Trink Brider (Drink, Brothers), however the
rest are a diverse mix of traditional Gypsy
songs, original Dutch songs and even a 1970s
western pop song. What is unusual is that
most of them are sung in Yiddish.
Despite not growing up speaking Yid-
dish, vocalist Rolinha Kross shows a good
command of the language and its Jewish sub-
tleties, possibly through her Jewish Czech
mother. Kross’s voice is full of character and
has an indefinable Jewish quality. Unlike
many Yiddish singers she is never over-senti-
mental, and instead draws on the emotional
connections she clearly has with the culture.
It is a big, low voice, not dissimilar in style to
Chava Alberstein’s, but with more of a
cabaret glamour to it.
While there has been a deliberate
attempt by the band to ‘klezmerfy’ all the
English and Dutch songs, the arrangements
in fact borrow features from many traditions
including Gypsy, Balkan, swing and Gypsy
jazz. Awek, Awek, Awek, for example, shows
off Harold Berghuis’s Gyspy-swing guitar
style. Only one track doesn’t seem to work:
Ishmael by jazz great Abdullah Ibrahim.
There is much more they could have done to
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