May-June 2008

AND THE BEATS GO ON ...

ARTIST: WICKED TINKERS

TITLE: RANT

By Joel Okida

Some hear the clarion call of the bagpipes and the ears perk up, the heart races, and the sonority reverberates through the core. Even if you don't have a molecule of Celtic DNA in your spittle, everyone has a reaction to the echoing exhalations of the unique bag, chanter and drone instrument. When combined with the sonorous beating of drums and the unique bellow of the didgeridoo, something primal and immediate hits the psyche. Whether it's your cup of tea or mug of grog, Wicked Tinkers provide an invitation to explore those internal rumblings, subtle or undiscovered though they may be.

With RANT, Wicked Tinkers offer up one of their most colorful recordings. And, although there is no substitute for a live performance, pushing the volume control throttle of your sound system when listening to this recording will provide a close rendering of the group, at least sonically.

March-April 2008

JACKSON BROWNE BRINGS THE MUSIC TO THE FRONT

ARTIST: JACKSON BROWNE

TITLE:  SOLO ACOUSTIC - VOL. 2

By Russ Paris

JACKSON BROWNE SOLO ACOUSTIC VOL. 2 (released on March 4, 2008 on Inside Recordings) is the second in a series of solo acoustic albums by the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Famer. Though with new songs, the format is identical to the first volume, released in 2005. Vol. 2 showcases the same sense of intimacy and live energy at Jackson's recent solo acoustic concerts: he's singing to you.

The collection begins with a stripped-down version of Never Stop from his 2002 album, The Naked Ride Home, with Jackson on guitar. The acoustic arrangement emphasizes the words and it comes across as a beautiful love song. When Jackson sings “And when you make me smile, I'm the richest man I know,” you believe it.

TITLE: NEW ORLEANS BRASS

LABEL: PUTAMAYO WORLD MUSIC

By Audrey Coleman

Trumpets, tubas, and trombones take center stage on a late 2007 release from Putumayo World Music that evokes Mardi Gras parades, holiday marching bands, and jazz funerals unique to the Big Easy. On New Orleans Brass, contemporary New Orleans musicians and vocalists celebrate a tradition that goes back over 200 years.

The album is designed to honor that tradition while revealing it as an evolving genre of music. During the 1950s and 1960s, for example, some of the brass bands began incorporating rhythm and blues, jazz and funk into their sound. On Cut 5 of New Orleans Brass, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band's infectiously rhythmic rendition of It's all Over Now, featuring Dr. John in fine form, demonstrates this trend with verve. Kermit Ruffins represents the 1980s generation take on the tradition with his Rebirth Brass Band with Treme Second Line (Blow Da Whistle).

January-February 2008

ARTIST: CYRIL PAHINUI

TITLE: HE’EIA

LABEL: DANCING CAT

By Audrey Coleman

The word He’eia refers to He’eia Bay on Hawai’i Island’s Kona coast, a place where King David Kalakaua used to enjoy on a day at the beach. In the opening musical selection of the same name, Cyril Pahinui evokes the setting with a powerful, lush interpretation of the name chant (mele inoa) for Kalakaua, with music attributed to J. Kalahiki. He’eia is one of three traditional songs for which he has created exquisite arrangements for slack key guitar.

One of the fascinating aspects of this third solo album is the way it showcases Cyril’s stylistic gifts. He plays an instrumental version of He’eia on Cut 1 with his 12-string guitar in the C Mauna Lua tuning (C-G-E-G-A-E). Later, in Cut 6, he plays it in Atta’s C Major (C-G-E-G-C-E), creating a different mood with the change in tonal coloration and adding his own vocals. Similarly he plays O Kamawailualani (the ancient name for the island of Kaui’i) on his six-string guitar in Cut 2 and uses his 12-string guitar for the same selection in Cut 10.

January-February 2008

ARTIST: VARIOUS

TITLE: THE BEST OF THE JOHNNY CASH TV SHOW

LABEL: COLUMBIA/LEGACY

RELEASE DATE: 2008

By Dave Soyars

  It’s hard to imagine in this hundreds-of-channels-at-the-touch-of-a-button age, but not so very long ago- during my lifetime, in fact, TV was home to very few programming choices, and any music, particularly good music, was rarely found. Variety shows like the Ed Sullivan Show would have the occasional pop act between the dancing elephants and such, and there were occasional shows dedicated to pop music, but vaudeville, rather than anything current, was the benchmark.

So it’s all the more impressive that it was not an ambitious musician of the rock generation, which was (arguably) at its boldest artistic point, but the most successful mainstream country artist of his time that most effectively bridged the gap between musicians of various genres in the late 1960s.

January-Feburary 2008

THE STATE OF MODERN OLD TIME BANJO PLAYING

TITLE: BANJO GATHERING 

By Larry Rosenberg

One of the activities I enjoy most at traditional music festivals and multi-day workshops is the opportunity to thoroughly browse the pre-recorded music offerings. Those stacks of compact discs and digital video discs seem even more accessible than their vinyl and magnetic tape ancestors, and, unlike vinyl “records,” we can play the compact discs in our cars on the way home, so adding an appropriate final touch to a festival-workshop experience. The selections I see are sometimes unavailable anywhere else, and most others will not be seen (outside of Internet listings and occasionally in catalogues) unless one lives near, and frequents, a good acoustic music store. At a multi-day event, I find I have the time to reflect on the projects being offered, and the time to discuss them with other music appreciators in attendance, and even, now and then, directly with the musicians who are featured on the recordings.

January-February 2008

Artist: TOM BALL

Title:  SOLO GUITAR – MUSIC FROM FILMS

Label: DOG BOY O5

Release Date: NOVEMBER 2007

By Dennis Roger Reed

Blues fans know Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan as Santa Barbara’s answer to Brownie and Sonny. This came natural for Ball, since he shares Sonny Terry’s birthday of October 24.

Ball and Sultan have been entertaining audiences all over the world since 1978.  They are known for their casual yet musically tight shows. They’ve recorded eight duo CDs, and have a long running residency at the Cold Spring Tavern in the Santa Barbara hills. Sultan was recently honored with a signature Martin guitar.

January-February 2008 

Artist: THE FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS

Title: GRAM PARSONS & THE FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS LIVE AT THE AVALON BALLROOM 1969

Label: AMOEBA AM0002

Release Date: NOVEMBER 2007

By Dennis Roger Reed

For a very brief time in 1968 and 1969, Los Angeles was the home of an almost perfect amalgamation of rock and roll, country and soul music known as The Flying Burrito Brothers. Their first recording, Gilded Palace of Sin, was a eclectic mix including recent soul hits redone in a country rock mode. Somehow The Flying Burrito Brothers were able to take songs like Dark End of the Street or Do Right Woman with their own imaginative spin while still capturing some of the essence of the original interpretations. The Flying Burrito Brothers also brought a good number of originals to the project, and each was worthy of contrast with the soul tunes. In fact, it wasn’t hard to imagine William Bell or James Carr taking a crack at Hot Burrito #1 or Hot Burrito #2. Then The Flying Burrito Brothers upped the ante, adding several Nuevo-country tunes that would have felt at home with George Jones, Buck Owens or more likely Waylon Jennings. Christine’s Tune, Sin City, Wheels: these were all steely country tunes but with hip, bent lyrics.

January-February 2008

BILL STAINES’ OLD DOGS: MUSIC AS PURE AS A SIERRA CREEK

ARTIST: BILL STAINES
TITLE: OLD DOGS  

By Terry Roland

Do you ever long to get away? Sometimes, in the middle of the week, do you have an intense desire to walk in a meadow, see a shooting star, reflect on a glacial mountain, pluck an old guitar on an aged, wood front porch, or just scratch the grateful belly of an old dog? If you do, Bill Staines’ newest release, Old Dogs, provides a much-needed respite from the complexities of today’s world. He also gives a glimpse into the diversity of American experiences through which, he allows his audience to see the past in a way that informs our appreciation for the present.

November-December 2007 

Artist: JAKE SHIMABUKURO

Title: HULA GIRLS & MY LIFE

Label: HITCHHIKE RECORDS

The ukulele of Jake Shimabukuro continues to boldly go into musical territory where no uke has gone before. Shimabukuro largely left behind his traditional Hawaiian repertoire some years ago, but his exploration of the instrument’s expressive capacity remains enthralling for music lovers not attached to genres. Two fall releases, one linked to the signature dance form of Hawaii, the other reaching out to vintage pop, deserve attention.

In the EP recording My Life, the virtuoso offers beautiful, heartfelt arrangements of six of his favorite tunes. He treats the work of Sarah McLachlan, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and Cyndi Lauper with respect while integrating his unique interpretations.

November-December 2007

ARTIST: Athena Tergis

TITLE: A Letter Home

LABEL: Compass Records

By Brooke Alberts

Athena Tergis - San Francisco- raised Valley Of The Moon (Alisdair Fraser’s Scottish Fiddle School) denizen, three-time Junior National Scottish Fiddling Champion and principal fiddler for Riverdance on

Broadway- has released a lovely and varied CD showcasing her clean and sprightly style with the help of some other excellent musicians. Eminent guitarist John Doyle is the producer along with providing his signature syncopated guitar and bouzouki accompaniment and arrangements. Liz Carroll, Natalie Haas and Sharon Shannon join her as well on a few tracks on fiddle, cello and accordion, respectively, along with Chico Huff on bass, Billy McComiskey on accordion, and Ben Wittman on percussion.

November-December 2007

Artist: ROBIN & LINDA WILLIAMS

Title: RADIO SONGS

Label: RED HOUSE

Release Date: SEPTEMBER 2007

By Michael Macheret

Like many other fans of A Prairie Home Companion, I first heard Robin & Linda Williams on the radio program where they’ve been frequent guests for over 30 years. That’s what makes their newest CD “Radio Songs” so enjoyable. It is a collection of performances taken from A Prairie Home Companion from 1991 to the present.

The Williams’s have an extraordinary ability to span a wide range of repertory convincingly. “Radio Songs” includes bluegrass, country, gospel, blues, rural folk tunes, sentimental ballads, and a little comic excursion into the opera repertory. And while I am especially fond of their bluegrass and gospel interpretations, perhaps the biggest surprise is how beautifully Linda sings We’ll Meet Again, a sentimental WWII-era song made popular by British Armed Forces Sweetheart Vera Lynn. Here the sentiment sounds genuine and contemporary and the musical background provided by Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band is perfectly tasteful.

November-December 2007

Artist: RAY BIERL

Title: ANY PLACE I HANG MY HAT

Label: GREASY STRINGS PRODUCTIONS GS102CD

Release Date: NOVEMBER 2007

By Dennis Roger Reed

Today's world is fast moving and noisy. Pop music often reflects this, so much so that it becomes difficult to find music that isn't fast moving and noisy without succumbing to "easy listening," "new age" or "light jazz."  

Ray Bierl's music is not fast moving or noisy, nor is it "easy listening," "new age" or "light jazz." It's folk, at its best. More back porch music than Top 10 pop.

Though raised in San Diego, Bierl's music is best known in the Bay Area, his adopted home. Ray picked up the guitar in high school, and became enamored with folk music in the 1960s, becoming a regular on the coffee house scene. Bierl provided guitar backup for a variety of artists such as Rosalie Sorrels, Kate Wolf, and Malvina Reynolds. He also dabbled in bluegrass, and eventually took up the fiddle. He took his fiddle to work every day at his civil service job and practiced at breaks, lunch and after work. One hopes his co-workers received hazard duty pay, since the fiddle is an instrument that is difficult to master, and a painful experience for those that get to hear the progress.

November-December 2007

APOTHEOSIS OF THE POLKA AND JIGS TO HAUNT YOUR DREAMS

ARTISTS: BREANNDAN BEGLEY AND CAOIMHIN O'RAGHALLAIGH

TITLE: FYH

LABEL: FYH (STATE OF CHASSIS, 2007)(currently available only at concerts -therefore not Pure Unobtanium!-but soon available from CDBaby)

By Brooke Alberts

“A moment of madness is better than a life of logic.” Might as well Follow Your Heart. This according to Mr. Breanndan Begley, and Mr. Caoimhin O’Raghallaigh concurs- it’s right there in their playing (play being the operative verb).  Mad moments ensue here in plenty- some more obviously, like the tune they’re calling a Slippery Jig . Slip-jigs are in 9/8, but this one, learned from the playing of Paddy Cronin, has an extra beat. Then there’s a  rendition of O’Sullivan’s March after which they roam about, still playing, and snatches of the tune waft back into the recording device’s earshot  like a poignant draught of nostalgia. Furthermore, O’Raghallaigh introduces the hardanger fiddle (a traditional Norwegian instrument with four played strings and five sympathetically resonating strings) for a set of polkas. He takes these very common polkas and, by his intensely musical playing, presents them as intriguing and delightful new creatures.

November-December 2007

ARTIST: MARTIN SIMPSON

TITLE: PRODIGAL SON

LABEL: TOPIC RECORDS

 By Brooke Alberts

Martin Simpson has long been one of my favorite guitarists. I love his sense of timing.  The fluidity of his picking conjures for me cascades and swirling eddies that buoy up the melody. What wonderful control he has- and he’s not afraid to just let it ring, either.

He starts off with a few ballads that have made their way to America- Batchelor’s Hall and an instrumental version of Pretty Crowing Chicken on the banjo, (both of which were collected by folklorist/musician/photographer John Cohen in the 1960s,) and Lakes of Champlain, a version of the Irish Lakes of Coolfinn. They are enhanced by the gentle cello and concertina accompaniments by Barry Phillips and Alistair Anderson, respectively.

November-December 2007

AUTHOR: PETER CASE

TITLE: AS FAR AS YOU CAN GET WITHOUT A PASSPORT

Publisher: FOR NOW

Edition: NOVEMBER 2006

ARTIST: VARIOUS ARTISTS

TITLE: A CASE FOR CASE: A TRIBUTE TO THE SONGS OF PETER CASE

Label:HUNGRY FOR MUSIC HFM 024
Release Date: FEBRUARY 2006

ARTIST: PETER CASE

TITLE: LET US NOW PRAISE

SLEEPY JOHN

Label: EP ROCK RECORDSYEP 2160

Release Date: AUGUST 2007

By Dennis Roger Reed

Sometimes we ignore our own backyard, musically speaking. We don’t truly respect the talent we have in our own community or we can’t grasp them as STARS. Peter Case is a case in point. (Not only a bad pun but also the kind of hackneyed redundancy that has made the print media what we are today.) Case has spent most of his career based in Southern California, and has long garnered the respect (and awe) of his fellow musicians. His work has been regaled by the critics, but for the most part “mainstream success” has eluded him. Case is a remarkably prolific artist, his work gifted with a rich, storytelling aspect that make comparisons with prose writers such as Raymond Carter or Cornell Woolrich every bit as appropriate as comparisons with great storytelling songwriters like Guy Clark or Sleepy John Estes.

Artist: Angélique Kidjo

Title: Oyaya!

Label: Columbia Records

Say you've got to move and you've misplaced your energy supplements? No problem.  Pop on Oyaya! and crank up the volume.  You'll soon be doing all the moving you need to do - and I mean "moving" from taking all your stuff from here to there as well as "moving" your body to the groove.

From the first staccato hits on the snare drum, introducing some deliciously dexterous acoustic guitar work, followed quickly by some smoking slides on electric bass, the sense that you are in for an energetic ride becomes clear.  Though she is not a very big person, Kidjo has a huge voice and enough energy to get us all to dance -  or move furniture!  You get the sense that she really doesn't need a microphone to front a band replete with guitars, several percussionists, drums, keyboards, horns and a host of backup singers.

September-October 2007

Artist: DANNY FLOWERS

Title:  TOOLS FOR THE SOUL

Label: BRASH MUSIC BRH 0034-2

Release Date: MAY 2007

By Dennis Roger Reed

  Singer-songwriters don't seem to have much of a problem bearing their souls. It's difficult to think of any subject that hasn't slipped from the pens of a confessional musician. But it's somewhat a different story when it comes to spirituality. A lot of listeners shy from recordings that mention spirituality. Many are afraid that they'll be proselytized, and of course some material isn't really spiritual as much as religious indoctrination. And, oddly, many people are far more comfortable discussing their love life than their spiritual life. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Danny Flowers is an exception.

ARTIST: Fishtank Ensemble

TITLE: Samurai over Serbia

By Joel Okida

The whimsical name of the group belies the fact that these musicians play hard, fast, and serious. There’s nothing fishy about them. In fact, there’s no slouching or mannered excesses, as Fishtank Ensemble comes armed, loaded and ready to serve you up a platter of intense nearly cosmic gypsy music. Their latest CD release, Samurai Over Serbia, samples the global plain that is the group’s playing field. Like the gypsies, it crosses borders, villages, continents, and time periods showcasing the varied instrumental prowess of each member and the extreme range of vocalist, Ursula Knudson who also can double up on violin, banjolele and the musical saw.

September-October 2007    

ARTIST: PINT & DALE (WILLIAM PINT AND FELICIA DALE)

TITLE: THE SET OF THE SAIL

LABEL: WATERBUG

RELEASE DATE: JUNE 2007

BY MICHAEL MACHERET

Following the oldest of musical traditions, Pint & Dale have gathered a number of great nautical-themed songs in their travels. Their latest CD The Set of the Sail features songs, both traditional and contemporary, they've collected in their travels to England.

Unlike some of the more traditional shanty bands, Pint & Dale dress up traditional songs with updated musical arrangements reminiscent of some of the better bands of the 1960s folk music revival but the sound is fresh and current. Felicia Dale plays the hurdy-gurdy, fiddle, whistles and bodhran. William Pint plays guitar and mandolin. Felicia Dale's hurdy-gurdy has a prominent role on this CD and it sounds like she has added a new dimension to her playing on that instrument giving it more of a leading role than on previous recordings.

September-October 2007

Artist: KEOLA BEAMER

Title: KA HIKINA O KA HAU (THE COMING OF THE SNOW)

Label: DANCING CAT

By Audrey Coleman

Ka Hikina O Ka Hau represents a new exploration with slack key guitar by one of the foremost contributors to the Hawaiian musical renaissance that began in the 1970's. Keola Beamer applies traditional slack-key tunings to both traditional and classical material, collaborating with pianist-record producer GeorgeWinston and guitarist-arranger Daniel O'Donoghue to create an album of delicate beauty. In most of the pieces, Beamer plays all the guitars through the magic of overdubbing.

September-October 2007  

ARTIST: RAIATEA HELM

TITLE: HAWAIIAN BLOSSOM

LABEL: MOUNTAIN APPLE COMPANY

RELEASE DATE: JUNE 2007

BY MICHAEL MACHERET

It seems that Raiatea has grown up. Not to say that her voice has changed - she still has the sweetest voice you can imagine. Raiatea's first CD was recorded in 2003 when she was 17 years old. While that may be the norm for pop bands, the Hawaiian traditional music scene is usually dominated by more seasoned musicians. This makes it even more remarkable that she has captured numerous prestigious awards from the start: receiving the Na Hoku awards for her debut (given by the Hawai‘i Academy of Recording Artists) for both Most Promising Artist and Female Vocalist of the Year in 2003. Her second CD Sweet and Lovely released in 2004 again won her the Na Hoku Female Vocalist of the Year plus Favorite Entertainer of the Year in 2005 plus four other Na Hoku awards. When she was nominated for a Grammy for her second CD, the New York Times called the recording "poised and utterly elegant."

September-October 2007

Artist: SUKHAWAT ALI KHAN

Title: SHUKRIYA

BY REX BUTTERS

 The soaring vocal stylings of Qawwali singers (Qawwals) transport listeners and performers to heights of ecstatic spiritual awareness. Like the similarly intended and better known Whirling Dervishes, the public ritual of Qawwali runs on love and desire for Divine Union. Unlike the trance dancing Dervishes, Qawwali sweats, bleeds, and screams.

Originally from Persia, Qawwali flourished with the Chisti order of Sufis on the Indian subcontinent. A group of musicians called a party features a chorus of 4 or 5 men, a lead singer, second singer, percussionists on tabla or dholak, with the singers usually playing harmoniums, which took over from the stringed sarangis of earlier times. Qawwalis usually begin slowly with harmonium and tabla improvisation, some introductory singing by the lead, and finally the whole party joins building momentum as they go.

September-October 2007  

DOWN HOME WITH THE GOIN' SOUTH BAND

BY JOEL OKIDA

There lies a musical posse scattered across the vast disparate and desperate basin and valleys of Los Angeles, men who strum along according to the book of who-cares-what's-on-the-pop-charts. From bluegrass to blues and from ballad to cowboy waltz, the varied art of the American troubadour gets a shot in the arm when a cadre of the Southland's best musicians get together and stay in one place long enough to record a sample of the Americana roots music rainbow. The Goin' South Band rounds up Rick Shea, Cody Bryant, Paul Lacques, Vic Koler, John Zeretzke, Fred Sokolow, and Rick Cunha, each taking time out from their solo and sidemen projects, and presents them as educators and purveyors of various forms of the traditional American musical songbook, not the bright lights of Broadway, but tunes that would perhaps be found down the road a piece and headed mostly southbound.

September-October 2007  

ARTIST: JAKE SHIMABUKURO

TITLE: GENTLY WEEPS

LABEL: HITCHHIKE RECORDS

BY AUDREY COLEMAN

Jake Shimabukuro's latest release could be titled The Naked Ukulele. Except for a few bonus tracks, the Honolulu-born ukulele virtuoso has stripped away the instrumental backup used in his four previous releases to let us experience his artistic sensibility without distractions. The result is a recording of rare emotional intensity. It showcases not only his astounding technique but also his drive to explore musical genres. While the Hawaiian folk roots of the ukulele remain strong today, Jake's music pushes beyond them fearlessly.

A haunting rock-blues-inspired riff opens the tastefully embellished version of George Harrison's While My Guitar Gently Weeps.  After stating the melody, he creates a bridge of chord progressions and builds with a hard-driving rhythm and huge dynamics that belie the small size of his four-stringed instrument. Then he returns to the melody for a tender conclusion. During a recent interview, Jake told me that Harrison's widow expressed her appreciation of Jake's adaptation in person when he performed it in concert. In fact, Harrison was a great fan of the ukulele, collecting instruments and recordings for much of his artistic life. For that reason, too, Jake feels a bond with the late Beatle whom he never met.

July-August 2007

BOB WEBB AND THE BANJO-AT LAST!

by monika white

Bob Webb

Bob Webb's album, Full Circle: The Solo Banjo Sessions means a lot to those of us who have been waiting many years for a recording of just Bob and the banjo. In the late 1970s, Webb abandoned old time banjo tunes for maritime music and Los Angeles for British Columbia and later Maine where he still resides. So, to have him back with this amazing album of old time banjo tunes is truly welcome since he is one of the finest clawhammer players in the country. The more you listen to his playing, the more you will appreciate his talent and mastery of the instrument.

July-August 2007

ARTIST: CAOIMHIN O’RAGHALLAIGH

TITLE: where the one-eyed man is king

LABEL: stateofchassis 

RELEASE DATE: 2007

By Brooke Alberts

If you are familiar with Kitty Lie Over, the masterful recording of Irish traditional music by Mick O’Brien and Caoimhin O’Raghallaigh, you may have a sense of the melodious pulse that Caoimhin brings to this music. His new CD where the one-eyed man is king contains a series of jewel-like expressions that combine his sensibilities in the field of Irish traditional music with his own explorations in composition, recording, and art. This is an all-Caoimhin production, and he plays fiddle, hardanger fiddle, whistles, piano and other percussion on this recording.

Artist: CHRIS WHITLEY & JEFF LANG
Title: DISLOCATION BLUES

Label: ABC ROOTS MUSIC 5101155862

Release Date: AUGUST 2006

BY DENNIS ROGER REED

Chris Whitley pushed the envelope of blues music as far as any performer. His death from lung cancer in November of 2005 at the age of 45 shocked and saddened the blues music world. He was a remarkably proficient artist, reeling from solo projects to inspired collaborations such as Dislocation Blues, where he teamed with noted Australian bluesman Jeff Lang.

Texas born Whitley released his first CD, Living with the Law, in 1991 and released 14 others by the time of his death. Some, like 1998s Dirt Floor, were primarily acoustic recordings, where others used samples, looping and distortion as part of the menu.

May-June 2007

Artist: AMY HANAIALI'I
Title: GENERATION HAWAI'I

Label: MOUNTAIN APPLE

By Audrey Coleman

In Generation Hawaii Amy Hanaiali'i' shares the rich cultural heritage passed on from her grandmother's generation to her own. Beginning with the opening song, Napua, the influence of her recently-deceased grandmother, Jenny Napua Hanaiali'i Woodd, permeates the album as it has permeated Amy's life. Beside the liner notes for the song is a picture of a youthful woman with a fresh, engaging smile, and a floral garland crowning her dark hair? The English translation of Amy's Hawaiian lyrics captures the tenderness of the granddaughter-grandmother relationship:

Your petals are indeed delicate

Awakened by the rains of Hina

How I yearn to see you

My blossom that is in eternal rest.

 As in the other songs to be found on Generation Hawaii, the melody and instrumental arrangement of Napua intertwine like the thick, fragrant, flowered vines to be found in Hawaii's forests, woven to highlight the strength and sweetness of Amy's voice.

March-April, 2007

Artist: Scott Miller & The Commonwealth

Title: Citation

Label: SUGAR HILL SUG-CD-4009

Release Date: MARCH 2006

BY Dennis Roger Reed

Most consumers are not surprised to see one of those “explicit lyric” stickers on the latest rap or hip hop CD. It’s a little odd to see one on a roots-rock record, but it does bring up the fact that a lot of folk music recordings probably deserve a similar sticker. The people that thought up the idea of putting warning stickers on records need a sticker too, but that’s another story. Scott Miller & The Commonwealth’s lyrics won’t cause you to pass out, and it’s easy to forget about the sticker once you are immersed in the music of Citation, Miller’s newest recording.

May-June 2007

Artist: JEREMY SPENCER

Title: PRECIOUS LITTLE

Label: BLUESTOWN/BLIND PIG BPCD 5106

Release Date: JULY 2006

By Dennis Roger Reed

Most people know of the band Fleetwood Mac as a pop rock group, one of the most popular in the mid and late 1970s. There is another Fleetwood Mac that only shares two of the same members, but left a legacy arguably as strong as the later incarnation, although as an electric blues band with emerging pop overtones.

Fleetwood Mac began in 1967 as somewhat of an offshoot of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, as three of the original four members had been in the recent employ of Mr. Mayall. The former Bluesbreakers, bassist John McVie, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist/vocalist Peter Green, were joined by a 19 year old blues guitarist, pianist and singer named Jeremy Spencer. Spencer had the ability to play American blues legend Elmore James' songs uncannily like James, a somewhat astonishing fact considering that Spencer was a young white Brit. Fleetwood Mac soon added Danny Kirwan as the third guitarist, and the world was their oyster for a short period of time. However, Green began to mentally unravel due to the pressures of rock success, and left the group. They soldered on for another album sans Green, but during a U.S. tour in 1971, Spencer left his hotel to visit a bookstore in Los Angeles, but did not return for that night's concert. It turned out that he had joined a sect called the Children of God, a group with which he remains affiliated to this day. Green was begged back to finish the tour, but the first incarnation of Fleetwood Mac was on the ropes. The personnel changes made by McVie and Fleetwood eventually created the pop supergroup that to many, eclipsed the memory of the first Fleetwood Mac.

May-June 2007
The Poetry of Diana Jones
By Joel Okida

Photo by Valri Bromfield

The sunlight on his pretty face

did turn my head one day

then I was taken by his gentle voice

but he did not look my way

- excerpt from Fever Moon by Diana Jones
(Remembrances of You)

 

To see her is a picture

To hear her is a tune

To know her is an intemperance

As innocent as June

 
-excerpt from Further Poems by Emily Dickinson

November-December, 2006

Artist: JOHN ‘THE YANK' HARRINGTON

Title: A CELTIC CENTURY

Every now and then you find a wonderful little nugget of folk music, an obscure recording of an unknown artist in some tiny shop or on some esoteric website dedicated to the preservation and promotion of folk culture. Or maybe you receive it as a gift.

Such was the case with this 1999 CD, A Celtic Century. On first glance it looked to be nothing more than a charming local musician (in this case local to Butte, Montana), and his shot at immortality by way of a CD recording. It is much more.

CONCERT REVIEWS

March-April, 2008

CARRIE NEWCOMER BRINGS EVERYDAY MAGIC TO MCCABE'S

by Terry Roland

  Among the gifts of many a fine singer-songwriter is the ability to tell stories which bring out the ordinary miracles in the world around us. On Saturday night, March 29th, at McCabe's in Santa Monica, Carrie Newcomer brought her own brand of natural magic through song and story. A Quaker from Indiana gifted with an uncommon richness in her voice and insightful songwriting, Newcomer guided the audience through many of the songs on her new, critically acclaimed CD, The Geography of Light. The songs were straightforward and simple with an inner elegance that supported her spiritual insights and songs of compassion. For example, in the song, There is a Tree, she gives voice to her affinity for finding words for life experiences, which are sometimes beyond words. The humor-through-song of the evening was an old-time jazz styled song called "Don't Push Send." It tells stories of the now common and sometimes disastrous experience of sending knee-jerk emotional e-mails.

November-December 2007

The 60'S are Alive and Well in Live Show with BARRY MCGUIRE and TERRY TALBOT

By Terry Roland

"It's time to celebrate life!" These were the words of folksinger and 60's legend, Barry McGuire last Saturday night at The Coffee Gallery in Altadena, California. His new live show with country-rock pioneer, Terry Talbot of Mason Proffit is called Trippin' The 60's. It is a celebration of life in the present that draws from folk-rock era of the '60's. McGuire and Talbot have capably assembled a review in story and song that reminds us of the significance that music has played in our history and how important it continues to be today. They should know. They experienced it first-hand.

During this show, they took the audience through a chronological bullet train of a ride through the early to late 60's. Both musicians drew from personal experiences with Bob Dylan, The Byrds, The Mamas & The Papas, John Sebastian, Janis Joplin and John Denver among others. During the concert they told stories and performed the song