Ol’ Savannah – They lie in wait
2022 - Anticapital Records
Ol’ Savannah have been described as a ‘Montreal folk group,’ but if you’re expecting gentle pastoral folk music when listening to any of their albums (or probably, live) you are in for a rude awakening! There is certainly folk music in their makeup, but also deep, sinister blues as well as old as the hills eerie rural ‘hillbilly’ and even snatches of relatively modern-day country music, all wrapped up in some of the most raw, evocative vocals to be found in modern day roots music, whether the pipes being used are Speedy Johnson’s or Bartleby J. Budde’s.
Speedy and Bartleby first started writing songs together back in 2009, with their first self-titled album ‘Ol’ Savannah’ being released in 2011. Since then, there have been three more studio albums, a live album and two e.ps culminating in this tremendous new full-length release. Included are seventeen songs clocking in at nearly an hour of high quality as well as quantity! Alongside Speedy on vocals, guitar and harmonica and Bartleby on banjo and vocals, are Kevin Labchuk on accordion and vocals and Ram Krishnan on bass and vocals.
There is tremendous diversity on this album, with songs from various sources including eight of their own originals by Speedy Johnson and Bartleby J Budde and a couple of co-writes. There are also songs by Warren Zevon, Olla Belle Reed, Traditional, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, R.L. Burnside, Tom Waits, and others, all played in the bands own inimitable, highly original style, with performances that are raw, yet uplifting, strange and to my ears, compellingly wonderful! It has been said that Speedy’s vocals make Tom Waits sound like a choirboy. A bit of a cheap laugh, but the fact is that the two do have a lot in common apart from the raw gravel in their pipes and despite the band having a much more rural sound than Waits. A considerable distance apart stylistically but both are imbued with an ability to get every last drop of emotion out of everything they sing, as well as a huge originality in all their endeavours. These traits alone would make Ol’ Savannah worthy of listening to, but Bart is equal to Speedy in terms of song writing and developing the band’s completely natural style, and when it comes to vocals, he is very nearly a match for Speedy in the rawness stakes!
Thematically there are old songs of protest as well as new, there’s old rural blues, old time songs made ‘famous’ in the 1920s ‘hillbilly’ era and plenty of the already mentioned covers, all adapted to Ol’ Savannah’s highly original style and in many cases, at least to my ears, sounding better than the originals! The classic, traditional Cluck ol’ hen is driven by banjo, accordion, bass, and drums, with Speedy’s raw eerie voice on an ‘oldie’ that is as authentic in sound and mood as the original 1923 recording by Fiddlin’ John Carson, perhaps even more unnerving! The Speedy Johnson penned Old Betsy’s got a tail is a banjo, Irish bouzouki and percussion driven ‘tribute’ to former U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, a member of the Trump administration. It is given more power by Speedy’s raw vocals and the backup harmonies from Ottawa vocal students Neeve Crichton, Meghan Findlay, and Addy Hartell, who are joined by Hugo Maury from Gatineau and Lucas Chavel from Montreal. Approaching the albums halfway mark and suddenly after a lot of darkly sinister ‘old timey’ sounds we reach a pure ‘country’ song in Lost Highway, first recorded by Hank Williams, in whose hands it already had a haunting and haunted edge. Here it is doubly so with Speedy’s raw vocals and the clarinet accompanying the steel guitar increasing the otherworldly ghostliness. The albums final song Which side are you on has a banjo backing on another slow moody, powerful protest song and features backup harmonies from the three Ottawa vocal students again, giving it a vitual gospel edge. A haunting cello along with the banjo heighten the otherworldliness of this powerful song.
As suggested above there are a number of roots genre’s (and probably sub genres) comprising the makeup of this album but don’t worry. In many hands there would be a disjointedness to the album but Ol’ Savannah has a completely unique style and are genuinely their own earthy, unpretentious genre that holds everything together and flows beautifully. This is certainly not ‘easy listening Nashville style’ country music but it is definitely an easy album to lose yourself in. It is not background music but given the concentration it warrants; listeners will reap the huge rewards that this unique band deserve to be credited for.
http://www.olsavannah.com/
Ol’ Savannah have been described as a ‘Montreal folk group,’ but if you’re expecting gentle pastoral folk music when listening to any of their albums (or probably, live) you are in for a rude awakening! There is certainly folk music in their makeup, but also deep, sinister blues as well as old as the hills eerie rural ‘hillbilly’ and even snatches of relatively modern-day country music, all wrapped up in some of the most raw, evocative vocals to be found in modern day roots music, whether the pipes being used are Speedy Johnson’s or Bartleby J. Budde’s.
Speedy and Bartleby first started writing songs together back in 2009, with their first self-titled album ‘Ol’ Savannah’ being released in 2011. Since then, there have been three more studio albums, a live album and two e.ps culminating in this tremendous new full-length release. Included are seventeen songs clocking in at nearly an hour of high quality as well as quantity! Alongside Speedy on vocals, guitar and harmonica and Bartleby on banjo and vocals, are Kevin Labchuk on accordion and vocals and Ram Krishnan on bass and vocals.
There is tremendous diversity on this album, with songs from various sources including eight of their own originals by Speedy Johnson and Bartleby J Budde and a couple of co-writes. There are also songs by Warren Zevon, Olla Belle Reed, Traditional, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, R.L. Burnside, Tom Waits, and others, all played in the bands own inimitable, highly original style, with performances that are raw, yet uplifting, strange and to my ears, compellingly wonderful! It has been said that Speedy’s vocals make Tom Waits sound like a choirboy. A bit of a cheap laugh, but the fact is that the two do have a lot in common apart from the raw gravel in their pipes and despite the band having a much more rural sound than Waits. A considerable distance apart stylistically but both are imbued with an ability to get every last drop of emotion out of everything they sing, as well as a huge originality in all their endeavours. These traits alone would make Ol’ Savannah worthy of listening to, but Bart is equal to Speedy in terms of song writing and developing the band’s completely natural style, and when it comes to vocals, he is very nearly a match for Speedy in the rawness stakes!
Thematically there are old songs of protest as well as new, there’s old rural blues, old time songs made ‘famous’ in the 1920s ‘hillbilly’ era and plenty of the already mentioned covers, all adapted to Ol’ Savannah’s highly original style and in many cases, at least to my ears, sounding better than the originals! The classic, traditional Cluck ol’ hen is driven by banjo, accordion, bass, and drums, with Speedy’s raw eerie voice on an ‘oldie’ that is as authentic in sound and mood as the original 1923 recording by Fiddlin’ John Carson, perhaps even more unnerving! The Speedy Johnson penned Old Betsy’s got a tail is a banjo, Irish bouzouki and percussion driven ‘tribute’ to former U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, a member of the Trump administration. It is given more power by Speedy’s raw vocals and the backup harmonies from Ottawa vocal students Neeve Crichton, Meghan Findlay, and Addy Hartell, who are joined by Hugo Maury from Gatineau and Lucas Chavel from Montreal. Approaching the albums halfway mark and suddenly after a lot of darkly sinister ‘old timey’ sounds we reach a pure ‘country’ song in Lost Highway, first recorded by Hank Williams, in whose hands it already had a haunting and haunted edge. Here it is doubly so with Speedy’s raw vocals and the clarinet accompanying the steel guitar increasing the otherworldly ghostliness. The albums final song Which side are you on has a banjo backing on another slow moody, powerful protest song and features backup harmonies from the three Ottawa vocal students again, giving it a vitual gospel edge. A haunting cello along with the banjo heighten the otherworldliness of this powerful song.
As suggested above there are a number of roots genre’s (and probably sub genres) comprising the makeup of this album but don’t worry. In many hands there would be a disjointedness to the album but Ol’ Savannah has a completely unique style and are genuinely their own earthy, unpretentious genre that holds everything together and flows beautifully. This is certainly not ‘easy listening Nashville style’ country music but it is definitely an easy album to lose yourself in. It is not background music but given the concentration it warrants; listeners will reap the huge rewards that this unique band deserve to be credited for.
http://www.olsavannah.com/