RED TAIL RING - FALL AWAY BLUES
2016 - Earthwork Music
Prior to starting out on the musical adventure that entailed writing a review of this excellent album I read through a review I wrote of Red Tail Rings previous recording, 2013s 'The heart's swift foot' and as happens sometimes, apart from album and song titles much of the description can be carried over to this tremendous recording.
This is their fourth full length recording and to me is well on its way to being the best yet by this hugely talented duo. They have a pure and instinctive affinity with ages old musical styles that incorporate old timey, blues and even British Isles folk into a stew that is so reminiscent of rural music that can easily be imagined to have been played in times before the recording industry got underway. The duo are Michael Beauchamp, who provides vocals, guitar and banjo and Laurel Premo, who similarly supplies beautiful vocals, fiddle, banjo and on one song, gourd banjo.
Some of their publicity refers to the duo as 'Old time roots, new time sound,' a clever, snappy description but one that doesn't really give them the credit their music deserves. Certainly there is a 21st century modernity to their music, much of that due to the recording techniques, but two important points should be added. I've listened to a tremendous amount of traditional and 'old timey' music but many of this couples own original songs are written with an old time sensibility, certainly with a nod to the modern world, but they blend so beautifully with the old songs they play that there is a natural fluency that few if any can match. Add to this the fact that most artists playing in a similar generic field work hard, usually with a distinct lack of success, to attain that spooky eeriness so prevalent in the old recordings, whereas this couple just seem to have that haunting otherworldliness as a natural element in everything they do. Before anyone writes in telling me that much of that otherworldliness is down to the passing of time to which those old recordings have been subjected, I know that is the case but the very best from those days would have sounded as haunting in their heyday as they do with the passing of the decades. Just listen to artists such as the Carter Family, Dock Boggs, Son House and Charlie Patton, to name just a few. Much of what made those artists so great back then was their often primeval otherworldliness that has transferred beautifully down the ages, something that can be copied at a pinch but never naturally. Red Tail Ring has these elements completely naturally.
Red Tail Ring certainly don't fear experimentation with their sometimes unusual blend of instruments and arrangements but what that does is enhance not only their originality but also to a degree brings a little modernity to ages old music and their own original songs that blend beautifully with the old. An update certainly; but one that has flowed down from the old music in such a natural way that it is almost indistinguishable from the original sounds. Perhaps a subtle change rather than a modernization? Whatever the subtleties, this is an incredible recording of slow moving, sparse but powerful folk music that thanks to the atmosphere they create could just as easily have been created decades or even centuries ago as now, such is the timeless quality they bring to their music
So to the songs! The album opens with Laurel Premo's title track Fall away blues with a lovely fiddle and gently strummed guitar summoning Laurel's beautiful folksy vocal, occasionally accompanied by Michaels harmonies, with the blend of fiddle and guitar providing a lovely light background on a beautiful gentle tale that reflects on the fact that it is always possible to find alternatives. Wondrous love/Lay aside your crown is a gorgeous 'old timey' sacred harp song to which Laurel has added lyrics and completely written the second part. It is propelled by the banjo with a suppressed guitar sound in the background and Michaels harmonies on the chorus. This is a tremendous version of old music that could easily be lost were it not for artists such as these and such is their grasp of the nuances of the song it could as easily have been recorded in 1926 as 2016. There is a lovely atmospheric banjo allied to the acoustic guitar on Come all ye fair & tender ladies, with Laurel on lead vocal on this traditional English folk song. Fairly obviously it would not originally have included banjo and guitar, despite which the couple still manage to recapture the depth of feeling the song requires and create a modern day version of that ages old atmosphere. Shale town is the epitome of modern protest with its kick against 'fracking.' The song gets underway with banjo and acoustic guitar and Laurel on lead vocal with Michael on harmonies, the two combining to bring a little modernity of tone whilst the arrangement pulls the song gently into the past creating an atmosphere that is quite literally 'timeless.' There is a gentle guitar intro leading into Michaels lead vocal on A Ghost, a song that he wrote. It is a haunting (and haunted!) tale that moves slowly but has a natural and deep eerie atmosphere with the banjo working away in the background and Laurel adding her harmonies. Finally, the banjo and fiddle provide the eerie backdrop to Laurels lead vocal on I'd rather be the devil, a tale that was always strange and deeply atmospheric when performed by Skip James but with some additional lyrics from Laurel nothing is done to diminish the otherworldly power.
I could go on (and am almost tempted to do so, but don't panic, I won't!) Ultimately, in every sense of the word, this is a 'great' album, but one that sadly will not trouble the mainstream charts too much because it has to be listened to rather than used as 'background.' It is one of the most 'riveting' recordings I've heard for a long time and yet it has a simplicity that is difficult to grasp and a deep and otherworldly atmosphere that many will find it uncomfortable to lose themselves in. This is music for 'real' music fans. Wouldn't it be nice if that was the majority rather than a hard line minority of which I'm most definitely one. A tremendous recording by a hugely talented duo.
http://redtailring.com/
Prior to starting out on the musical adventure that entailed writing a review of this excellent album I read through a review I wrote of Red Tail Rings previous recording, 2013s 'The heart's swift foot' and as happens sometimes, apart from album and song titles much of the description can be carried over to this tremendous recording.
This is their fourth full length recording and to me is well on its way to being the best yet by this hugely talented duo. They have a pure and instinctive affinity with ages old musical styles that incorporate old timey, blues and even British Isles folk into a stew that is so reminiscent of rural music that can easily be imagined to have been played in times before the recording industry got underway. The duo are Michael Beauchamp, who provides vocals, guitar and banjo and Laurel Premo, who similarly supplies beautiful vocals, fiddle, banjo and on one song, gourd banjo.
Some of their publicity refers to the duo as 'Old time roots, new time sound,' a clever, snappy description but one that doesn't really give them the credit their music deserves. Certainly there is a 21st century modernity to their music, much of that due to the recording techniques, but two important points should be added. I've listened to a tremendous amount of traditional and 'old timey' music but many of this couples own original songs are written with an old time sensibility, certainly with a nod to the modern world, but they blend so beautifully with the old songs they play that there is a natural fluency that few if any can match. Add to this the fact that most artists playing in a similar generic field work hard, usually with a distinct lack of success, to attain that spooky eeriness so prevalent in the old recordings, whereas this couple just seem to have that haunting otherworldliness as a natural element in everything they do. Before anyone writes in telling me that much of that otherworldliness is down to the passing of time to which those old recordings have been subjected, I know that is the case but the very best from those days would have sounded as haunting in their heyday as they do with the passing of the decades. Just listen to artists such as the Carter Family, Dock Boggs, Son House and Charlie Patton, to name just a few. Much of what made those artists so great back then was their often primeval otherworldliness that has transferred beautifully down the ages, something that can be copied at a pinch but never naturally. Red Tail Ring has these elements completely naturally.
Red Tail Ring certainly don't fear experimentation with their sometimes unusual blend of instruments and arrangements but what that does is enhance not only their originality but also to a degree brings a little modernity to ages old music and their own original songs that blend beautifully with the old. An update certainly; but one that has flowed down from the old music in such a natural way that it is almost indistinguishable from the original sounds. Perhaps a subtle change rather than a modernization? Whatever the subtleties, this is an incredible recording of slow moving, sparse but powerful folk music that thanks to the atmosphere they create could just as easily have been created decades or even centuries ago as now, such is the timeless quality they bring to their music
So to the songs! The album opens with Laurel Premo's title track Fall away blues with a lovely fiddle and gently strummed guitar summoning Laurel's beautiful folksy vocal, occasionally accompanied by Michaels harmonies, with the blend of fiddle and guitar providing a lovely light background on a beautiful gentle tale that reflects on the fact that it is always possible to find alternatives. Wondrous love/Lay aside your crown is a gorgeous 'old timey' sacred harp song to which Laurel has added lyrics and completely written the second part. It is propelled by the banjo with a suppressed guitar sound in the background and Michaels harmonies on the chorus. This is a tremendous version of old music that could easily be lost were it not for artists such as these and such is their grasp of the nuances of the song it could as easily have been recorded in 1926 as 2016. There is a lovely atmospheric banjo allied to the acoustic guitar on Come all ye fair & tender ladies, with Laurel on lead vocal on this traditional English folk song. Fairly obviously it would not originally have included banjo and guitar, despite which the couple still manage to recapture the depth of feeling the song requires and create a modern day version of that ages old atmosphere. Shale town is the epitome of modern protest with its kick against 'fracking.' The song gets underway with banjo and acoustic guitar and Laurel on lead vocal with Michael on harmonies, the two combining to bring a little modernity of tone whilst the arrangement pulls the song gently into the past creating an atmosphere that is quite literally 'timeless.' There is a gentle guitar intro leading into Michaels lead vocal on A Ghost, a song that he wrote. It is a haunting (and haunted!) tale that moves slowly but has a natural and deep eerie atmosphere with the banjo working away in the background and Laurel adding her harmonies. Finally, the banjo and fiddle provide the eerie backdrop to Laurels lead vocal on I'd rather be the devil, a tale that was always strange and deeply atmospheric when performed by Skip James but with some additional lyrics from Laurel nothing is done to diminish the otherworldly power.
I could go on (and am almost tempted to do so, but don't panic, I won't!) Ultimately, in every sense of the word, this is a 'great' album, but one that sadly will not trouble the mainstream charts too much because it has to be listened to rather than used as 'background.' It is one of the most 'riveting' recordings I've heard for a long time and yet it has a simplicity that is difficult to grasp and a deep and otherworldly atmosphere that many will find it uncomfortable to lose themselves in. This is music for 'real' music fans. Wouldn't it be nice if that was the majority rather than a hard line minority of which I'm most definitely one. A tremendous recording by a hugely talented duo.
http://redtailring.com/