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▀███▄ Calliope Fair - On Board The Armenia ▄███▀
artist : Calliope Fair
title : On Board The Armenia
date : 2002
label : Root Cellar
genre : Folk
rls. date : Feb/2006
tracks : 18
bitrate : VBRkbps
size : 98,9 MB
It is occasionally an advantage to live in Athens, Ga.,
home to R.E.M., the B-52s, Widespread Panic and even Bubba
Sparkks. Athens has gained a reputation as something of a
"music town," and that means that we occasionally bring
together some interesting confluences of musical
interests.
A year or so back, I helped the local NPR affiliate put
together a show, Once in a Blue Moon, for a live statewide
feed, and had the opportunity to hear a very polished
combo of folks pursuing an exceptionally eclectic set of
world music and original tunes. And time passed ... and
one day at work, I discovered that one of the members of
this ensemble was a co-worker. We talked musical likes and
dislikes, and I told her how much I'd liked the set, and
how I hoped that one day they would get around to going
into the recording studio. The next day, she gave me On
Board the Armenia.
The last time I got this excited about a debut recording
was back in the 1970s when I stumbled across Child
Prodigy, the first LP released by Mike Cross. In fact, I'm
a little more excited by Calliope Fair, as I've never
heard a first recording so polished in both engineering
and in the musical accomplishments of the ensemble. These
six people have created a true gem in On Board the
Armenia, and I'm pleased to be able to bring it to your
collective attention.
The disc opens with "Hora de la Bolinton," a
Gypsy-flavored dance instrumental driven by the propulsive
mandolin playing of George Norman. Traditional tune
"Railroad Boy" follows, given a great read from the strong
vocals of Betsy Inglesby, counterpointed neatly by a
nicely figured dobro and fiddle exchange. It's back to the
Balkans for "Jovano Jovanke," another spirited dance
number, this time featuring the passionate violin of guest
Andrej Kurti. Next up is a truly splendid rendition of the
old Ethel Waters standard, "There'll Be Some Changes
Made," perfectly vocalized by Leah Calvert.
Songwriter and string wizard George then offers his homage
to the Incredible String Band in "Silhouette of the
Saracen," an instrumental fantasia featuring a pretty mean
chime, and the old standard "John Reilly" is given an
uptempo read that reminded me of vintage Pentangle.
George's "Sexy Latin Lover," a tango/quickstep number, is
pretty tongue-in-cheek, but full of high spirits and
almost has enough cowbell....
The Macedonian instrumental "Chuperlika" ("not to be
confused w/ Chupacabra," the liner notes warn) features a
spirited exchange between mandolin, doumbek and fiddle,
while George's "Full Moon Tango" is the first I've ever
heard of an electric mandolin channeling the spirit of
Carlos Santana. George next takes solo acoustic guitar in
hand to weave the delicate "Spider's Web," giving way to
the best version of "Flower of Maharally" I've ever heard.
Noel Beverley's voice perfectly captures the poignant mood
of the piece, narrowly trumping the previous definitive
version offered by Altan.
A troika of medieval dance tunes is framed in the "Early
Music Set," with the gem offering being a lively "Maltese
Bransle." This instrumental exchange features George's
fine mandolin and the spritely fiddles of Andy Heaton and
Leah Calvert. The Mark Valentine composition "Waltz for a
Winter Sky" marks a change of pace, as piano and pedal
steel figurings give way to a lean acoustic mandolin. The
pace picks up once more in the "Greek Klezmer Tune" as the
electric mandolin trades licks with dancing fiddle. The
Danish tango standard (!) "Jalousie" follows, with a
restless accordion helping to move the piece along.
There are many versions of the traditional ballad "Silver
Dagger" out there; this one is a more modern working of
the standard, driven by Betsy's vocals and some sterling
work on pedal steel and electric mandolin. The Greek dance
tune "Sirtos Azizes" is the penultimate number, anchored
by Noel's piano and bass work, and moved along by the
dueling fiddles of Andy and Leah. Closing the disc is "A
Response" a delicate musical casting of the words of group
member Tim Lang's great-grandmother. Tim's vocals are
evocative of Elvis Costello's more contemplative work, and
the delicate musical framework of Leah on fiddle, Noel on
piano, and Tim on guitar enhances these words from a
gentler time.
This, then, is the sum total of On Board the Armenia. It
is the first offering from a group that I hope will
continue to make more spectacular music together. All who
admire both the craft of music carefully constructed and
the pure joy of those whose passion for their work
together is not only obvious but contagious need to make
Calliope Fair a regular part of their musical day. May you
each enjoy this discovery as much as I did.
01-Hora De La Bolintin [02:52]
02-Railroad Boy [02:55]
03-Jovano Jovanke [05:11]
04-Changes [03:00]
05-Silhouette of the Saragen [03:07]
06-John Reilly [04:57]
07-The Sexy Latin Lover [02:44]
08-Chuperlika [05:31]
09-Full Moon Tango [03:49]
10-Spider's Web [02:11]
11-Flower of Maharally [04:22]
12-Early Music Set [04:24]
13-Waltz For A Winter Sky [04:37]
14-The Greek Klezmer Tune [03:47]
15-Jalousie [03:28]
16-Silver Dagger [04:37]
17-Sirtos Azizes [03:56]
18-A Response [05:57]
───────
71:25 min
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