For The Folk - CD reviews
Garnet Rogers - Shining Thing - Valerie Enterprises/Snow Goose Songs/ Festival dist.- December 2004
Continuing on with a great tradition of presenting endearing songs and the warmest voice this side of the Golden Horseshoe, Brantford Ontario's Garnet Rogers give us the beautiful and heart wrenching "Shining Thing". This album also presents yet again band mainstays David Woodhead (The Bettys and The Bobs/Perth County Conspiracy DNE) on bass and Piano plus London's Mike Bonnell (Golden Seals/The HooHaa Revivalists) on Hammond Organ and Electric Piano. "Shining Thing" is certainly one of the sweetest surprises of 2004 with crafty songwriting such as "Soul Kiss" and "Ease Into It". The 3rd cut "More Hallowed" is almost angering when you realize the true story behind it and get to realize just how much the modern genrations take their freedoms for granted, this tale of a Veteran wronged is a great tribute to the man who's story it tells.
Another nice surprise is the soulful "Oh How Happy" credited to Motown great, Edwin Starr, accentuated by the sweet voices of newer Canadian Folkies, Ember Swift and Lindell Montgomery. This is an equally good album for a cold Canadian winter night or even a bright and sunny sunday morning. The live band feel on most of the tracks which has become one of Garnet's trademarks since 1996's "Night Drive" and 2001's "Firefly" is well represented here again probably due in great part to the ears of engineer Scott Merritt also responsible for two other albums reviewed on this very page. "Shining Thing" is yet another notch in the belt of a songwriter who's repertoire continues to explode and thrust him up to the pedestal of a Canadian Legend. Highly recommended!
reviewed by Ian Gifford, December 14th, 2004
The Rizdales - Bar and Lounge - Willy Boy Recordings
The newest release from London's own Rizdales is a treasure that could put this fine band on the international Alt-Country map in no time flat. Reading like a collection of stories found in seedy little juke joints and corner watering holes, the songs touch on break-ups, infidelity, bar brawls, spouse-envy and straight up love. The collection features a couple of re-recorded tracks from 2003's "Another Payday Night" (A little Voodoo & Sadder Than You Know) that include some enhanced instrumentation such as Tony Nardi's tasteful banjo and weepy pedal steel.
Produced by David Baxter (Bob Snider, The Northern Pikes, Penny Lang) and recorded at bassist Will Haas' quaint London area studio, this album possesses a maturity on all counts that greatly overshadows the bands previous effort. The vocals on "Bar and Lounge" are as smooth as a vintage Merlot, the harmonies as rich as Amaretto and the lyrics as biting as a good single malt scotch. In keeping with the saloon analogy, I find alot of these tunes quite effervescent despite the odd stiff shot of dimly lit tales of love gone very wrong. The newer stand-outs on Bar and Lounge include "You'd almost Think I'm in love" which sees Tom Dunphy's unique vocal styling coming across with a new found fervor, while his Wife Tara's sweet warbles on "I Could Tell You Lies" and "Sundays I Can't Take" have her hitting notes that strike the heart sharply and swiftly before you even know you were a target. So get out the "Glade Memories of Texas Stale Beer Air Freshener Spray" and throw a couple of cigarette butts on the floor before you put this on the stereo, then dim the lights, crank it up and fall into the corner of your favorite night spot. The Rizdales are back and hotter than before and if this is an indication the fire is but yet a spark.
reviewed by Ian Gifford 12/14/04
Mike Stevens And Raymond McLain- "Old Time Mojo" - Borealis records Oct. 2004
In keeping with the Borealis mandate of releasing unique Canadian folk albums, Mike Stevens (Sarnia, Ont.) and Raymond McLain's (Kentucky born) first duo CD "Old Time Mojo" does not disappoint! The cool points on this disc are the fact that it's all recorded live off the floor with no fancy overdubs and such and features a collection of popular tunes by some of old timey music's grand masters including, A. P. Carter, the Louvin Brothers, Tommy Duncan and Bob Wills and even the great rock and roll fore-father, Chuck Berry. Each song features the stellar harmonica playing of undisputed harp master Mike Stevens and Raymond on a small grouping of instruments that probably don't weigh more than a couple of pounds each (Fiddle, Banjo and Guitar). The result is a sound as big as any 5 piece band could ever get, only somewhat less cluttered!
Highlighting this collection is an incredibly unique rendition of Smith and Reno's "Duelling Banjo's" which with the first coy but playful harmonica response, pulls the song from under it's dark shroud left by the infamous scene out of the cult classic film "Deliverance". Yet another highlight is the beautiful Stevens and McLain original "I'm always in love with you" that shows off the genuine sincerity of this duo through the sweet and gentle voice of Raymond. I don't know if he's done it on other albums but on the very last track we even get to hear Mike Stevens "other voice"; yes... he sings and the contrast to McLain's own singing is awesome. The rich baritone of "Blues Stay Away From Me" gets deep down into the pit of your stomach and makes you feel what the song itself intended.
If you have seen this duo in concert you will already know the warmth, skill and sincerity that they put into each note played and it's all here on this release. If you have never seen them play live, consider this album a primer till they come your way and send you some of that Old Time Mojo that they weave so well...
Reviewed by Ian Gifford, Oct. 12th, 2004
Fred J. Eaglesmith - "Dusty" - A Major label, 2004
The last time I got to meet Fred was at the "Wolf Performance Hall" in London where I also had the opportunity to mix the band for the first time. I mentioned to Fred how much I liked the 'hidden' track on the CD "Falling Stars & Broken Hearts", which Fred told me was titled "the Wheelman".. Fred then says to me "man, y'know that funmaker organ is one heck of a contraption. You get up in the morning in your housecoat with your coffee and before you know it you got another song" to which everyone in the room chuckled "Don't laugh" fred says " I might just record a whole album with it". We all laughed again, I don't think we really knew how serious he was.
So here we have "Dusty" a 10 track CD produced by Brantford, Ontario's Scott Merritt. Fred's own contributions are limited mostly to the aforementioned 'funmaker', the songwriting and the singing. No banjo, no acoustic guitar (by Fred that is) and most notably no "Flying Squirrels" with the exception of their bassist Darcy Yates on "Rainbow". "Dusty" is a sweet, mellow collection af heartwrenching tunes that read like a diary of journeys through the North American rural areas. Even the artwork resembles pages ripped from an old journal. The standout track for me is "Wichita" which at a seemingly brief 7 plus minutes, builds in intensity about halfway to a thundering gallop that provides me with imaginary film images of a truck speeding down a dirt road and a ghost stampede of horses all around it keeping time and gaining .
The song "Hey Baby" comes back to that inital samba like drum beat from the "funmaker" that was used on "the Wheelman" and has a Tom Waits quality to it. Some of the other tracks (I - 75 , Tunnel) have a countrified Leonard Cohen "I'm your man" feel without all the torchy backup singing. All in all, I liked this newest Fred J. collection right from the start. It's sparse instrumentation and rich cello arrangements are perfect for those times with nothing but your stereo, a couple of candles and the time to get lost in the music. Like a soundtrack for country road excursions, you'll feel the wind in your hair, the torque of the wheels catching the gravel and peacefulness of the grass whispering to you as you fly along, leaving everything dusty in your wake.
reviewed by Ian Gifford, Sept. 26th, 2004
Blackie and the rodeo kings - "BARK" - 2003, True North Records
In 1996, "Blackie and the Rodeo Kings" released a splendid tribute album (High or Hurtin') to legendary but mostly underground Canadian songwriter, Willie P. Bennett. The LP was novel but a great tribute nonetheless. Tom Wilson, Colin Linden and Stephen Fearing, 3 friends who are all musical heavyweights Nationwide and beyond, make it seem like they were paying tribute to the ultimate superstar, maybe they were?
The '99 Follow Up album "Kings of Love", a daring 2-disc set, saw the 3 adding many of their own tracks to a selection of Willie P. classics and also acknowledging some other Canadian greats like Bruce Cockburn, Fred Eaglesmith and Murray McLaughlin. The Results of those sessions showed a stronger more confident act that had moved beyond being merely a tribute act.
This winter brought the release of "BARK" which sees the band moving ever closer to establishing themselves as legends on the Canadian Roots Scene. Putting their own pen more to this album with the exception of another Cockburn and another Bennett tune, they have managed to add some amazing collaborations with other great writers such as Andy White, Colin Cripps and Brent Titcomb. This album screams fun, no matter what volume you play it at. Try putting it on as background music, you will find yourself stopping to strain to hear the honey sweet tones of Fearings voice on "If I catch you Cryin'". Then there's the ever candid writing of Tom Wilson in collaboration with Fearing for "Stone d" and further on is a sweet rockin tribute to Hamilton's "Dr. Jackie Washington" penned by Colin Linden.
While each of these writers have established careers as solo artists, together they are a Roots superpower that promises to stand the test of time w ith incredible, insightful writing and the power to go from rockin' to riotous in milliseconds. BARK is by far the most unique of the 3 LP's and further concretes a sound that Blackie and the Rodeo Kings can call their own. From two of the most opposite v oices of Fearing and Wilson to the virtuosic slide guitar of Linden, "Blackie And The Rodeo Kings" is destined to be one of Canada's most collectible bands. I personally recommend that you start with this one and work your way back if need be. Either way, you'll pick a winner each time.
Reviewed by Ian Gifford May, 2004
Review by Ian Gifford - Artist: Romney Getty , CD: Fill In Your Gray Released on Augustus Records
In follow up to a very strong 3 song demo that I heard by Romney a few months ago, I contacted Jeff Getty to basically say "wow... what next?". Jeff, Romney's guitarist, producer and brother, sent me "Fill in Your Gray", released in June on their own "Augustus Records" and I am still finding new reasons to Love it with every listen.
The band consists of Romney on Acoustic guitar, piano and vocals; Jeff on lead and bass guitars and a duo of Toronto blues masters; Mike Churchill on drums and Greg Wilson on Harmonica. Each song takes on a different feel or blend of genres that gives them great crossover potential in many radio formats. The songs, all written by Romney, slide ever so gently through cajun, gypsy, blues, country and folk styles. Each instrument gets very many shining moments throughout the album without bogging the songs down or extending them needlessly. The arrangements are sometimes lilting sometimes jolting but always tight and intriguing. This doesn't feel or sound like your typical debut at all. Certainly the production skills of Jeff Getty (Laughing Sams Breakdown) are partially responsible, but it's the band as a unit and the strength of the tunes that makes this a good listen from the first song.
The southern swingy lilt of "Ain't no Mistake", or the sweet longing moan's in "Waiting For The Day" take this album and it's listeners on cool trip through many emotional tales of love, change and the south. Romney's heartwrenching, soul-infused wails on "Cryin' the Blues" are enough in itself to make you wanna say "Wow... what next?"
Reviewed on September 9th, 2003
Review By Ian Gifford Artist: Quill * Tolhurst CD: So Rudely Interupted. True North Records
By no means newcomers to music as evident by the performances on this Album, Australians Greg Quill and Kerryn Tolhurst, formerly of "Country Radio", are writers of incredibly infectious country that is from the deepest south that you'll get! After almost 30 years in Canada, playing his own music and becoming an accomplished journalist (Toronto Star) Greg returned to Australia to eventually rekindle a long lost musical kinship that now sees them together in North America between Toronto and New York.
The Resulting album, "So rudely Interupted", is a sweet blend of mostly acoustic instruments and a strong mature voice that reminds me of Gordon Lightfoot or Leonard Cohen. The instrumentation is comfortably sitting behind the vocals all throughout this disc and combined they are a relaxed and familiar sound for any time or place. Kerryn Tolhursts talents as a multi instrumentalist are well represented in these 11 songs with tracks containing him on guitars, lap steel, dobro, mandolin, harmonium, banjo, tiple, percussion and bass. If it's your first experience with this duo, I believe that "So Rudely Interupted" may be enough of an indication that anything these two produce together would be considered very collectible. Other than that it's simply a darned nice album! I can hardly wait to see what this fine duo will produce next.
Reviewed Sept. 9th, 2003
Review by Allison Brown - Artist: Trevor Mills CD: Karaoke Cowboy released Independantly
As one of four prestigious judges of TJ’s Orangeville Annual Karaoke Contest 2001, I can say with some authority that Trevor Mills is no amateur. His second independent release, “Karaoke Cowboy”, demonstrates his skill as a songwriter by tackling a wide variety of themes and styles. From the quirky yet somewhat dark title track to the sweetness in his take on Mozart’s “Little Star”, Trevor takes us on a smooth ride through often bumpy songwriting territory.
Trevor showcases his knack for clever and engaging lyrics with 12 original songs with themes including ageing, capital punishment, searching for love, the senselessness of war, difficulties with time signatures, and one song about nothing at all. Sometimes sparse but intriguing instrumentation, provided by some of Canada’s most proficient musicians, highlights Trevor’s earthy, honest vocals. A haunting double bass solo by Joe Phillips in the opening track “Below A Marble Stone” underlines the melancholy yearning for love unfounded. Images of Saint Peter handing out free whiskey hollered to high heaven by a raucous choir encourages the listener to sing along as they “bounce the ball across the words of the gospel” in the album’s title track. Although “Karaoke Cowboy” balances precariously on the fringes of “fromage”, there is a darkness present throughout the album which surfaces in its more sombre themes.
This album makes you think while you’re having fun.
Reviewed on April 24th, 2003