Peacetime (2006)



One of the great challenges facing folk musicians is striking the right balance between tradition and freshness--too much convention evokes "been-there-done-that," but an over-spicing with contemporary mixes reduces shelf life. Two new releases suggest that it's probably better to err on the side of tried-and-true.
Eddi Reader could sing actuarial tables and make them beautiful, but that doesn't mean they'd sound interesting. This is an album that soars when she tackles public domain material such as "Mary and the Soldier" and "The Calton Weaver," but merely flutters on new songs such as the overwrought "Galileo" or the tunefully challenged "The Afton." There is a marked difference between the spirited instrumentation one hears from sidemen such as John McCusker, Ian Carr, and Ewen Vernall on songs Such as "Baron's Heir," and the innocuous styling that backs a song such as "Safe as Houses," on which Reader's glorious voice is reduced to pop chart formula. One longs for more arrangements such as that of "Ye Banks and Braes o' Bonnie Doon," with which Reader manages to take a standard and hop the tempo with percussion from Roy Dobbs and spirited assistance from McCusker's fiddle, Alan Kelly's accordion, and Boo Hewerdine's guitar. The one modern departure that redeems all problems, however, is Reader's take on Hewerdine's "Muddy Water." My goodness, what a song! More of this and less pop slop, please.
Burach's Unstoppable is, if anything, even more schizophrenic than Reader's release and I'd not at all be surprised if a lot of listeners just skip the vocal tracks in favor of the instrumentals. The latter are, in a word, fantastic. Accordionist Sandy Brechin has a well-deserved reputation as the Jimi Hendrix of the squeezebox; his work on sets such as "Abby's Jig" and "Through the Night" borders on assault! Equally vibrant is fiddler Gavin Marwick, guitarist David Taylor and bass player Chris Agnew, who combine to lay down solid grooves upon which Alan Brown's drums pulse dynamically. As folk rock, however, the instrumentation has a resplendent quality that's lacking in the vocals. There's no faulting the ability of Taylor or Agnew as singers, but their arena rock tones sound stagey and forced rather than passionate and sincere. My guess is that none of the songs on this album will last long in the rotation other than the marvelous "Man Divided," which emotes with notes that ring true.
-- Rob Weir


Tracks:

01. Baron's Heir and Sadenia's Air
02. Muddy Water
03. Mary and the Soldier
04. Aye Waukin-O
05. Prisons
06. The Shepherd's Song
07. Ye Banks and Braes O' Bonnie Doon
08. Should I Pray?
09. The Afton
10. Leezie Lindsay
11. Safe As Houses
12. Galileo (Someone Like You)
13. Peacetime

@ 256 CBR




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