waiting for the cage
grievous angels
Dave's Records of Guelph (DROG)
1996
10 tracks
This is hard music, working class and political. In the best tradition of Woody Guthrie, Ed McCurdy, and others who were protest writers before that mode became de rigeur in the sixties, this is folk music for and about the workers. In this case the workers in question are the miners of northern Ontario, engaged in what the liner notes refer to as "the war underground."
As folk music goes, however, this music has a very industrial sound to it. The traditional sounding folk melodies and lyrics are underscored with driving electric guitar, keyboard, drums. The singing of Chuck Angus has a hard edge, complementing the sometimes bitter lyrics and contrasting with the natural sweetness of his voice. If comparisons were to be made, Angus' sound comes closest to Terry Jacks in his "Concrete Sea" and "Rock and Roll I Gave You the Best Years of My Life" mode.
Power chords are something usually thought of as exclusively a tool of hard rock. Here they are sometimes strummed and drawn out like the background drone of the bagpipes and are at other times struck with a percussive force that gives the music much of its edge. At the same time, there is some very fine country picking filling out songs such as "Heartbreak Town" and "Having To Say Goodbye"
Adding to the country edge is the fine fiddle playing of Peter Jellard, often providing an effective and even powerful counterpoint to the driving guitar riffs.
The lyrics of Chuck Angus are hard edged and compelling. His writing has the colloquial social consciousness of a John Prine or Tom Waits. It is well worth getting past the music for long enough to listen to these words. Angus is one of Canada's new generation of excellent lyricists.
This is, however, a quirky recording which may turn away as many listeners as it attracts. Certainly the folk purists will not appreciate the rock elements and the hard rockers may find the folk elements disconcerting. But those who enjoy music and lyrics well written and well performed will revel in this eclectic yet unified sound.
I do have one quibble, but it actually has nothing to do with the music. This CD is promoted as including an interactive CD-ROM component. When I first received the CD, I looked for the video segments and could not find them. When I contacted the distributor, I was told that my computer was probably not "multi-media" enough, although it did fit the parameters listed on the notes. Since then, I have upgraded substantially beyond those parameters and still can find nothing on the CD but the music tracks. I do suspect, therefore, that at least some purchasers will also find the video portions missing."
Anyone interested in learning more about grievous angels can find them at their World Wide Web home.
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Review Written: December 2, 1998
Page Last modified:February 14, 2004
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