- Tom Lewis
Granted, the lads have good, strong voices enhanced with excellent enunciation, and harmony-laden choruses (care of the Tanglefoot band and others) are a-plenty. The usual instrumental suspects (penny whistle, accordion, acoustic guitar and harmonica) are occasionally replaced with electrical guitars, bass, ukelele and even a handsaw, played by the weirdly wonderful Reggie Miles (without his Ham Gravy band). Strangely enough, there is no bodhran (but I surely could imagine one!) to underscore the dramatic lyrics. The Figgy Duff Band, from Newfoundland, made excellent use of this instrument.
When not reviving lengthy traditional or adapted maritime chorales with complementary compositions of his own, the CD features selected poetry/lyrics put to music from such antiquated but notable authors as Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Rudyard Kipling (The Jungle Book; Kim) and renaissance man Sir Francis Bacon (in collaboration with Henry Trotter, in a tongue-in-cheek song on marriage).
Tom�s catchy opening composition, �Radio Times�, vocalized by Tanglefoot, is actually a clever testament to the concept that a good song is timeless and ageless. Regardless of how it is modified, its origin should never be forgotten. A close-enough example here is �Nassau Bound�, a progression (regression?) on the traditional �Sloop John B�, vocalized a la Kingston Trio (the first band to record it), not Jimmie Rodgers or the Beach Boys.
Lyle Lovett�s �If I Had a Boat�, featuring Steve Lalor on acoustic guitar and Dave Harmonson on pedal-steel and resonator guitars, is the cut-off song for my level of patience, although there�s an unannounced country-picker at the end that�s catchy, too.
And for those of you who are (or want to be) Irish, �St. Patrick�s Song� will be near and to your heart!
