63 f WILLIE WATSON
Folk Singer Vol 1 Acony Records ACNY- 1411
When, in 1985, Californian punk artist Phranc entitled her solo album Folksinger, it seemed like an act of deliber- ate provocation. Three decades later, this similarly- named album by Willie Wat- son appears to be a simple statement of fact. Watson is
a former member of Old Crow Medicine Show, the influential (Doc Watson-discovered and Mumford-inspiring) band who generated platinum record sales from infusing old-time American music with rock energy and stylish, YouTube-friendly presentation, but this brand new album looks like something from an ear- lier time than all of that. A simple, titles-on- the-front design, monochrome photographs and the running time (ten songs) all suggest something scratchy and collectable on Folk- ways or Vanguard. Ye gods, he’s even smoking a pipe, Joseph Spence-style, on the cover.
If the preceding paragraph arouses any suspicions of a mere post-Llewyn Davis band- wagon hop here, let all such doubts be cast from your minds and your joys be uncon- fined, for this is the real deal, folks. As Ry Cooder says, “he handles the instruments just right and sings like a cotton mill hand with no strike benefits”.
With a track list including familiar fare
like Midnight Special and Stewball, and sourced from the likes of Big Bill Broonzy, Leadbelly, Roscoe Holcomb, Memphis Slim, Utah Phillips and Gus Cannon, Watson’s abili- ty to comprehensively inhabit these songs, delivered solo to the accompaniment of his own guitar or banjo, is hugely impressive. Producer David Rawlings (who, together with associate producer Gillian Welch, knows a thing or two about this stuff) claims that “Willie is the only one of his generation who can make me forget these songs were ever sung before.” To check the veracity of that bold statement, listen to these recordings in tandem with some of the folks who actually have sung the songs before. While, for exam- ple, Watson doesn’t attempt to match David Johansen’s lascivious swagger on James Alley Blues (who the hell could?) his plaintive read- ing (like everything on offer, here) is authen- tic, distinctive and compelling listening.
In short, Willie Watson sounds like a man
who’s been both high and lonesome and lived to tell the tale. The tremble in his voice can make you quake, and his mastery of that sound is absolute.
www.williewatson.com Steve Hunt
ROB HERON AND THE TEA PAD ORCHESTRA
Talk About The Weather Tea Pad Recordings TP 003
It’s an ironic start to Rob Heron And The Tea Pad Orchestra’s latest album which hears them singing about their need for coffee, but Talk About The Weather most definitely is an album made on the back of a caffeine kick, with its energetic ragtime rhythms and riffs pulsating right from the opening track of Drinking Coffee Rag.
With a plethora of instruments to make up the body of sound, special mention is reserved for the mandolin licks and chops which punctuate tastily throughout the eleven-track album.
A number of songs help to vent Rob’s frustration with regrettable societal norms, his songwriting railing against landlords, trashy TV and radio and loneliness, respec-
Willie Watson
tively portrayed in Hey Mr Landlord, Junk On The Radio and I’m Feelin’ Blue.
Talk About The Weather is a fun and catchy collection of Heron’s own composi- tions, even if some lyrics come across as a lit- tle simplistic and uncomfortably packed in to keep on the beat at times.
With the retro recording sound captured perfectly on this album, Newcastle-based Rob Heron And The Tea Pad Orchestra continue on their train of, as they call it, ‘North Eastern Swing’, fusing country, western swing and ragtime into a fun-packed production.
www.teapadorchestra.co.uk Derek Copley VARIOUS ARTISTS
Gipsy Rhumba: The Original Rhythm Of Gipsy Rhumba In Spain 1965–74 Soul Jazz Records SJR CD275
It took the 1987 breakout of France’s Gipsy Kings (as one of the first ‘world music’ acts) to bring Barcelona’s gypsy Catalan rumba style to broad international attention. But with its percussive flamenco guitar style, el ventilador, combining guitar fingering with staccato hand percussion beaten out on the guitar body, reinforced by handclapping and vocal call-and-response, the genre had been decades in development.
Some trace Catalan rumba’s origins to Belgian gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt’s performance in Barcelona in 1936 with violin- ist Stéphane Grappelli, and the interplay that developed in after-hours jams with local gypsy musicians. The Franco dictatorship exiled countless Spanish artists and intellectu- als, among them dancer Carmen Amaya. Her subsequent success in Hollywood exposed US audiences to what they came to know as fla- menco. Amaya’s star-turn in Los Tarantos (1963) won over international audiences and resulted in an Oscar nomination for Best For- eign Language Film for director Francisco Rovira-Beleta.
Soon thereafter, Barcelona gypsy guitarist Antonio González Batista ‘El Pescailla’ per- formed at the 1965 New York World’s Fair with his then wife, singer Lola Flores. The couple’s 1965 hit Meneito Men is included on Gipsy Rhumba, as are González’s interpretations of Cuban sonero Compay Segundo’s Sarandonga and the bolero Levántate. Other key Catalan rumba figures included Peret (Pedro Pubill Calaf), El Noi, El Gitano Portugués, Dolores Vargas ‘La Terremoto’ and Chango (Agustín Abellán Malla), as heard here.
Catalan rumba also borrowed liberally from Caribbean folk styles, especially those of Cuba, as well as early rock’n’roll and Motown, eg Chango’s (aka Juncal Y Sus Cal- istros) over-the-top reimagination of Chuck Rio’s party song Tequila and Vargas’ unclassi- fiable Anana Hip alone warrant the price of admission. The CD’s 20 songs present a com- pelling and informative overview of the genre, enhanced by two (!) beautifully illus- trated booklets in Spanish and English. If you thought you knew ‘flamenco’, give this a lis- ten and think again.
souljazzrecords.co.uk Michael Stone
BIVOAC BivOAc Buda Musique 860251
ZEF Just Merlot Appel APR1350
A Breton dance trio meet up with some adventurous brass players to see what sort of sounds they can create together. “Ah yes,” I hear you say, “probably inspired by the likes of La Bottine Souriante and Bellowhead.” Well, no, not really. The brass provides much more than the punctuation marks of jazz funk. “So,” you retort, “it’s more of a jazz- meets-folk album, like The Happy End.” Well, again no. With that band it was always the jazzers that were in control. Who can BivOAc be compared with? Well, if you can imagine a synthesis with the satisfying completeness that the Cauld Blast Orchestra achieved, but with a more beefy sound overall, you are get- ting somewhere near.
Mind you, there are a few red herrings along the way; three tracks are called Swing D’addis, Balafon…Ou Pas and Dance À Bamako yet you would struggle to hear a strong African influence. Stir in some humorous musical quo- tations from a variety of sources and add the feeling that they have been listening to the better Balkan Gypsy Brass bands.
Let’s stop trying to categorise. This is a very satisfying album with the dominant influences coming from Breton jazz and big- band jazz arrangements. From the jazz side, the trombone of Jean-Louis Pommier pro- vides some intense solos and from the Breton music core, the voice and accordeon playing of Ronan Robert catches the ear.
www.budamusique.com
Two of the musicians who make up Zef have been on these review pages recently – fiddler Baltazar Montamaro in partnership
Photo: Monkey Bird
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