Launie Tunes
The Laune Rangers
C+N Recordings
1999
12 tracks
The title sounds like a pun on the Warner Brothers classics. The name of the group sounds like a pun on a favourite western hero. Nothing on this release or included with it suggests a reason for these jokes to be. The music, at first listen deceptively simple, is also hard to tie down.
Centred largely around the spritely fiddle of Cara Kelly, the music is simple homespun stuff you might expect to hear in your granny's kitchen or on your uncle's porch. While possibly influenced by guitarist Jamie O'Brien's Irish roots, the songs on this release have a decidedly American feel. Launie Tunes is not, however, so simple to define.
This is old fashioned music. Partly in the way it is played and probably also as a result of the way it was recorded, this music has very much the sound of my 78's, most recorded eighty or more years ago. It's comfortable music rising out of memory and tradition.
What makes this especially interesting is that behind the veneer of traditional songs lies the tension of a rock and roll sensibility attempting to break out. This is most obvious in some of O'Brien's guitar work. "The Orphan/Cliffs of Moher" starts with a bluesy guitar riff reminiscent of "Black Velvet" that rides under Kelly's more traditional fiddle, driving the song forward. The hidden thirteenth track provides a similar contrast, with O'Brien playing a rocking hambone rhythm ("Bo Diddley"/"Not Fade Away"/"Hand Jive") while Kelly plays a rollicking Appalachian style fiddle.
While it is understated, a certain pop sensibility pervades this release. I'm reminded of a smaller version of Jimmy Shand's band, pumping out contemporary versions of traditional music. It works. If this music is a slow pony, then it has just enough of a burr under its saddle to make it jump.
Don't let me mislead you that this release is all instrumental. Both O'Brien and Kelly sing on several of the tracks. Kelly has a sweet voice well-suited to the traditional material she's singing. Here is the soft hillbilly sort of voice we all grew to love in Dolly and Emmylou. With some growth, Kelly could aspire to such heights. O'Brien seems to have two singing styles. When he is singing backup for Kelly, he sings in a laid-back country manner that provides her a base over which to soar. When he sings lead, his voice becomes sweet and sentimental, like a folkified Gilbert O'Sullivan.
While there is probably no hit material here, Launie Tunes is an enchanting and even refreshing exercise in Irish-American folk traditions.
To learn more about The Laune Rangers and their music, visit their website at joebrain.freeyellow.com.
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