Here are just a few of the dozens of reviews that are in every issue of Dirty Linen.

Kate & Anna McGarrigle
Matapedia
Hannibal/Rykodisc HNCD 1394 (1996)

While the world of rock and roll continues to wallow in a state of perpetual male puberty, a large number of popular music's women are now into what many like to refer to as "middle age." Artists such as Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Bonnie Raitt, and Patti Smith, who were cutting their teeth in the late 60s and early 70s are now in their 50s, and are all making some of the most emotionally mature and musically astute albums of their careers. Kate and Anna McGarrigle are no exceptions, and their latest release, Matapedia, is a masterwork of dark, brooding imagery. Aside from the duo's French Album (1981), this recording is also their most keenly Canadian. Opening with the CD's title track, the sisters sing in a rhythm and cadence that echoes the currents of the great Matapedia River which flows through eastern Québec. This song, like so many of their others, contains vague references to personal histories but veiled in nearly metaphysical metaphors. Anna McGarrigle offers up a rose tinted view of old folk imagery in "Goin' Back to Harlan," peopled by the spirits of Willie More, Barbara Allen and Fair Ellen, while calling out for another round of "Shady Grove," "The Bells of Rhymney" and "The Hangman's Reel."

Elsewhere is a suite of songs that both embrace and challenge the inevitability of death. "Why Must We Die" is an almost Dylan Thomas-like defiance of life's ending and "Song for Gaby" is a deeply personal resignation to it. Most of the album has an air of melancholy remembrance, coupled with a sense of longing and yearning that might make it difficult for the casual listener to get into. There are no radio ready songs like "Heartbeats Accelerating" or "Heart Like a Wheel," but with repeated listenings you will discover such gems as "Hang Out Your Heart" with Pat Donaldson's almost Richard Thompsonesque guitar lines or the lovely French sung "Arbe." Surely one of the album's highlights is Kate McGarrigle's story/song "Jacques et Gilles," which traces the lives of turn of century, migrant Québecois mill workers in the sweatshops of Lawrence or Nashua, New Hampshire. Ingeniously using the rhyme scheme of "Jack and Jill went up the hill" she tells the tale of Jacques and Gilles' struggles with this hard life, while still taking comfort in the fact that, unlike the Irish emigrants, they can return home when the work ends. Maturity tempered with two still very adventuresome hearts is the best way to describe the music of Kate and Anna McGarrigle and this combination makes for one of the more enjoyable and thought provoking albums to be released this year. - Lahri Bond (Easthampton, MA)

Those Darn Accordions
No Strings Attached
Globe GLO017 (1996)

Those Darn Accordions! (TDA!) is an octet from San Francisco devoted to making the world safe for accordion fanciers. As one of their T-shirts proclaims: "Accordions don't play Lady of Spain, People do." Six of the eight members of TDA! play the accordion (in public), and a bassist and drummer fill out the band. According to this formula, the bass and drums lay down the groove and the accordions take the rest, sometimes screaming like lead guitars and sometimes providing a more subtle backing.

The majority of the 14 tracks on "No Strings Attached" are TDA! originals. These are often wry and humorous, presenting little vignettes about people like "Hamsterman" or "Citizen Contraire" and important topics such as where the Loch Ness monster came from, or whether "Them Hippies Was Right."

As is their wont, they also throw in a couple of covers. (They refer to them as accordion "enhancements" of classic songs.) This time out, they include a convincing version of The Who's "Baba O'Riley" and a curious (and probably downright sardonic) cover of Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" (with band member Clyde Forsman, 81 years old, taking the lead). There are also a couple of more traditional accordion instrumentals ("Ramune" and "Mambo Triste"), and Dick Contino provides a couple of solo accordion cameo appearances.

TDA! are clearly unabashed (and successful) evangelists for the accordion. As they sing on the track "Behind the Bellows" - "I never got nowhere/ 'Til I started pumping air." - Ivan Emke (Corner Brook, NF, Canada)

Blowzabella
The Blowzabella Wall of Sound
Osmosys OSMO CD005 (1996), reissue

Freyja
Freyja
Osmosys OSMO CD006 (1996)

This CD reissue of a recording from 10 years ago is very aptly named. Blowzabella was world beat before the name was coined. Dense layers of sounds produced by hurdy-gurdy, saxophones, melodeons, violins and bagpipes, tunes taken from both European and English sources, and mostly recorded directly to two track. This remains as impressive of a recording as when it first came out. The only bad track is the one vocal, which is very forgettable.

Freyja is a group put together by Jo Freya, a former member of Blowzabella, composed of six women from five different countries: England, France, Spain, Germany, and Hungary. The music they play is as varied as the instrumentation (hurdy-gurdy, double bass, saxophone, clarinets, guitar, violin and percussion) and mostly European in origin. The music is much less dense and frantic than what Blowzabella played, and much more accessible.

Nine of the 10 tracks are instrumentals, some traditional, some written by the band, with hurdy-gurdy, sax, and violin each acting as lead instruments. And the one vocal isn't out of place. Impressive debut and well worth searching out. - Jim Lee (Simi Valley, CA)

Carrie Newcomer
My Father's Only Son
Philo 1203 (1996)

Carrie Newcomer has been on a creative roll lately, putting out a CD of new original material each of the last three years. Her latest, My Father's Only Son, finds Newcomer veering, quite successfully, towards rock and roll, without ever straining or distorting her smooth, buttery voice. Recorded by producers Mark Williams and Robert Meitus at Don Dixon's North Carolina studio, Newcomer's powerful new material was given a big sound, made larger than life by the efforts of her marvelous touring band: Meitus, guitarist Jason Wilber, bassist Jack Helsley, drummer Jamey Reid and keyboardist David Brykalski Wierhake. The disc opens with "Crazy in Love," a soaring tune with an anthemic chorus worthy of Bruce Springsteen. "You Can Choose" is a message song you can two-step to, thanks to Wierhake's infectious accordion. Family memories resonate throughout the CD. The title song is a poignant depiction of Newcomer's childhood fishing expeditions with her father. The chambers in "The Rooms My Mother Made" may be metaphorical, but this delicate song considers the great extent to which we are molded by our parents' examples. The up-tempo "Closer to You" is a virtuoso piece of writing that expands in scope from a romantic couple to the universe in its three choruses and a bridge. The CD closes with the wry, acoustic "Amelia Almost 13," on which Newcomer explores generational ties from the vantage of a parent. With My Father's Only Son, Carrie Newcomer has fashioned a vital, full bodied tribute to family and friends that is also the best sounding recording of her career. - Michael Parrish (St. Charles, IL)

Jaojoby
Salegy!
Xenophile XENO 4040 (1996)

Tarika Sammy
Beneath Southern Skies
Shanachie 64067 (1996)

These two new releases out of Madagascar couldn't be more different. Jaojoby (pronounced "dzodzoob") Eusebe leads an eight-piece band which plays an electric version of salegy, the 6/8 dance groove which originated on folk instruments and is now popular all over the island. While it bears a resemblance to juju with its dundun-like bass and highlife with its repetitive guitar lines, it has a flavor all its own. About half the cuts on this release are salegy. The rest are a hodge podge of Malagasy and non-Malagasy styles, including watcha-watcha, rumba, and even a fun nod towards James Brown funk. The three-part vocal harmonies are tight as a drum, and the band keeps things moving along nicely. The recording was ably produced by Ian A. Anderson, though his liner notes could have used an editor's pencil.

Tarika Sammy has a totally different take on Malagasy music. [Not to be confused with Tarika, which is a completely different band from Madagascar.] This is a sweet, folky collection of songs featuring lovely female vocal harmonies and an array of traditional Malagasy instruments. The electric bass is the only thing plugged in here, and even that is made to sound like a marovana (rectangular box zither). This is a richly varied work, drawing not only on styles from the island, but also blues, jazz, and Cajun. The vocals are expressive, the instrumental arrangements colorful. The traditional instruments are used in decidedly nontraditional ways. The flutes are made to sound like birdcalls. The marovana, which has a kora-like timbre, is used in a jazzy manner. One of the most interesting instruments is the kaiambarambo, a bundle of resonant grasses, similar to a broom, which is used in a variety of ways. The sweetly naïve lyrics, translated in the liner notes by Hanta Ralaizonia Rideout, have environmental, political, and social themes. A glossary of the instruments in the notes is useful and fascinating, but there are at least two errors. The valiha is referred to as a harp when it's actually a zither. The n'lapa is called an hourglass drum, "similar to a djembe" but both of these are goblet drums. In view of the quality of the music, these minor errors can be forgiven. After a listen to these two fine releases, no one will ever say that Malagasy music all sounds alike. - Peggy J. Latkovich (Cleveland Heights, OH)

Various artists
La Iguana Sones Jarochos from Veracruz, Mexico
Corason COCD127 (1996; rec 1975 1995)

La Iguana is a compilation covering 20 years of son jarocho, the style of Mexican son prevalent in the central and southern regions of Veracruz state. The liner notes say that the style dates back to the 18th century, and "son jarocho can boast the most furious and percussive rhythms, cross rhythms, and syncopation as well as a talent for improvisation" of all the variations of Mexican son. Instrumentation usually includes a harp and acoustic guitars of various sizes like the jarana (strummed in a percussive manner) and requinto. Singing is often in the call-and-response style, and the lead vocalist, called the pregonero, performs in a semi-speaking, semi-singing manner.

One solo performer and seven ensembles are featured on La Iguana. Vocalist/jarana player Daniel Cabrera Delgado, nearly 90 years old when he made the cuts contained here, does four old sones by himself that are rarely heard in Veracruz today. The commercially popular quintet Conjunto Los Jarochos contributes five rousing tracks that deliver energetic vocals and instrumental duels between harp and requinto. The only selection by the requinto/harp trio Conjunto de Santiago Tuxtla, from an area where the bands do not use harp, is a lengthy well-paced version of "La Bamba." I especially enjoyed the bright, sparkling sounds of Ecos de Papaloapan, a quartet of two harps and two jaranas. Overall, La Iguana is an impressive set showcasing the best of a vibrant musical tradition. - Al Riess (Buffalo, NY)

Blind Lemon Jefferson
Moanin' All Over
Tradition TCD 1011 (1996)
Mississippi Fred McDowell
Steakbone Slide Guitar
Tradition TCD 1012 (1996)
Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
Blowin' the Fuses
Tradition TCD 1013 (1996)
Big Joe Williams(& Friends)
Have Mercy!
Tradition TCD 1014 (1996)
Lead Belly
In the Shadow of the Gallow Pole
Tradition TCD 1018 (1996)
Various artists
Steeped in the Blues Tradition
Tradition TCD 1016 (1996)

With their second batch of archival releases, the newly reactivated Tradition records continues to make acoustic blues classics available on CD. Blind Lemon Jefferson's finger-style blues guitar technique was the inspiration and model for many of the most distinctive blues stylists, such as Lead Belly and Lightnin' Hopkins. Moanin' All Over includes nine essential tracks from Jefferson's regrettably brief recording career, which lasted from 1925 to 1929. In addition to two versions of his signature tune Black Snake Moan, distinctive originals like "Cinch Bug Blues" and "Blind Lemon's Penitentiary Blues" showcase Jefferson's high, lonesome wail of a voice and his complex, mutant ragtime guitar technique.

The title of the Mississippi Fred McDowell reissue refers to the section of a cow femur that his uncle, from whom McDowell learned his devastating slide technique, used instead of a bottleneck. Recorded in 1969, after he had switched to electric guitar and close to the end of his life, Steakbone Slide Guitar showcases vibrant solo performances of McDowell classics like "Good Morning Little School Girl," "Get Right Church," and "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning."

Long before 'Super Sessions' became popular later in the 60s, Big Joe Williams, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee got together at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles to record Have Mercy!, an impromptu set of tunes that highlights their musicianship and on-stage camaraderie. Each gets a chance to strut his stuff, whether it is Hopkins' ringing bottleneck on "Razor Sharp Blues," McGhee's steady shuffle on "Blues for Gamblers," or Hopkins' stark, angular acoustic leads on his own "Stool Pigeon Blues."

Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee were the acoustic blues performers most successful in breaking into the predominately white folk revival circuit of the 50s and 60s, remaining a successful touring act until going their separate ways in the late 70s. Blowing the Fuses consists of six tracks recorded live in 1962 at Los Angeles' Troubadour, two studio tracks from the same year, and four pieces from a 1944 session recorded by Mo Asch that features Terry playing with Woody Guthrie, Alec Seward, and Cisco Houston. The combination of McGhee's steady rolling guitar and Terry's expressively percussive harp playing was so compelling that the two remained a performing team long after they developed a lifelong personal animosity. The live tracks show Terry and McGhee at their peak on slow blues like "Trouble in Mind" and the mellow shuffle "Walk On." Some material sounds noticeably muffled, but it is wonderful to hear Guthrie singing with Terry's vibrant accompaniment on tunes like "Red River Valley" and "Pick a Bale of Cotton."

In the Shadow of the Gallows Pole contains 13 solo tracks from the middle of Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter's recording career. Unfortunately, recording information for the material is not included. Because Ledbetter recorded most of his repertoire many times over the course of his career, this oversight diminishes the historical utility of the release, although it contains a fine sampling of Ledbetter's best work, including "De Kalb Blues," and a wonderful medley of "Looky Looky Yonder," "Black Betty," and "Yellow Women's Doorbells." The recordings sound a bit distant, but have been largely freed of pops and cracks by digital editing.

Steeped in the Blues Tradition features tracks from these and other Tradition releases by Big Bill Broonzy and Lightnin' Hopkins. Its 16 tracks would work well as an introduction for those interested in learning about the golden age of country blues. - Michael Parrish (St. Charles, IL)

Seán Ó Riada
Ó Riada's Farewell
Claddagh CC12CD (1971)
Peadar Ó Riada

Winds Gentle Whisper
Bar/None AHAON0682 (1996)

Seán Ó Riada is one of the most important people in 20th Century Irish music. His achievements as a composer - including the film score for Mise Eire that brought traditional music to public consciousness for the first time - were surpassed only by his vision as an arranger of traditional melodies. It was Ó Riada who first took ensemble playing of Irish music out of the essentially "twenty players in unison with bass and drums behind them" format of the ceili bands and added soloing, harmonies, counter melody and other ideas he found in the world of classical music. None of the ensembles who have toured the world playing Irish music - not Planxty, the Bothy Band, Altan, Dervish or De Dannan, not to mention the Chieftains, who began as a direct result of his previous group Ceoloiri Chualann - would have been possible.

All of that said, I'm not sure that people who love Irish traditional music will care much for Ó Riada's Farewell. The album consists of Irish tunes played by Seán Ó Riada on an 18th Century harpsichord. The choice of instruments stems from Ó Riada's belief that the harpsichord was the closest instrument in sound to the ancient Irish wire-strung harp. It turns out he was largely wrong; most copies of historical brass-strung harps reveal that, while their timbre is similar to the harpsichord's, the overall tone, feel and sound is much more like those of neo-Irish harps strung with nylon or gut. More importantly, the harpsichord Ó Riada plays on the album is a very noisy one, and every note is accompanied by the clunk of the instrument's machinery, a sound that detracts from the album's musicality. The airs and dances are fine ones, and Ó Riada's playing is expressive, but the album will remain more of a curiosity than a treasure for traditional music enthusiasts.

Among his other legacies to Irish music, Seán Ó Riada left a son, Peadar Ó Riada. Like his father, the younger Ó Riada is a composer and a classically and traditionally trained musician, who lets his various musics interact in his visionary original compositions. Thus the first track blends tin whistle with what sound like African thumb pianos and the voices of children playing happily in the background, to create a melody that is at once Irish and global, traditional and original. The long piece "Omós don Sulán," similarly, is constructed to incorporate a fiddle playing both traditional and original melodic lines, with both sitar and the sound of flowing water for accompaniment. Much of the album is taken up with contemplative piano pieces, one of which also features a cello. In addition, two tracks of straight traditional music, one a set of slides and the other of briskly paced reels, confirm the younger Ó Riada's commitment to the tradition.

Although the instruments used are never listed in the booklet, I believe Ó Riada must play at least whistle, organ, piano, thumb pianos, synthesizers, sitar and melodeon. Two guest fiddlers, a cellist, and Cóir Cúil Aodha (the choir that Seán Ó Riada founded and that Peadar Ó Riada has directed since his father's death in 1971) put in appearances, filling out the sound of various pieces. The result is an album that cannot be classified as traditional music or as classical music, but one that is most assuredly Irish music, and one of which Seán Ó Riada would have been mightily proud. - Steve Winick (Philadelphia, PA)