| CD REVIEW |
| BEAUTIFUL & DERANGED - AYLIE SPARKES |
| Manitoban guitarist (lap steel, dobro, etc.) Aylie Sparkes embarked on a journey to Whitehorse, Yukon, two years ago, where he became an instant success, playing more than 250 shows in his first year there! I first heard of Aylie through a series of website links that originally began with a musical acquaintance from Brussels, Belgium (The Flying Snowman) and detoured through a global incident in Vietnam (The Kim Foundation), which led me to the CBC�s 2003 ArtsCanada (http://artscanada.cbc.ca/artscanada.jsp) True North Concert held in Ouj�-Bougoumou, Qu�bec. While listening to the various sound clips of the concert, the songs that caught my ear were the opening and closing tracks of this CD � �Hellhounds�, a hell-raising slide guitar opus about Jesus and The Devil, and the dobro instrumental �Gypsy�s Lament�, whose beautifully mournful strains resounded in my ears long after the song was finished. Although Aylie is equally influenced by such diverse artists as Hendrix, Muddy Waters, Elmore James and Earl Scruggs, I also heard influences by Bob Dylan (�Klondike Beauty Queen�), who, of course, was Hendrix�s mentor), Robert Johnson (�Shadow of Doubt� and �Dawson City�) and Rory Gallagher. Apparently attuned to the �call of the wild�, Aylie mentions in his concert introduction that he prefers being in a place �where there are more moose than people�. The intense ferocity of his own musical character is reflected best in �Hellhounds�, �Yummy Mama� (aptly described by Aylie as a kick in the kryptonite) and �High Heeled Sneakers�, which simultaneously reminded me of Chuck Berry�s �Memphis, Tennessee�, but with a Johnny Winter-like growling vocal tone. Not to be limited by a Blues or Rock beat, he incorporates elements of funk (�Livin� My Life�, showcasing Paul Stephens on bass, Marc Paradis on drums, Jay Burr on valve trombone and Roger Gillies on �nuked Wurlitzer�), reggae (�Wing and a Prayer�), dixieland (�Long Distance Love�, featuring Annie Avery on honky-tonk piano and Jay Burr) on trombone The mystical �Joanne�s Reel� emulates Ry Cooder�s signature sound, while his country roots get a nod on �Klondike Beauty Queen�. The country-blues classic �I�m So Lonesome I Could Cry� (Hank Williams) cries out for harmony vocals, in its simplicity. It�s missing Hank�s prominent vocal twang, and the delicious slide guitar reminded me of the late Dave Conant of Seattle. Beautiful and Deranged, expertly co-produced (and mixed and mastered) by Bob Hamilton and Aylie Sparkes at Old Crow Recording in Whitehorse, will capture your heart immediately and have you wanting to hear more and more from this outstanding Canadian troubadour! My thanks go out to Kristina Mercs, Aylie�s manager and the CD�s executive producer, for passing on this musical treasure to Ontario! For information on more musical talent in the Great White North, visit www.caribourecords.com and www.folkontherocks.com. |
| TO RETURN TO THE CD REVIEW INDEX, |
 |
 |
 |