Live at the Davy Lamp
Jez Lowe with the Bad Pennies
Tantobie Records
2000
23 tracks
At first blush, Jez Lowe's music sounds very traditional, not so much old-fashioned as along the lines of the updated folk music we were hearing in the Fifties and early Sixties of the last century, especially as performed by artists from England, Scotland, and Ireland. In a sense, this is indeed traditional music, with melodies drawn or adapted from the folk tradition and lyrics that tell stories of everyday life. However, on each subsequent listen, it becomes increasingly apparent that there is much more happening in the songs of Jez Lowe.
These are songs built brick by brick by a highly skilled craftsman who knows how to bring melody and lyric and instrumental mix together to achieve just the right impact. Hidden behind the folkish facade are elements of popular music ranging from the classics to rock and roll. It is with these elements that Lowe molds his songs artfully, so that they become something more than just folk songs.
This is bright, lively music that owes as much to Lonnie Donegan as it does to The Clancy Brothers. It tells its tales in a rollicking pub-pleasing blend of words and music well enough written to satisfy the academics in the crowd but clearly performed to speak to the common man. This is folk music that hews to tradition yet remains contemporary in the new century.
Following five fairly folky songs, "The Guilts" comes on with a rocking rhythm reminiscent of George Jones in the days of "The Race is Run" and "White Lightning" just after he switched from rockabilly to country music.
"Just like Moses" is driven by a "Conquistador" style string section that creates a tension the song might never otherwise have. The effect is powerful to say the least. This is perhaps one of the most interesting songs on this release. Judy Dinning's supporting vocals only add shine to what is already a diamond of a song.
Judy Dinning is featured as lead vocalist in two of the songs on this set, and a wonderful job she makes of them. "The Military Road" is a beautiful song, folkish only in the sense that "The Wayward Wind" may be considered by some to be a folk song. There is a very pop sensibility to this song, but it's more like the American pop of 1956 than of today's pop music. "Weave and Worry" is a more traditional song along the lines of a Joan Baez or Judy Collins, played and sung with simplicity and beauty.
"Galloways" has a sound that reminds me ever so much of middle-period Gordon Lightfoot, when he first started experimenting with larger orchestrations. "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" especially comes to mind.
"Greek Lightning" brings back memories of another era, of the beautiful and poetical modern folk songs by performers who were also poets, such as Donovan Leitch and Leonard Cohen. This song is absolutely beautiful in every sense.
"These Coal Town Days" has a very African feel to it, carried both by the a capella choral vocals and the chanting work-song rhythm throughout. It reminds the listener of the sort of traditional african music performed by The Weavers in the Fifties, rediscovered by the public in the early Sixties, and reintroduced by Paul Simon in his "Graceland" album.
"Tom Tom" is a rhythmic, chanting song evoking what most of us imagine to be an authentic Celtic sound. Very mystic in its feel, the song also brings to mind the American Walt Whitman's poetry with its straining against the incursion of the modern into the ancient and especially the image of "the idol electric" evoking but darkly shadowing Whitman's own phrase.
While all of the songs on this release contain more or less of the elements of traditional folk and have a more than occasional political edge, they manage to avoid that preaching to the converted sense and should appeal to a broad audience. Musically, they are much more wide-ranging and eclectic than they may at first appear, making them approachable by listeners far beyond the traditional folk music audience.
For those who may be interested, there is also an informative html section on the second disc featuring lyrics, additional notes, video clips, and more.
Those who want to find out even more about this artist can look him up at JezLowe.com. If you like, you can also read my previous Sound Bytes review of Jez Lowe's release with Jake Walton, Two a Roue, a live recording with The Bad Pennies.
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