Short Cuts
: Summary Reviews #20Name of CD release |
Artist/Group |
| Two a Roue | Jez Lowe & Jake Walton |
| The Songs and Ballads of Hattie Mae Tyler Cargill |
Acie Cargill and Others |
| Into the Flow | Dan Cunningham |
| Ghosts and Angels | Sandy Andina |
| Mystery Ride | Edge City |
  live at Newlands Pavilion |
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Member |
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Two a Roue
Jez Lowe & Jake Walton
Tantobie Records
2001
14 tracks
The music rolls over you, sometimes soft as the breeze but more often harder, like a mountain wind or the ocean waves. It's smooth and unrelenting music, moving ever forward. In the broader general sense, I enjoy hearing these performances. The sound is bright and full of life and the songs are sung and played by two very talented young men. Most listeners who enjoy the pop end of the folk music spectrum should enjoy the music on Two a Roue
Jez Lowe and Jake Walton's Two a Roue may be of interest to anyone who enjoys the traditional music of the British Isles, especially Ireland and Scotland, and doesn't mind that the music is performed with a contemporary feeling.
The Songs and Ballads of Hattie Mae Tyler Cargill
Acie Cargill, Debra Cowan, Susan Brown, and Others
Folk-Legacy Records, Inc.
2001
22 tracks
Acie Cargill is an extraordinary person. In his zeal to preserve the unique music created by two families of which he is a proud descendent, he is also making an impressive contribution to the heritage of American folk music. Taught many of the songs and techniques at his grandmother's knee, Cargill is no scholar collecting field recordings but an insider with the songs, stories, and memories collected in his head and in family history. Cargill releases old tapes of the families playing and singing, and he makes new recordings in their authentic style. Anyone interested in the folk music of America should give Acie Cargill's work a listen.
Folk-Legacy is to be commended for producing and releasing this collection of songs from the Tyler and Cargill families. This release should become a valuable addition to the archives of American music history.
I would highly recommend The Songs and Ballads of Hattie Mae Tyler Cargill for the library of anyone who has an abiding interest in the folk music traditions of the United States. Here is folk music with a long tradition carried on through generations of just two families. If "chain of custody" counts for anything, then this music is about as authentic as it gets.Into the Flow
Dan Cunningham
PicknDawg Music
2001
13 tracks
There's no doubt that Dan Cunningham knows how to play the guitar. In fact, he demonstrates a great deal of skill as a guitarist. Unfortunately, the presentation on this release is flawed by faulty production and in places by Cunningham's attempts to be clever or artsy. It's a shame that Cunningham didn't just stick to what he knows and that he didn't get a producer with more understanding of what it takes to record solo guitar.
Sometimes saving the best to last is not necessarily a good idea. Into the Flow is a prime example, beginning with the tracks most likely to turn off listeners and ending with the least problematic tracks. Dan Cunningham is a talented guitarist who should develop enough confidence in his abilities to be able to perform without hiding behind gimmicks, especially poorly executed theatre and spurious sound effects. As a solo artist performing classical and old-timey music, I'm sure Cunningham would be impressive.
Ghosts and Angels
Sandy Andina
Essay Records
2001
12 tracks
Listening to Sandy Andina's Ghosts and Angels is like listening to commercial mainstream radio circa 1956. Every song is different but selected to give the program the correct safe flow and appeal. The songs range from pure pop to pieces with classical, French, Spanish, Mexican, blues, jazz, and other influences. The vocals are reminiscent of Lucille Starr, Gogi Grant, Peggy Lee, Doris Day, and a host of other old-time pop singers. The instrumental arrangements are more of Percy Faith or Guy Lombardo than of the modern era. If you like that old pre-rock music, then you're likely to enjoy this release.
Much of the music on Ghosts and Angels is background music of the passive sort that goes unheard behind cocktail conversations and dinner chatter. Only a few of the songs have the internal energy to perhaps break through the din and momentarily catch some listener unawares. Even these are not strong songs and might fare better if approached in a less conservative manner.
As a whole, Ghosts and Angels is not bad. The lyrics are competently written and the music doesn't jar the sensibilities (or, unfortunately, grab the imagination). Based on what I've heard, I believe this artist is capable of more. There's a feeling on this release that neither she nor her musicians are giving their all to the music. There's an emotional flatness of the sort often attributed to Muzak. It would be interesting to hear what Sandy Andina could do if she really tried.
Mystery Ride
Edge City
Independent
2000
12 tracks
Like a fourth dimension barely hidden just below conscious observation on the streets of your town, of any town or city, there sits another, darker world. Some optimistic residents of this world call it alternative. Others call it the underground, with all that implies. Others just call it down and out. This is the shadowy world of the outsider and the unintended free spirit. Once inside, it's a difficult place to escape. Jim Patton and Sherry Brokus of Edge City seem very familiar with this world. If you are depressed, hurting, or more than a little down, you are well advised not to listen to these songs or read the lyrics.
The lyrics here are edgy little stories told from a place where even down looks like up and broken hearts are the norm. These are dark paintings of the dark corners of our modern society, the places most of us not only don't want to go but don't even want to know about. These are stories of men and women who live where it takes courage just to survive, just to get up in the morning and face another day with no hope, and to continue hoping. That's the positive side of these songs. Dark though each of these lyrics may be, each holds just a spark of hope to illuminate a distant image of a better world that might yet be. This is Charles Dickens for the 21st Century.
The subtitle of this release, Music for those of us who never joined up, may well be the epitaph for Edge City. The talent and creativity that Edge City has poured into this release may never make it to the mainstream. Between the quirky arrangements and vocals and the dark-themed material, Edge City may find itself lost in a shadowy niche down some dark street with Lou Reed, Dread Zepellin, Tom Waits, and other artists "who never joined up" and never will. I'm not sure that's all bad. We need artists who dare to be different.
