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ARTIST: THE UNWANTED
TITLE: SONGS FROM THE ATLANTIC FRINGE
LABEL: COMPASS RECORDS
RELEASE: 2009
By Joel Okida
 At any given acoustic jam that might include musicians of
old time, Celtic, Appalachian, or any other form that serves up songs of a
traditional disposition, you might hear a certain similarity between old
ballads, folk blues, lullabies, and church music. There might be a twist in the
lyrics that bends an old Irish lament into something akin to an American blues
tune or a harmonica melody might remind you of some doleful dirge from a
concertina heard in a nameless pub you fell into one night.
Songs from the
Atlantic Fringe, a collaborative effort from three musicians, collectively
known as The Unwanted, calls
attention to this common ground where music has infiltrated one continent and
then returned, altered here and there, often colored with regional lyrics or
instrumentation. This long history of exchange between the Old World and the
New is not necessarily a revelation, but in this 13-track compilation, the
approach is flavored with an Old World reverence and the crackle of the New
World. The band can lean one way or the other on any given song or even combine
a reel with a Leadbelly song such as the compelling opening track, Out on the Western Plains. A rousing
welcome to the New World, indeed!
Rick Epping has traveled back and forth between his native
California and Ireland for a good part of his life, spending some years with
American band, Pumpkinhead (check out
this amazing YouTube
from 1976), which called Sligo its home base. He brings to life a jaunty, The Morning Blues, sounding like one who
has experienced this phenomenon a few times and then some. His harmonica
playing is a treasure in itself, revealed here and throughout the recording.
It's no mean feat for a mouth harpist to keep up with any number of Irish jigs
and reels. This song also gets a spirited Jordan playfully singing backup
vocals like she's kicking her heels on the front porch. Epping stretches out on
harmonica on the slip jig, An Phis Fliuch,
where a concertina or accordion might ordinarily have taken the solos. Angelina Baker, gets your attention with
words by Stephen Foster and sung by Epping, but also from some O'Dowd fiddling
which might hint at a few Irish tunes that came before and after.
And that fiddling gets a little more room and continental
blend as the following song, Shove the
Pig's Foot a Little Further in the Fire rolls then reels into Greenfields of America. Seamie O'Dowd is
found in voice or with any number of instruments throughout this album. A warm
assured vocal in Turn the Corner
makes this ode to the natural beauty of hometown Sligo, near poetry as the
simple melody is enriched by some Epping harmonica turns. The Jagger-Richards
lament, No Expectations, is not that
far-fetched here or dubious as a folk song since the original had its own
acoustic country blues treatment. Instead of the Brian Jones slide guitar,
O'Dowd's dobro picks up the sad wail behind Epping's reading of the
down-on-his-luck testament.
Cathy Jordan, taking a break from Irish super-group, Dervish, contributes several song
choices and lead vocals. And although she was voted in the top ten most
distinctive voices in Ireland by a radio listener poll, she often alters her
singing here to give each song a sound that fits the period or the place. She
sings it as if the Civil War had just ended in Sweet Becky at the Loom, and contemporary folk tune, It's Cool to be Green renders a motherly
modern lullaby. Eileen a Ruin, sung
for the most part in a capella, switches back and forth from Gaelic to English.
Jordan's lovely voice caresses this tune and is a perfect ending to the
collection.
This is a must-have for both Americana folk music listeners
as well as those Celtic fans familiar with the Dervish songbook, and open to
exploring the roots that have grown between the two countries across the pond.
Joel Okida is a struggling artist, struggling writer, and
struggling musician. It occurs to him that life is all about the struggle.
Fortunately, he did not take up acting. However, he's not half-bad as a zydeco
dancer and the ability to make a mean gumbo and lovely walnut tortes has gotten
him by.
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