FolkBlog

Alison Krauss and Union Station is this week’s Featured Artist on the Online Folk Festival, with boatloads of new music from their soon-to-be-released CD, Lonely Runs Both Ways.

Time to get back to talking about folk music here on the Folkblog.

On Hymns of the 49th Parallel, kd lang shows a great deal of subtlety in interpreting songs by great Canadian songwriters such as Bruce Cockburn, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Ron Sexsmith. Background instrumentation is mostly subdued, as are lang’s loving vocals on these classics, never overpowering the tune. Her own song, “Simple” stands with the rest of these classic tunes very well.

Boston singer/songwriter Naomi Sommers’ sophomore effort, Hypnotized, features a couple jamming traditional tunes, and some really fine original efforts. The most poignant song on the CD, “Come Home” points out the frustration of someone at home knowing that a loved one is in harm’s way in a war zone. Instrumentation on the original is mostly acoustic and subtle, letting the songs breathe.

Luka Bloom has a new album of sparely produced tunes, called Before Sleep Comes. Checking in at about 28 minutes, it is a short collection of traditional tunes and originals inspired by insomnia and tendinitis. With his tendinitis acting up, Bloom says in his album notes that he was confined to some “gentle picking on my Spanish guitar” that he realized ought to be recorded. Labeled “Acoustic chill-out music for the soul” on the front of the CD, this album is a switch for Bloom, who’s style of performance can usually be described as frenetic. It shows a more subtle side of Bloom, and it works well. I’d wish the CD a little longer though. Look for Luka Bloom to be a featured artist in the near future.

I picked up today at Borders the Great Big DVD and CD by Canadian folk/rockers Great Big Sea. This is a combination live audio CD and live concert DVD, with the additional bonus of interviews, features and their song videos, which most audiences south of the 49th have not seen. A more detailed review will be forthcoming when I have time to view it all.

Pamela Ward is a folk singer from the UK with a pleasant album of folk covers. The attempts to do calypso fall pretty flat for me, but the more traditional folk tunes are well done, and Ward has a fine voice.