CAHALEN MORRISON & ELI WEST –
OUR LADY OF THE TALL TREES
2012 – Self Released
4****
It’s always easy to put artists such as this talented folk duo in with what has almost become an ‘old timey’ revival, but their all acoustic music is done a disservice by such comparisons. There is much more to what they produce
than simply an evocation of the 1920s ‘hillbillies,’ with much of their music harking back to the songs that influenced the early recording artists and is very much steeped in the traditional British isles folk genre. Certainly those early recordings of many decades ago must have been a huge influence on Cahalen and Eli, but much of the language they seem to quite naturally use in their
songs is similar to what we are led to believe comes from several centuries ago, long before the invention of recording techniques. Somehow there is always that slightly sinister darkness to their music, even on songs that are not particularly dark, evoking an otherworldly atmosphere, some of which is reminiscent of some of those mysterious scratchy sounds from the early days of recording and beyond, and at times almost as if a pair of musicians from perhaps the 18th or 19th centuries have time travelled to the modern day and recorded their old songs!
In other hands this music could easily be written off as sparse pleasant folk music, containing as it does just their vocals, banjo, guitar and occasional mandolin but with this pair there is a subtlety and flair to the mellow of sound but lyrically and atmospherically powerful songs. Even in these
times of the already alluded to revival, they are pretty much unique, not only because of that incredibly authentic writing style, but also the quality of their musicianship and the fact that they seem to be so single minded in pushing the boundaries of folk music so far back in time. As a consequence of this they are actually advancing beyond their peers into territory that shows it is
possible to produce powerful songs very much rooted in the tradition without just producing cover versions of centuries old ballads. Much of the unusual atmosphere they create has as much of a seafaring feel as it does land based ballads, very much tales that evoke a wide open spaciness!
Of the twelve songs on the album eight are Morrison originals plus a stunning version of Townes Van Zandt’s Loretta, Norman Blake’s excellent Church Street Blues, a Gary Harrison instrumental and the traditional The Poor Cowboy, with Eli on lead vocals. Included in those eight is an instrumental, Potluck Dinner/ Vicco Returns From Spain, on which they are able to put on view their instrumental prowess with Cahalen’s always excellent banjo playing and Eli equally expressive
on acoustic guitar. Morrison takes most lead vocals, with his voice having a sharp edginess and West’s having a softer feel but containing no less character, whilst their harmonies are also
excellent, often enhancing the haunting feel of much of this outstanding album. A Lady Does Not Often falter is one of the songs that has a centuries old feel as a strongly atmospheric murder ballad, but one that blends rurality with a strong seafaring slant to provide an extraordinarily poetic tale.
This constantly rewarding album is very much in the same style as it’s predecessor, ‘The Holy Coming Of The Storm’and provides confirmation that this talented duo have a quality and originality that will endure through what will hopefully be a long career.
http://cahalenandeli.com/
4****
It’s always easy to put artists such as this talented folk duo in with what has almost become an ‘old timey’ revival, but their all acoustic music is done a disservice by such comparisons. There is much more to what they produce
than simply an evocation of the 1920s ‘hillbillies,’ with much of their music harking back to the songs that influenced the early recording artists and is very much steeped in the traditional British isles folk genre. Certainly those early recordings of many decades ago must have been a huge influence on Cahalen and Eli, but much of the language they seem to quite naturally use in their
songs is similar to what we are led to believe comes from several centuries ago, long before the invention of recording techniques. Somehow there is always that slightly sinister darkness to their music, even on songs that are not particularly dark, evoking an otherworldly atmosphere, some of which is reminiscent of some of those mysterious scratchy sounds from the early days of recording and beyond, and at times almost as if a pair of musicians from perhaps the 18th or 19th centuries have time travelled to the modern day and recorded their old songs!
In other hands this music could easily be written off as sparse pleasant folk music, containing as it does just their vocals, banjo, guitar and occasional mandolin but with this pair there is a subtlety and flair to the mellow of sound but lyrically and atmospherically powerful songs. Even in these
times of the already alluded to revival, they are pretty much unique, not only because of that incredibly authentic writing style, but also the quality of their musicianship and the fact that they seem to be so single minded in pushing the boundaries of folk music so far back in time. As a consequence of this they are actually advancing beyond their peers into territory that shows it is
possible to produce powerful songs very much rooted in the tradition without just producing cover versions of centuries old ballads. Much of the unusual atmosphere they create has as much of a seafaring feel as it does land based ballads, very much tales that evoke a wide open spaciness!
Of the twelve songs on the album eight are Morrison originals plus a stunning version of Townes Van Zandt’s Loretta, Norman Blake’s excellent Church Street Blues, a Gary Harrison instrumental and the traditional The Poor Cowboy, with Eli on lead vocals. Included in those eight is an instrumental, Potluck Dinner/ Vicco Returns From Spain, on which they are able to put on view their instrumental prowess with Cahalen’s always excellent banjo playing and Eli equally expressive
on acoustic guitar. Morrison takes most lead vocals, with his voice having a sharp edginess and West’s having a softer feel but containing no less character, whilst their harmonies are also
excellent, often enhancing the haunting feel of much of this outstanding album. A Lady Does Not Often falter is one of the songs that has a centuries old feel as a strongly atmospheric murder ballad, but one that blends rurality with a strong seafaring slant to provide an extraordinarily poetic tale.
This constantly rewarding album is very much in the same style as it’s predecessor, ‘The Holy Coming Of The Storm’and provides confirmation that this talented duo have a quality and originality that will endure through what will hopefully be a long career.
http://cahalenandeli.com/