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This week's folk video is a little more contemporary than the last two - The Kennedys have several really great videos up at youtube, and this is one of them from Half a Million Miles - "Time Ain't Long." Enjoy

Labels: Folk Video of the Week

We've entered Lent, one of the most important periods in the annual Christian calendar. During Lent, I like to pull out my albums of hymns, and I thought I would share some of my favorites.

• Innocence Mission: Christ is My Hope. This is one of my favorite albums of hymns, and I get it out every year during Lent. This CD was recorded by the group in 2000 as a fundraiser for Food For the Poor, a US-based organization working to aid the poorest of the poor in Latin America and the Caribbean. It contains a mix of classic hymns ("O Sacred Head Surrounded", "Were You There"), folk songs ("500 Miles") and original hymns ("Christ is My Hope"). A highlight of the album is a musical setting of a Gerard Manley Hopkins poem. All of it features Karen Peris' hauntingly beautiful voice backed by stripped down accompaniment, often just an acoustic guitar or piano. This CD is only available directly from the band at http://www.theinnocencemission.com.
• Kate Campbell: Wandering Strange and For the Living of These Times: Kate Campbell is the daughter of a prominent Baptist minister, and her faith has always informed her songwriting. Kate now has two albums of primarily gospel material. Wandering Strange focuses on the traditional "Baptist-style" hymns with which she grew up. For the Living of These Days, recorded with the legendary Muscle Shoals keyboardist Spooner Oldham, takes a more contemporary and contemplative approach, including a couple traditional hymns, but also including tunes that one would not traditionally think of as gospel album material, like Woody Guthrie's "Jesus Christ" , Kris Kristoffersen's "They Killed Him" and "Would They Love Him Down in Shreveport." The highlights of this album, though, are the originals, including "Prayer of Thomas Merton", a prayer of Catholic monk Thomas Merton set to music by Campbell, "Dark Night of the Soul" and "Terrible Mercy." Both albums are highly recommended. The best place to find these albums is at Kate's website, http://www.katecampbell.com
• Iris DeMent: Lifeline - Iris DeMent's tribute to the old-time gospel music that inspired her to pursue music. In the liner notes, she discusses that sometimes when she's down, all she has to do is sit at a piano and play some of these old time tunes to get her through a rought spot, hence the name Lifeline. This is a particularly interesting revelation of the power of the music since Iris also admits her own doubts about the faith in which she grew up. Regardless, she performs these tunes as if she believes every word is true, which is enough for me. The tracks here read like the program from an old-time revival session: "Blessed Assurance", "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms", "Sweet Hour of Prayer." The highlight of this album is the original, "He Reached Down", which sounds every bit a timeless hymn as the others she covers on this CD. The best place to find this one is at her website, http://www.irisdement.com
• Iona: Journey Into the Morn, Heaven's Bright Sun - If you like your music with Celtic or progressive influences, then Iona may be the band for you. The best way I know how to describe this band is "Enya meets Yes." There are elements of Celtic music (flutes, pipes, whistles), and elements of progressive rock (long, intricate instrumental work featuring keyboards and other elements). By combining these elements with copious references to Celtic theological symbolism, this group has carved out a unique place for itself. All of their albums are top notch, and most of them are loosely based on some overarching theme: The Book of Kells is loosely based on the Book of Kells, an illustrated Bible crafted by Irish monks, while Beyond These Shores is loosely woven around the voyage of St. Brendan, known as the Navigator, who set off on a legendary sea voyage. My favorites, though are Journey Into the Morn, which is based around the lyrics to the classic Irish hymn "Be Thou My Vision" and their 2-disk live CD Heaven's Bright Sun, which displays their stunning live virtuosity. Both contain amazing versions of "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," particularly appropriate for Lent.
  

Labels: Reviews

New Adds to the Online Folk Festival, February 17, 2007

• Patty Griffin - Children Running Through
• Matthew Temple - The Journey
• Darcy Lynne Ward - What Else is New
• Mare Wakefield - Take Me Home
• Anais Mitchell - The Brightness
• David Bromberg - Try Me One More Time

Labels: New Adds, Online Folk Festival

This week's folk video is The Weavers' classic cover of "Goodnight Irene." During the performance, they pay tribute to Hudie Ledbetter (Leadbelly). Enjoy!

Labels: Folk Video of the Week

Okay, everyone else is jumping on the YouTube bandwagon. Why not the FolkBlog? So, here it is, the first of many Folk Videos of the Week. And, who better to start with than the man himself, Woody Guthrie?

This clip, of Woody, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee is one of few surviving clips of Woody Guthrie performing. Enjoy!

Labels: Folk Video of the Week

Songs from the following albums have been added to the Online Folk Festival:

• Eddi Reader - Peacetime
• Po' Girl - Home To You
• Nathan - Key Principles
  
• John Parkes - Faithlessnessless
• Switchback - Falling Water River
• Fred Gillen - Gone Gone Gone
• Various Artists - Azalea Sampler 2
• Bruce Piephoff - Sogni D'Oro
• Various Artists - The Complete Songs of Robert Tannehill, Volume 1
  
• Check E. Costa - Where the Songs Come From
• Jim Bruno - Alright Alright
• Heather Greene - Five Dollar Dress

I'm making a conscious effort to clear out the piles of CDs sitting in my office at work, some of which have been here for quite some time buried under other CDs. The John Parkes, Switchback and Songs of Robert Tannehill CDs are CDs that have been buried in my office for awhile but are now seeing the light of day.

Labels: New Adds, Online Folk Festival

I had never heard of Nathan, a folk/rock group from Winnipeg, before receiving their new release Key Principles in the mail last week. I don't know how I missed them before, but I was so impressed with this disk that I went on emusic.com and downloaded their previous CD as well, the Juno-nominated Jimson Weed.

The best way I can think of to describe Nathan is that they have echoes of the McGarrigles and Kate Jacobs. They have the same kind of female harmony front, occasionally quirky song structures and pop sensibilities as the McGarrigles, though neither singer has a voice as rich as either McGarrigle. Their songs also remind me very much of Kate Jacobs, one of my absolute favorite artists, at her best - their songs tell seemingly small stories that are deceptively simple but greater than the whole. Plus, the lead singer sounds a lot like Kate.

Here's a sample of the writing quality, from the Keri Latimer-penned song "The Wind"-

"The wind, the wind, brings me cards from Argentina
It brings scarves from finer ladies
And the scent of the gardenias
Won't sleep or rest, or sit itself beside me
If I run out, there's no one that can hide me.
And I know that I'll regret it,
But I think I'm gonna let it in."

Another standout song, "John Paul's Delivery," tells about teenagers sneaking out of the house late at night and getting drunk around "a campfire fueled by some old fence and skies like planetariums."

But there's more - Nathan is wonderfully eclectic stylistically - their songs range from breezy, bouncy pop ("Daffodils", "Scarecrow") to loping banjo-driven folk stylings of "The Wind," the accordion/banjo waltz of the title track, to western-swing ("You Win.") Their instrumentation features banjo, accordion, pedal steel, and occasionally some dixieland/western swing-style horns.

Nathan's Key Principles is the first clear candidate for the year-end Top 10 list I've yet heard from the 2007 releases I've received so far. They are a cult-favorite band waiting to happen.

It is interesting to note that there seems to be a really vibrant music scene in Winnipeg, what with The Wailin' Jennys, The Duhks, Nathan Rogers, and now Nathan as some recent acts out of Winnipeg making noise in the folk/Americana scene.

Labels: Reviews

Top 41 Tracks for Janaury 2007, as determined by the listeners of the Online Folk Festival:

Position - Artist - Track - Album

1. Davy Cowan - Moving On - Fragile People
2. Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh - Seoithin Seotho - daybreak: fainne an lae
3. Bruce Cockburn - This Is Baghdad - Life Short Call Now
4. Mary Fahl - In the Great Unknown - The Other Side of Time
5. Christine Lavin - Chicken Soup - FolkZinger
6. Tracy Grammer - Preston Miller - Flower of Avalon
7. The Be Good Tanyas - What Are They Doing in Heaven Today - Hello Love
8. Enter the Haggis - Down With the Ships - Live From Studio A Volume 10 (WCBE-FM)
9. Dervish - Boots of Spanish Leather - Spirit
10. Simon & Garfunkel - The Boxer - Old Friends Live On Stage
11. David Mallett - Somewhere in Time - Midnight on the Water (Live)
12. Clive Batkin and Joel McDermott - Dolly Got Out the Catflap/The Humours of Glanedart - G-Force Trousers
13. Ruthie Foster - Hole in My Pocket - Runaway Soul
14. Kim Harris & Reggie - Oh Mary, Don't You Weep - Get on Board! Underground Railroad & Civil Rights Freedom Songs, Vol. 2
15. Kate Rusby - Jolly Plough Boys - Hourglass
16. Amy White and Al Petteway - If I Were a Blackbird - Golden Wing
17. The Innocence Mission - What A Wonderful World - Now The Day Is Over
18. Solas - Nil Na La - Reunion: A Decade of Solas
19. Nickel Creek - Sabra Girl - This Side
20. Eddi Reader - My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose - Live at Newcastle UK 24.05.03
21. Luka Bloom - The Shape Of Love To Come - Salty Heaven
22. Junction Pool - The Big Wellie Set - Junction Pool
23. Darryl Purpose - Victory in the Struggle - Right Side of Zero
24. Danny Carthy - Just You And Me - Stand Look Around You
25. The American Wake - Greenland Whale Fisheries - Tell No Tales
26. Liz Carroll & John Doyle - Fremont Center, The "Vornado", Minutemen (reels) - In Play
27. Garnet Rogers - Small Victory - All That Is
28. Emmylou Harris - Prayer In Open D - Spyboy
29. Mason Jennings - Lemon Grove Avenue - Use Your Voice
30. The Jayhawks - Save It For A Rainy Day - Rainy Day Music
31. Fiamma Fumanda - Angiolina - Onda
32. Tiller's Folly - The Ghost of Kitty O'Reilly - A Ripple In Time
33. Smithfield Fair - Walking Through This World - Walking Through This World
34. Loreena McKennitt - Kecharitomene - An Ancient Muse
35. Kasey Chambers - Nothing At All - Carnival
36. Joni Mitchell - Chelsea Morning - Hits
37. Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Diablo Rojo - Rodrigo Y Gabriela
38. Rick Lee - The Merry Golden Tree - Look What Thoughts Will Do
39. Carrie Newcomer - Alice and Roy - Regulars and Refugees
40. The Byrds - My Back Pages - Greatest Hits
40. Cheryl Wheeler - On the Plane - Defying Gravity

Don't forget that, when you listen to the Online Folk Festival using the Live365 player, you can vote on the Top 40 by giving tracks a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

Labels: Online Folk Festival, Top 40