Eliza Carthy
REVIEWS
- RED
- RICE
RED, 1998 (2001)
Best Song: "Walk Away", or anything bar "Red Rice"
Worst Song: Red Rice
Rating: 8
Not all THAT enjoyable all the way through - it becomes a wee bit tedious
after a while - but nevertheless a strong and consistent record.
Written by Joel Larsson
This album was first released as one part of the two-CD release "Red Rice" in 1998, but was reissued three years later, for reasons unknown to me. Now how am I supposed to continue the review after that? Beginning a review with non-musical facts leads nowhere, and that's a fact. Anyway, the album itself shows Eliza at her maybe most experimental, with more pop than ever before, and some songs with synths and programmed drums and stuff (a formula she would further develop on "Angels And Cigarettes"). And, she wrote a lot of the songs herself for this record - as far as I know, the only other of her albums on which she wrote as many of the songs by herself, is the (worse) "Angels And Cigarettes". Of course, there's five-or-so traditional songs which have been revived with a new arrangement, and one Ben Harper cover ("Walk Away"), but the majority of the songs are at least partly composed by Eliza. As mentioned, the music leans more towards pop than folk this time, although certainly, there's still a huge folk influence. Let's just say that's it more pop-folk than folk alone. And, I like that, mostly. As much as I adore folk music, from any country, it is better suited for multiple listenings if there's a little bit of pop, jazz or rock in it. I guess that might be the reason why I like Eliza Carthy in the first place, along with Fairport Convention, Änglagård, Nick Drake, you name it. Jethro Tull's best stuff might very well be the folkier records. Folk is as old as music itself, and there's something timeless in it, which helps bands and artists like Nick Drake and Lindisfarne remain popular to this day. Folk never gets old, the way Herman's Hermits, for instance, have. Now then, what do I have to complain about? First of all, I somehow get slightly bored after a while into the record; it's not that any of the songs are bad, I just seem to be unable to keep listening carefully. My attention is regained with the brilliant "Greenwood Laddie", though, and it remains during the next two songs, "Walk Away" and "Russia". One thing I miss is the playfulness of "The Kings Of Calicutt"; or maybe it just is that songs like "Accordion Song" seems to have lacks in their arrangements, they sound slightly strained, and quite unnatural. Uuh, that wasn't too well put, but, well, let's just say that the mix of folk and pop/rock doesn't work just this time. "10.000 Miles" is better, and really an enjoyable song, for a while. It's one of those tunes which aren't energetic enough, nor catchy enough, to keep me interested for a very long time - and then it's quite short, barely 3 minutes. I won't get into all songs, I'll just say that for the most part, the son gs are very good, and nice to listen to. Or I wouldn't give the album an 8! However, there's that last couple of songs, and I don't like those. The first of them (or; the second last if you want), is called "Adieu Adieu", and is an arrangement of a traditional song, featuring a synth and a cool but unnecessary bass, beneath the accordion/fiddle melody. It's nice until the synth comes in, around the one-minute mark, then it sound mostly silly and non-saying, especially since the melody fades away. And, the last track, "Red Rice", is a dance-floor folk song, with house influences and stuff. Me not likes it. But, overall, it's a very decent album, even if it doesn't really reach the standard of "The Kings Of Calicutt" or "Rice".
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THE KINGS OF CALICUTT, 1997
Best Song: Mr. Walker, probably.
Worst Song: Whirly
Rating: 9
Folk music with pop/rock influences, not the other way round! Sounds fresh
and playful, it does.
Written by Joel Larsson
By 1997, Eliza had already released two albums, the 1995
"Shape of Scrape" and "Heat Light & Sound", from 1996 this one. So this is
by no means Eliza's debut, it's just that those earliest two seems to be totally
unavailable and impossible to find nowadays. I'm not entirely sure if "Shape
Of Scrape" is generally considered an Eliza Carthy album anyway. Oh, to The
Question now; Why were I born so late??
Anyhow, this isn't the first time you've heard about folk/pop-rock fusions,
and it's likely not to be the last. Unlike stuff like Lindisfarne, and as
I stated in the headline, this isn't pop with folk influences, it's folk with
rock influences. I don't know why I make such a big deal about it, but I do
belive that there's a difference. It changes your perspective, somehow. Songs
which all probably have been around for some century have been re-arranged,
and are suddenly played with more vigour and joy than perhaps ever before.
At least as far as I know (I'm trying to be sarcastic and funny, you certainly
do realize, as I'm still born in 1987, and hadn't heard any of these songs
before now). Well, this whole this sounds fresh, it is definitely NOT your
average folk record with some violinists in the 40's/50's, and which don't
give a damn about any music, bar folk music. This record is more, er, open
than that. At least, it isn't very narrow-minded.
Well, the arrangements sounds fresh, which makes the fact that most these
songs are RATHER old totally irrelevant. These songs could very well be just
newly penned down onto a piece o' paper and recorded, there's no trace of
age here, no. This stuff is probably kind of timeless, when I'm 40 I'll still
probably be able to put on this album and not notice any line of age in the
music, although I'm likely to have scratched the disc a whole lot by then.
I'm not sure if I was very clear in my statements there, sounding dated might
not be a bad thing in any case! Even today, there's artists which tries to
sound as 50's as possible, and even when you put on a Beatles record, you'll
hear by the sound that it's from the 60's or perhaps 70's, but it might still
be among the best stuff you've ever heard. That's not the case with this album,
though - when I'm 40 and I listen to this record, I won't hear by the sound
of it that it's from the 90's. It could just as well be from 1970 or 2020.
Probably, I don't dare swear on it yet!
Ah, I adore Eliza's voice. She has a pretty dark voice, probably contralto,
and when she plays on her fiddle she'll remain within the same tone range.
That makes it unimportant whether she sings or plays, because the notes are
about the same. However, she uses both so cleverly that it all ends up with
me feeling soothed or comforted. Thank God she doesn't use her fiddle the
early Tindersticks/Godspeed You! Black Emperor way, that kind of screeching
is totally adequate within their sound, but Eliza played like that, I wouldn't
like her for one bit! And, as she's obviously not a soprano, I get away from
those marrow-piercing shrieks which only sopranos can achieve.
No, there's not very much to complain about, obviously. The trumpet in "Whirly"
gets annoying after a while, though, and that's why I dislike that one the
most. But really, no. Except that "Rice" will be even better. I'm not complaining
, though!
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RICE, 1998 (2001)
Best Song: Snow It Melts The Soonest, but it doesn't really
matter which song I choose
Rating: 9½
Quite a touch of Dubliners this time around - I adore that! Actually, this
is just about the most consistent and throughoutly enjoyable folk record I've
ever heard.
Written by Joel Larsson
This was, as I think I stated in my "Red" review, originally
released as a 2CD set in 1998, although the two CDs were in 2001 re-released
as single albums. I won't develop this subject any further now, or I'd repeat
myself an annoying lot.
Anyhow, on this record Eliza had abandoned the quite poppy folk music of "The
Kings Of Calicutt", and instead she focused more on sounding "traditional".
Therefore, there's not too much drums and bass grooves here, and maybe that's
why I associate what I hear with The Dubliners. Too few vocal harmonies to
make the experience ultimate, though! If she had bothered getting a female
chorus, this would be the closest we'd ever get to hear a female equivalent
to The Dubliners. There are a couple of guy adding some extra vocal melodies
here and there, though. Actually, with fear of ruining the whole rest of the
review, that lack of more backgraound singers is probably what prevents me
from giving the record the 10 it might've deserved. Yeah, I really do love
this stuff. I love lots of folk music, and the British/Irish folk tunes have
always had something. Swedish folk music is too much dances and stuff, and
wedding marches, otherwise Swedish folk would be almighty as well. Arabic
and African (sorry for generalizing!) folk music do get slighty boring, I've
got to admit, although when mixed with rock, these rocks the world; Urban
Turban and Paul Simon, yay! I'm not too into the folk music of the Mediterranean,
and latino has been destroyed for me thanks to the media; country music is
okay as times, while there's lots of beautiful songs coming from South America
(not talking Sepultura now). And, there's blues! Blues is almighty. Now then,
that's where I am. Sorry for the deviation, it was probably unnecessary, but
I enjoyed it! I had never really thought about all that stuff before.
Right, what makes me love Irish and British folk music is that there are so
many real SONGS, not just instrumental ditties and dances and marches, or
ritual-related or meditative tunes. Plus, the music reminds me of the environment,
and that too is very good, as I can't really think of anything much better
than strolling around in some neat forest, following some little stream or
watching some animals, or picking some flowers, or climb some mound or hill.
And now I'm sitting here wit a flat computer screen before my eyes! What AM
I doing? This review will be quite hastily completed, I fear!
Well, most of these tunes are simply incredibly beautiful, whether it be brooding,
lamentary ballads like "Snow It Melts The Soonest" or "Benjamin Bowmaneer",
or upbeat ditties like "Miller And The Lass", or very well-chosen and -arranged
instrumentals like "Sweetness Of Mary / Holywell Hornpipe / Swedish" or "Picking
Up Sticks / The Old Mole / Felton Lonnin / Kingston Girls". Obviously, Eliza
from time to time picks multiple songs and arranges them to be something like
"epic folk", but that's really no news, as she did so also on most of her
other records as well. It's cool, by the way, that Swedish folk music seems
so famous in those circles, too - apart from Eliza recording some odd Swedish
fol ktune, there's that fellow Andrew Bird over in the states, and that song
"Swedish Suite" by Dizzy Gillespie (although not really folk music, but anyway!),
that folk-fusionist Edward II, and so on.
At last, I should perhaps add that Eliza composed a few tracks by herself
for the record, but I'm afraid that they are of the more anonymous instrumentals
which works for the album, but wouldn't do as single songs. Well, this album
should suit every one with the slightest interest in folk music, and for those
who DIG folk music, it's a treasure. Import it if you can't find it in your
home country, for all I know! You won't regret it, I'll warrant.
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