61 f
but this little silver disc has much to recom- mend it, especially as it is packed in such an interesting and attractive manner.
www.reveillons.qc.ca
The other in this pairing is by a band that made a big impact with their short British tour in June. Genticorum are the trio of Pas- cal Gemme, Alexandre de Grosbois-Garand and Yann Falquet and this album is their fifth in their twelve years together and their first attempt to capture one of their live record- ings. It was recorded in Farnham – no, not the Southern Ragged town in Surrey, but one of the eastern townships of Quebec.
The album has all the advantages and disadvantages of a live recording. There is all the excitement of sharing with the audience a first-class band giving an impeccably per- formed and varied performance in which the unaccompanied – well only the feet – call- and-(beautifully harmonised) response singing of Déline is outstanding and memo- rable. A couple of minor quibbles would be that the acoustics in the hall do not sound as fine as a first rate studio should and towards the end of the album we get the audience clapping along when we should be able to concentrate on the flute of Alexandre De Grosbois- Garand in full flight.
Otherwise, this is an album that is full of interest and excitement finished with a com- position by Mary RoseAnna Travers – La Bolduc – the inspiration of so much in the Quebec style.
www.genticorum.com Vic Smith
CORNCROW So Brightly Shining Wyrd House CCCD002
Corncrow are a duo comprising multi-instru- mentalists Kim Guy and Steve Hunt. Decamp- ing with their respective families to Cornwall a decade or so ago, they found there a warm welcome among the survivors of The Great Cornwall Folk Scare of the ‘60s, soaking up the good-natured, if also often distinctly odd- ball artistic spirit of that scene and its practi- tioners and commuting its unique, slightly anarchic flavour into their own music and Wyrd House home studio.
So Brightly Shining is Corncrow’s second
offering (2011’s Sweet Nightingale EP was an honourable ATR in fR 333). It’s an affectionate tribute to the personalities and sounds of the very scene that provided the duo’s inspiration, a distillation of its essence through a cornu- copia of disparate yet identifiable creat ivity that encompasses straight tradition (a memo- rable treatment of Maid In Bedlam) and Kernewek lore (Meriasek) alongside kazoo- bedecked jugband fun (Pike Street Rag) and a handful of lovingly considered recreations of songs by members of that ‘60s/ ‘70s scene.
The maverick Al Jones is represented by
The Road To Marazion, the iconic Clive Palmer by the lazy O For Summer (complete with archetypal banjo-plonking rhythm!) and the dreamy Oh Bright Eyed One (here slightly more leisurely than the wondrous COB origi- nal but still urgently evocative); the legendary Pete Berryman (Clive’s Famous Jug Band col- league) chips in with some guitar on those tracks. Kim and Steve also turn in a refreshing- ly different, and moodily effective, cover of Cyril Tawney’s belter Chicken On A Raft.
Perhaps the disc’s finale, a trippy eight- minute remix by Paul Dye of Oh Bright Eyed One, might be thought to overstay its wel- come a touch, but its function in the scheme of things is clearly to look forward by re- casting the old sounds through new tech- nologies, a role which it fulfils admirably. As indeed does the whole set.
http://corncrow.bandcamp.com David Kidman
The caveat, I suspect, is that the mighty SMC is one of those acts that you’ll either ‘get’ straightaway or will harbour an inbuilt resis- tance to. But whatever your view of their repertoire, the Spooky Men exude a certain rugged charm, and the “beautiful anarchy” of their performances embodies a skilful mix of faultless vocal expertise and maverick aban- don. Imagine a kind of cross between the stentorian dark rumbling tones of a Russian church choir and the carefully-arranged vocal- isations of American barbershop or glee-club, the gutsiness of a crack shanty crew and the knowing irony of doowop-mode Zappa.
The Spooky Man In History is the men’s- Corncrow
VIEUX FARKA TOURÉ Mon Pays Six Degrees 657036-1200-2-0
Poor old Mali, suffering from fundamental- ism, music-hating puritanism, armed uprising, looting, banditry, a resurgence of slavery – in addition to traditional poverty and starva- tion. In such times men and women of capaci- ty are needed, artists who can inspire. Vieux Farka Touré is one such. Son of the hugely esteemed Ali FarkaTouré, who practically invented the desert blues, Vieux says this album is his affirmation for his country. Mali is for the sons and daughters of Mali, not for Al Qaeda or any militants, not for foreigners. The album calls on the healing depths of Malian culture.
On a simply musical level, the album once again shows his calm command of some of the most powerful and ringing guitar tones ever committed to disc. He commences with a jolly skipping tune, squeaky-dry fiddle dancing beside, with clacking percussion. Irresistible, heart-warming. Then comes something uncannily like Blind Willie John- son’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine. Then a quiet but urgent instrumental featuring magical kora, notes like flocks of birds, by Sidiki Dia- baté, son of the celebrated Toumani. The album proceeds with a steady supply of sub- tly different styles, a breadth of mood from the elegiac to the ecstatic. Touré sings with restrained passion. There’s blues in there, but considerably more too. This is Touré’s sixth album and it stands with dignity and grace. Hope Mali does too.
www.vieuxfarkatoure.com Rick Sanders
THE SPOOKY MEN’S CHORALE
The Spooky Man In History Spooky SPOOKY5
This distinctly idiosyncratic fifteen-strong antipodean vocal ensemble descended on unsuspecting UK festival stages back in 2006, unleashing a show-stopping programme of macho juggernaut a cappella that entirely without embarrassment juxtaposed original compositions, both side-splitting and heart- breaking, with sacred anthems and what they termed ‘choralised’ versions of rock standards. The Spooky Men made such an impression, and gained such a loyal following, that they’ve visited the UK on a regular basis ever since.
group-that’s-not-a-men’s-group’s third full- length CD, and it embraces the wide emo- tional gamut of Spooky music in a splendidly sonorous recording that matches the awe- some depth of the vocal sound. It comprises a whole new grab-bag of spooky anthems, of which two are items from the former Soviet Union state of Georgia (a 13th Century Holy God Chorale and a log-carrying song), the remainder being original compositions by ensemble founder/impresario Stephen Taberner. For those who found initial Spooky Men set-lists lost their impact once over the moment of delightful shock (familiarity breeding contempt), this latest gambit may be considered a Good Thing; and may also increase the group’s potential audience.
There’s tenderness (Sweetest Kick), quirky philosophical ditties (Eyebrow, Foot), inscrutable contrapuntal intricacy (Go Ti Go), enigmatic advice (The Thing), an invader- scaring song (We’re Here) and utter mayhem (The Baron Of Beef’s ultra-high-testosterone). On the other hand, those looking for typically Spooky bold rearrangements of disco-pop confections are likely to be happy with cod- Beach Boys anthem Surfin’ and the Infinite Bee Gees-inspired devotional Ba’hári Ghibb.
The Spooky Men may have their tongues firmly in cheek at times, but they prove them- selves well able to sing while thus embedded. Compelling, ‘bespook’ serious fun, and total- ly irresistible to boot.
www.spookymen.com David Kidman QETIQ
Rock From Taklamakan Desert Dreyer Gaido CD 21077
Twenty five years ago Urumqi in Xinjiang was just a dusty frontier town where Kazakh sheep herders from the west might have rubbed shoulders with Uyghur melon grow- ers from the desert oases, but it’s now a bustling city of skyscrapers thanks to the area’s oil and gas reserves. The band Qetiq, which includes both Uyghur and Kazakh musicians, were spotted playing in a bar there by the label in 2010 and a short German tour followed. The album has been recorded in both countries and features a core of three or four local musicians, a German rhythm sec- tion on some tracks and occasional guests.
First impressions may be confusing. Their
Uyghur singer, Perhat Khaliq, has an intense guttural delivery which, when allied to their punk attitude on some songs, might suggest they’re just a rock band with a few exotic touches. Nor is this another take on the Saha- ran desert blues. The Kazakh throat-singing on Qara Jorgha and their combination of Kazakh lutes with electric guitars are more suggestive of mid-period Yat-Kha. Tracks like Qizdar, a traditional Kazakh song about girls, have the freshness of pop, and some may be surprised by their liberal treatment of Uyghur muqam and dance songs. But it’s an album that grows with familiarity and for many it will be precise- ly this energetic approach that appeals.
www.dreyer-gaido.de Phil Wilson
Photo: Judith Burrows
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