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Stormy Hill is a classic Dàimh set, led by rocket- fuelled Highland pipes and fiddle, with sparkling mandolin, whistle and driving gui- tar. The Raasay set has an equally exhilarating bagpipe-fiddle combination, with ringing crystalline harmony chord accompaniment on mandolin and guitar. After these frenetic sets, while we catch our breath, the band treats us to some rarely-sung traditional Gael- ic songs. The very old ballad Siud Agaibh An Deoch A Dh’ Òlainn is given an old-fashioned rootsy vocal delivery by Griogair Labhruidh, who sings it very much the way a traditional Gaelic township bàrd would sing it. Hiù Ra Bhò Nuair A Chaidh Mi A Ghlaschu is an old- school comical song from the early 20th Cen- tury, describing hitting the big city on a drink- ing spree, and Labhruidh sings it with a lop- ing rhythm and a blokey swagger. If the band’s new vocalist is clearly an asset, then so is their new mandolin/banjo player Damian Helliwell. His composition Bottle For Brigg is a delicate, sweet, graceful mandolin-led tune, accompanied by whistle, fiddle, guitar and double bass.
The album is further enhanced by guest musicians on double-bass, fiddle and percus- sion (the same musicians who sometimes join the band live on stage during summer festi- vals to create a Big Band augmented version of Dàimh).
www.daimh.net
Paul Matheson THE WILLETT FAMILY
Adieu To Old England Musical Traditions MTCD361-2 (double album)
Let’s get the single most important factor about this release stated right from the beginning; the Willetts, father and sons, were among the very finest English traditional singers collected from in the second half of the 20th Century. The repertoire of this fami- ly of travellers (they travelled mainly in Sus- sex, Kent and Surrey) was a very rich one with many interesting songs and ballads, and the fact that they were learned aurally means that they have all the individual quirks and slight changes of lyrics and melody that this brings. The double album would be worth purchasing if only to hear Tom’s version of A Blacksmith Courted Me with its sublime melody, but in fact there are many gems amongst the 35 tracks.
Tom gets the lion’s share here; 23 solo tracks and two shared with his son, Chris. The reluctant singer of the family, Ben, has only one song with Chris singing all the others. All three are fine singers with sure voices and steady delivery, The pace is generally slower than on other recordings of the family.
All but four tracks here come from the Ken Stubbs’ collection; the others were recorded by Paul Carter and, years later, by Mike Yates. The equipment used by Stubbs was inferior to that used by the others, though they have clearly benefited from sound restoration. On the other hand, they are much more orderly than the chaotic nature of some of Stubbs’ tapes that circulate amongst enthusiasts. This has led one knowl- edgeable person to suggest that that although Ken owned these tapes, he did not record them.
One small gripe would be that the track timings for CD1 of the pair bear no relation- ship to the actual times of the tracks though I am very please that Tom’s excellent Lord Bateman is a full 5'33" rather than the 1'41" that the booklet suggests.
Oh! the booklet! It’s a full 36-page docu- ment with all the words of the songs and fully up to the high standard that we have come to expect from this label.
www.mtrecords.co.uk Vic Smith
to a 100-year-old blues man who has cleaned up his playing. You get a couple of waltzes, Wrong Road Waltz being particularly delight- ful, a rag or two and even Will There Be Any Jug Bands In Heaven played on a banjo-guitar.
All of the tunes are strong and well recorded with a clean, natural guitar sound, not boosted by compression. Side one ends with the gentle, and melodious Sheridan Square Rag, setting you up for CD-2 that finds Hull in a totally different setting. Starting out with a tango, with bass and accordeon accompaniment, there are more rags and a waltz or two, but this time with band accom- paniment, all superbly arranged and a com- plete contrast to the solo guitar of CD-1. Hull flat-pick with no little skill on the bluegrass- coloured track seven, New Shirt, complete with swinging fiddle. The pick is in hand again for the delicate waltz Sweet Thursday but then it’s back to the fingers and more strong tunes follow, finishing with a full band sound on Cam Waters’ Adieu, with astute use of fiddle, mandolin and accordeon. One of those clever tunes, like so many on this CD that sound familiar, but they aren’t really if you know what I mean. Dust off your guitars folks there’s a lot to be learned from here.
Charlie Musselwhite
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE Juke Joint Chapel Henrietta Records
How refreshing that there are still a few musicians out there who know what real blues music is all about and can deliver the goods without frills or hoopla. Mississippi born, Memphis raised… Charlie Musselwhite learned his craft in Chicago jamming in the clubs, on the streets and in the alleys, with some of the Windy City’s finest harmonica players. He cut his first album (produced by Sam Charters for Vanguard) in 1967 and over the years has recorded for labels such as Alli- gator, Arhoolie, Capitol, MCA, Real World, and Virgin. In 2003, keeping it closer to home, Charlie put out a self produced solo album, Darkest Hour, on his own Henrietta label (named after his wife), which he fol- lowed in 2008 with Rough Dried – Live at the Triple Door. Now comes Juke Joint Chapel, a second live album and the third release on Henrietta… and it’s a scorcher!!
Recorded at a performance at the Juke Joint Chapel, Shack Up Inn, situated on High- way 49, Clarksdale, Mississippi on August 12 2012, Charlie is back on home ground, his music’s energised and Charlie’s regular band is pumped for action. Long-time associate June Core locks his drums with the bass pat- terns of Mike Phillips while guitarist Matt Stubbs weaves in out and around Charlie’s blistering harmonica and forceful vocals. Among the twelve tracks are five of Charlie’s originals that remind just how solid a song- writer Charlie can be… and while all of the material is familiar from previous recordings, the value of this album is that it captures Charlie and his band at their very best. In the last couple of years Charlie has been out and about, stretching his musical wings with the likes of Cyndi Lauper and Ben Harper. Juke Joint Chapel is back to basics and pure ele- mental Charlie Musselwhite.
www.charliemusselwhite.com Dave Peabody
DAKOTA DAVE HULL Under The North Star Arabica Records CF 18
An ambitious project from Hull with a double CD of original guitar tunes and, I have to say, rarely a dull moment. The first CD is solo gui- tar with fingerstyle gems like Blind Willie’s Dream, where, were it not for the internal harmonies in the tune, you could be listening
www.dakotadavehull.com John Atkins
SYLVAIN BAROU, DONAL LUNNY, PADRAIG RYNNE Triad RLBC 001
The Irish/Breton trio of Sylvain Barou, Donal Lunny and Padraig Rynne has elicited some intriguing reactions to their live shows and their debut collective recording. Musically the trio are comfortable as Hush Puppies, their individual nuances and interest in slipstream- ing differing rhythms within a basic Irish- sounding combination with a little Breton influence creeping in betimes. They are com- posite instrumentalists, each possessing the skill and touch required to thrill and be thrilled with a command of melody, rhythm and push/pull dynamics. Having seen them crackle in the live firmament of the Cork Folk Festival, listening to Triad summons again their collective prowess. It’s A Thought When You Think Of It kicks into rollicking power- driven nirvana while Here Comes Herself echoes Lunny’s big-band pyros from Coolfin in a smaller yet no less effective format, and Ironic Delaney ticks all the right boxes stylisti- cally. The instrumental flair of Breton flautist/ piper Sylvan Barou and Clare concertina whiz Padraig Rynne are subtly balanced and, flanked by Donal Lunny’s bouzouki, guitar, keyboards et al, it’s a powerful unit, perfectly emphasising the music’s collective strength and vitality. File under compellingly powerful.
www.padraigrynne.com/trio. John O’Regan MATUTO
The Devil And The Diamond Motéma MTM-109
Bred in Brooklyn, where Cajun, R&B and Americana meet upcountry Brazil, Matuto is the cooking string-band inspiration of Rob Curto (accordeon, vocals), a student of jazz pianists Barry Harris and Fred Hersch – while also steeped in klezmer, Middle Eastern and Brazilian popular music – and South Carolina- born Clay Ross (guitar, cavaquinho, vocals). Matuto reveal themselves as solid song - writers, seamlessly backed by fiddle, bass, drums, and on Brazilian percussion, Zé Maurí- cio. Ross and Curto met in New York and lit out for Recife, where they immersed them- selves in the north-east’s popular genres of forró, frevo, maracatu, chorinho and more.
Photo: Dave Peabody
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