Ashley Davis - Night Travels

Ashley Davis – Night Travels
2014, Ashley Davis

Ashley Davis is both prospector and pioneer.  Born in the Kansas plains, her musical indoctrination was hued by the sounds and styles of country music, with dashes of Appalachian folk added in for spice.  As a musician she has tended to pursue both styles’ musical progenitor, Celtic music.  With a well-worn passport that’s scene Ireland and Scotland many times over, Davis has built a reputation in the Celtic music community.  Her collaboration with Moya Brennan, Eileen Ivers, The Chieftains, John Doyle and Cormac De Barra reflect the quality of both Davis’ songwriting and musicianship, as well as her willingness to wear away stylistic boundaries and explore new ground.  On May 13, 2014, Davis will release her fourth album, Night Travels, with the same adventuresome spirit that has marked her previous works.

Davis opens Night Travels with “His Bride I’ll Be”, a beautiful and intricately simple arrangement.  Ashley Davis presents with a warm and polished vocal sound that’s as deep as night and guest vocalist Sara Watkins is a pleasant contrast with her young and wilder vocal tone.  This is a gorgeous pairing, and a stunning way to start an album.  “I Follow You” has a lulling feel, pairing Davis’ gorgeous voice with a meticulously smooth arrangement.  The rolling feel of the song gives the impression of the small waves of a windless shoreline.  Davis pairs with John Doyle to interpret the classic ballad “Barbara Allen”, and together they bring the heartbreaking tale of love lost to life.  The approach her is understated yet emotive, and brings the power of the song to new levels.  “Night Travels” is very smooth with great energy, but perhaps doesn’t impress as much as you might expect from a title track.

“The Blackest Crow” is a mournful love song that explores parting and the impending heartbreak in articulate, evocative poetry.  The melody is an equally adept partner here, creating a wash of love, trepidation and sadness that you can’t avoid being swept up in.  “With You Tonight” features the violin talents of Eileen Ivers, who’s dancing violin is the perfect counterpart to Davis’ lyric vocals.  “In The Blue” is a pretty thought somewhat nondescript waltz.  Moya Brennan shares vocals with Davis on “Beside You Near” in a performance that almost sounds like mother and daughter.  Brennan’s vibrato-laden voice gives the impression of age and wisdom against the smooth careful presentation that Davis brings. 

Davis gets upbeat on “Alone With Me”, an ear-pleasing love song with great energy that’s among the best offerings on the album.  “Horses” takes on a more theatrical feel; a soliloquy on trust and love lost and the consequences that follow.  Davis closes out with “Dreams Will Come”, a sweet but somehow labored sounding closer that does little to hurt the overall impression Davis has made, but still is perhaps not the best closing thought. 

Ashley Davis mines the genres of folk, American, Country and Celtic music on Night Travels.  As with mining, every vein is different, and there is the occasional miss, but Night Travels taken as a whole is a thing of beauty.  Davis’ voice is warm and beautiful and thoroughly inviting, and the arrangements on Night Travels are full of an understated beauty.  The list of impressive guests adds to the diverse sound and styles of the album, and Davis has created a song cycle you’ll be happy to visit again and again.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more at www.daisyrings.com. 

Review: Songs Of Water - The Sea Has Spoken

Songs Of Water - The Sea Has Spoken
2010, Songs Of Water

Just two months into the year, we're ready to declare that Songs Of Water's The Sea Has Spoken is one of the most finely crafted (mostly) instrumental albums for the year. Others may come along and vie for the crown, but it's going to be tough to take it out of Songs Of Water's hands. Mixing and melding Classical, Celtic, Bluegrass and New Age styles into a coherent sound around highly original compositions, Songs Of Water has far and away surpassed their self-titled 2008 debut. It doesn't hurt having much of the Skaggs family sitting in throughout the album (son Luke is a member of Songs Of Water), but Ricky Skaggs and two other members of the Skaggs clan ad instrumental support without impinging on Songs Of Water's highly original sound. The Sea Has Spoken drops on March 26, 2010.

From the opening notes of “Everything That Rises” you'll know you're in for a different experience than on most pure instrumental albums. Hammered dulcimer, violin and guitar entertain in an energetic musical conversation that is as uplifting as the song title might imply, even amidst the note of relinquished sorrow that runs through the main theme. The musicianship here is absolutely incredible, a symphony of sounds gained by non-symphonic means. “Bread And Circus” ranges from modern to antiquity, sounding at times like the sort of chamber music that once entertained European illuminati. “Window Seat” makes use of contrapuntal rhythms and soaring passages that evoke vivid images in your mind; a sort of soundtrack to dreams you don't quite remember. Stephen Roach steps forward on vocals for “Sycamore”; a pleasantly mellow tune that's a nice change of pace but doesn't carry the same vibrancy as the instrumental work on The Sea Has Spoken.

“The Great Russian Catastrophe” is highly rhythmic with heavy Slavic influences that are quite enjoyable, but “Through The Dead Wood” takes the manic rhythms a step further as a thoroughly percussion-based composition that is nothing short of amazing. Fans of groups like Rusted Root in particular will love what Songs Of Water has going on here. Bluegrass chutes push through beneath “The Family Tree”, an amazingly lyric composition full of some of the tightest, most precise musicianship on the album. For all of that fine control, not an ounce of spirit is lost. “Luminitsa” plays like the musings of a Romani Bard, blending Spanish, Middle Eastern and Eastern European musical elements into a style that's instantly foreign yet familiar. “Luminitsa” brings an air of mystery to The Sea Has Spoken, dark and beautiful and ever so slightly out of reach. “Hwyl” carries with it a distinctly urgent feel, tearing along at breakneck speed as Songs Of Water heads into the final stretch home. “Belly Of The Whale” plays on the Biblical tale with a mystic mix of rhythm, ambience and truncated instrumentation. “The Sea Has Spoken” is a resigned if not mournful undulation that seems more a running monologue than a time-oriented pronouncement. The title track is a thing of beauty, slow in pace and measure; deriving beautiful arcs of melody, particularly from the violin. Songs Of Water closes out with the plaintive “Willow”, the second and final track featuring vocals on the album. The cyclic nature of the mandolin part and the cadence of the melody seem to speak of the eternal ebb and pull of the ocean on the earth, or the wind through the trees. The song is elemental in feel and emotional impact, winding down the album almost as day blends into night.

Songs Of Water made is very apparent with their self-titled debut that they were a band not to be taken lightly. They could easily have trod the same ground they did on Songs Of Water, but instead chose to continue wading deeper into their muse. Consequently, The Sea Has Spoken shall be spoken of in terms of brilliance. The nuances and shading in the music are unusual in anything like the popular realm; the blending of styles such as bluegrass, world and classical is uncommon if not unique. In spite of the lack of a distinct genre to hang their hats on, I wouldn’t be surprised if Songs Of Water were named in company with bands such as The Chieftains one day.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Songs Of Water at http://www.songsofwater.com/ or www.myspace.com/songsofwater. Songs Of Water will celebrate the release of The Sea Has Spoken on March 26, 2010 at the Visulite Theater in Charlotte, NC. Keep checking the band's website for availability.

Review: The Chieftains, featuring Ry Cooder - San Patricio

The Chieftains, featuring Ry Cooder - San Patricio
2010, Hear Music/Concord Music Group

The mix of Irish and Mexican musical styles might seem a bit odd at first, but six-time Grammy winners The Chieftains will make you believers with their latest album, San Patricio (St. Patrick). With six-time Grammy winner Ry Cooder sitting and co-producing with Paddy Maloney, and guest appearances from the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Liam Neeson, Los Tigres del Norte, Chavela Vargas, Van Dyke Parks and Lila Downs, San Patricio may be the most vibrant and groundbreaking world music album to come along in some time. San Patricio tells the story of Irish immigrant conscripts in the US who deserted the US Army to fight on the side of the Mexican Army in the Mexican-American War in 1846. Villains in US history, the San Patricio battalion were heroes in Mexico, and their stories are brought to life on San Patricio.

San Patricio opens with the ebullient "La Iguana", guaranteed to have you dancing before its through. An introduction to Mexican culture for the Irish soldiers, "La Iguana" slowly infuses Celtic influence, culminating in the soldiers bringing in their own distinctive style of dance. "La Golondrina" (The Swallow) mimics the flitting flight style of its namesake with Irish instrumentation that begins to take on some of the Mexican flavor. The first two songs show the beginning of an understanding between the two musical cultures; an analogical basis for kinship between different cultures. Linda Ronstadt adds her lush voice to "A La Orilla de un Palmar" in one of the more moving pieces on San Patricio. Los Cenzontles sit in for "El Chivo", a high energy romp with the heart of a reel.

Ry Cooder's "The Sands Of Mexico" may be the centerpiece of the album. Cooder tells the story of the San Patricio battalion and why they chose to fight on the Mexican side. It's a gorgeous story song with both Irish and Mexican influences performed primarily by Cooder with The Chieftains providing color and background throughout. The Chieftains offer up a dark sea chantey on "Sailing To Mexico", one of the more quietly theatrical moments of the experience. Los Camperos de Valles join Chieftains on "El Caballo" (The Horse) in an inspired performance where the very rhythms of the song seem to suggest a horse at canter. The aural imagery here will take you surpise.

Liam Neeson delivers the prose of novelist Brendan Graham on "March To Battle (Across the Rio Grande)" The martial air delivered in Celtic instrumentation is a tragedy; men forced to serve against their will choose to fight on the side they see as just and are shot or hanged for their troubles. The ghosts of those soldiers still persist in the justness of their action in this chilling song. On "Lullaby For The Dead", the Chieftains deliver a pipe-driven funeral air with Moya Brennan on vocal. Half mourning and half full of hope, the song is a beautiful reverie on the wish of those left behind to see their loved ones again. Ranchero legend Chavela Vargas offers up a dreamy, expectant vocal on "Luz de Luna", showing more spunk and heart at 92 years old than many artists half his age.

"Persecucion de Villa" takes on a Mariachi sound that sounds like theme music from a movie. Mariachi Santa Fe De Jesus (Chuy) Guzman lend their voices and instruments to the story of Pancho Villa. The musical offering is par excellence. "Cancion Mixteca" sounds like a complete marriage between Mexican and Irish styles. The song itself is more in the Mexican style, but the instrumentation has completely melded into something that's no longer entirely recognizable as a blend of two disparate musical styles. The introduction is a two-and-a-half minute Spanish guitar instrumental that's worth the price of admission on its own. "El Relampago" takes on a life of its own with Lila Downs on vocal. It's a dance-inspiring tune of joy based on the music (unfortunately this reviewer doesn't speak Spanish). "Finale" reflects a melding of the two cultures which stand half a world apart, with Mexican and Irish styles melding into a song that is distinctly reflective each yet unique in its own fashion.

San Patricio might be the most ambitious effort of The Chieftains' long, decorated career. It might also end up as their biggest success. The story of the San Patricio battalion is a compelling one, and the Chieftains, Ry Cooder and their bevy of guests infuse the story with all of the life, laughter and sorrow that undoubtedly drove the passions of those involved. San Patricio is a classic; a Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Disc.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about The Chieftains at http://www.thechieftains.com/ or www.myspace.com/thechieftains. You can purchase San Patricio from Amazon.com as a CD, a Download or as a deluxe CD/DVD bundle.