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| CD REVIEWS |
| EVIL DIANE - SAM BARTLETT |
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| I have to admit, first of all, that I was attracted to this recording because of its curious title, which happens to include my own given name. Whether I�m evil, as well, I will leave up to those who are more knowledgeable in that regard to decide. The �Evil Diane� here is simply an anagram of Sam�s sister-in-law, Evie Ladin, and while reading the liner notes, I saw a reference to another anagrammatic song title, i.e. �Iris O�Norman� (in tribute to Ian Morrison), a lawyer, singer and dancer, from Ottawa, Ontario (my hometown). That one�s a funky Celtic rocker that reminded me of Toronto�s Taxi Chain.
I was also under the impression that the music contained herein was strictly of the �bluegrass� variety, which genre most people think of as folk music that is played really fast on a banjo and/or a fiddle. You could say that all of these songs are derived from what used to be generalized as �folk� music, with a strong dose of Celtic flavouring, but Sam Bartlett incorporates elements of jazz, funk, reggae, blues and even soft rock. Although I was initially surprised and disappointed to discover that there are no vocals, I realized its potential value as individual or collective film soundtrack entries, not to mention that I couldn�t possibly be tempted to sing along (usually to the annoyance of anyone who happened to be within listening range). If you�re not a music fan who is attuned to the ingenious nuances contained in fingerpicking an instrument, be it mandolin, fiddle, banjo or ukelele, this collection of tunes might strike you at first listen as �too many notes� recycling themselves over and over again. It does, in fact, take repeated listens to appreciate the musical intricacies of these compositions, which also utilize assorted and sundry instruments such as accordion, bass, drums, electric guitar, piano, whistle, uillean pipes and a bass mbira. The first three tracks stand well on their own, especially the opening �Rumblestrip�, but it wasn�t until I heard �Mary Devlin�s� that I realized there might be some interesting rhythm variations on the standard jig and reel. �Don�t Despair� and �The Green Reel� are particularly outstanding, as is �Drop the Knife�, which Sam refers to as �my attempt to fuse Tiki lounge music with Zydeco lounge music�, featuring Kevin Anderson on talking drums. �Dave Likes Rum�, attributed to Dave Grant, is a delightful little ditty, and �Eric�s Waltz�, a farewell tribute, is very pretty. Bartlett, who admits to writing his best material while driving, composed this for Eric Merrill, who performs on violin, viola and fiddle throughout the CD. This quite amazing group of musicians includes Sam Bartlett on mandolin and tenor banjo, David Greely, Sam Amidon and the abovementioned Eric Merrill on fiddle, Jeremiah McLane on accordion and piano, Stella Burntarte on electric guitar, Ben Cooper on bass, ukelele and bass mbira, Kevin Anderson and Pete Wilhoit on drums, Grey Larsen on whistle, Danny Noveck on guitar, Christopher Layer on uillean pipes. Evil Diane ends with the only non-original on the disc, a traditional song called �Little Whiskey�. This �jam session� follows the arrangement of an unreleased solo recording by another friend, Jeff Goehring, who passed away in 2001. Jermiah McLane rips it up on organ, but it�s not clear who is performing on fiddle. The CD was recorded in a number of different states, including New York, Massachusetts, Louisiana and Vermont and was mastered in Bloomington, Indiana, hometown of Sam Bartlett, who is also known as a �stuntologist�. For additional information on this master of music and wittiness (who includes Bob Gnarly and the Frailers as one of his former bands), you can visit his website at www.sambartlett.com. |