Dirty Linen #103

Sharon Katz & the Peace Train
Imbizo
Appleseed APR CD 1063 (2002)

From the first track of Imbizio, a rich mixture of guitars, horns, and percussion pours forth from the stereo's speakers. A number of voices join in, rising above the instruments to create a soundscape as multifaceted as Africa itself. Pieces like "Crazy Life" and "Sanalwami" joyously invoke the listener to leap from his or her easy chair and dance. Hopeful and jubilant, Sharon Katz celebrates a new day dawning in South Africa while never forgetting that problems persist. Imbizo combines infectious rhythms with protest lyrics to create an intoxicating blend of pop and world music with a political conscience.

In ways, Katz has more in common with 60s protest singers than contemporary performers. Peter, Paul, and Mary's albums awakened her political consciousness as a child, and she eventually studied music therapy. Even when singing about the devastating effects of war in "Peace Train," Katz retains an exuberance that evokes the innocence of an early time. "Heartland Express" celebrates the people and landscape of Africa before decrying the AIDS epidemic and ongoing warfare. "How can we watch so many people die?" she asks. "Does anybody have a heart left inside?" While the subject matter may be a bit depressing, Katz delivers her most downbeat messages with music that offers hope through its cheerful rhythms.

While one might mistake this for naïveté, it isn't: Katz has seen plenty of political turmoil in South Africa. But she has also seen her country reborn, creating itself anew after throwing off the shackles of apartheid. In this atmosphere, the song "Mandela" commemorates the political leader for his courage and accomplishments, painting him as an honest-to-God modern hero.

— Ronnie D. Lankford Jr.
(Appomattox, VA)

Southern Cree
Drum for Life
Canyon CR-6349 (2002)

Eli Secody
The Following Generation- Navajo Prayer Songs
Canyon CR-6348 (2002)

There's such a wealth of pow-wow music coming out lately that you need a scorecard to keep track of all the new drum groups forming. Two of the top Cree groups, Blackstone and Southern Cree, are seasoned pow-wow performers with faithful followings. Saskatchewan group Blackstone's new release was recorded live at the 2002 Coeur D'Alene Tribal Casino Pow-Wow. The high-pitched voices are powerful, and the drumming has a muscular energy that is sure to keep the dancers on their feet for hours. Southern Cree, from the Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana, has a tight vocal integrity, with the 12 voices soaring and swooping as one. Songs on both releases are sung in Cree with a few smatterings of English, as in Southern Cree's "NDN Gurlz." Both are strong, spirited releases.

On the opposite end of the spectrum of First Nations music is the meditative Navajo prayer song. Sung unaccompanied by a solo voice, these songs are part of the peyote ceremony of the Native American Church. Eli Secody (Zuni Edgewater and Zia Pueblo) sings with a high, delicate voice that has a soothing quality despite the tightness of his throat. The songs, all "made" by Secody, are sung in Navajo and English. Particularly touching is "Blessing Baby Girl," a duet with the very young Tay Tsosie. The Following Generation is a work of sweet, peaceful simplicity.

— Peggy Latkovich (Cleveland Heights, OH)

Lúnasa, a five-piece instrumental band, has enjoyed wide praise from learned people in high places. For example, The Irish Voice referred to it as "the hottest Irish acoustic group on the planet" (planet Earth, I would assume). The band formed in 1996, with members who had experience in outfits such as the Waterboys, the Sharon Shannon Band, Coolfin, Moving Cloud, and Capercaillie. The band's original vision was inspired by another legendary group, the Bothy Band, and the prodigious skill of Lúnasa suggests that it may well be in the same lofty category.

Lúnasa's rather noteworthy second and third albums have been available in North America. But until now, its first has been around as an import only. Originally made in 1997, this CD is clearly up to the standards of its later work. The release is a mixture of studio and concert tracks. There are 10 tracks from the first album, along with two previously unreleased tracks recorded at the Lobby Bar in Cork City. The CD opens with a march, gavotte and reel and does not let up until, a dozen tracks later, they blaze through a live version of "Jacky Molard's" and "The Hunter's Purse."

The choice of material favors the traditional, but there are also some contemporary offerings from writers such as Jerry Holland, Grey Larson, Phil Cunningham, and Frankie Gavin. Highlights include the klezmer track "Frailock," the live version of "Colonel Frazier," the stately fling and reel "Terry 'Cuz' Teahan's/Alice's Reel," and the sparkling jigs "Kerfunten/Eddie Kelly's/Give Us a Drink of Water."

Lúnasa demonstrates not only exemplary melodic skills in fiddle, flute, and uilleann pipes, but also a guitar and bass rhythm section that lifts the tunes well above the familiar. This gives the band a fresh, swingy sound, even though the material is solidly within the Irish tradition. The band offers an all-acoustic lineup, preferring to give the tunes energy through the old-fashioned practice of tight and inspired playing, as opposed to adding electricity to the instruments. The band is named after the Irish god Lugh, patron of the arts. Lugh must be well pleased by this champion music being made in his honor.
— Ivan Emke (Corner Brook, NF, Canada)

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