Review: Maidens IV - Celtic Fire

Maidens IV - Celtic Fire
2010, Maidens IV

Sisters Havilah, Heather, Abigail and Tabitha Justice have been bringing their brand of musical mirth to audiences since 2006, when Maidens IV was born. The idea actually started in2 003, when Havilah and Heather formed Maidens II and began performing at Renaissance Festivals, Celtic Fairs and the like. As each successive sister has joined the band so has grown the numeric, the sound and the legend of this young quartet. Hailing from Loudonville, Ohio, The Justice girls grew up in a family of nine home-schooled children where music was considered to be a normal part of a well-rounded education. Lessons inspired passion, and today Maidens IV is perhaps one of the fieriest Celtic bands on the go. Their latest album, Celtic Fire, displays the pure joy, aggressive melodicism and complex interplay that set Maidens IV apart from the pack.

Celtic Fire opens with Waves of The Wind, a lively, rhythmic instrumental. Maidens IV show an aggressive playing style that bears out over the rest of album, going for the throat of the song early and wringing every bit of life out of it they can. The arrangement is highly intricate and interwoven in a fashion that perhaps only sisters could achieve. Heart Of The Brave adds the Justice sisters angelic vocals to their aggressive style of play and wraps it in deep Celtic influences. Lead vocalist Heather Justice is absolutely amazing here. Dark Dancing Waves Medley is a vicious/delicious mix that bowls the listener over and dances away before you even know what hit you. You'll be hitting repeat just to make sure the musical train was for real and not imagined.

Hallelujah underlines Maidens IV's deep musical roots in faith, although the spelling out of the title is quaint to the point of cliché. The melody here is gorgeous, and the swarming, darting voices of Maidens IV are like a balm for the soul (or at the very least, the ears). Gypsy Firelight Tune features the Maidens' aggressive and powerful Celtic instrumental work. I suggest you simply hang on and enjoy the ride. Rocky Top is next; a song first recorded by The Osborne Brothers and popularized by Lynn Anderson. Rocky Top has become a Country classic. The Maidens lend their voices to the song's history with an almost Baroque Country arrangement. The harmonies are exquisite; the arrangement is enough like the original to feel comfortable and different enough to shed a shaft of new light on an old favorite.

Friesen Winds shows a softer side to the Maidens. The instrumental piece is more legato than their usual cutthroat instrumental style. The instrumentation is still heavily layered and enmeshed, but speaks of a gentler musical feel that is a nice change of pace. Hymn Medley is a musical Wow moment. It doesn't matter whether the subject matter of the songs is your cup of tea or not. You will be absolutely in awe of the Maidens' voices here. Maidens Medley is another feisty instrumental that leads into an a Cappella version of Irish Blessing that sounds like an old English Madrigal. The arrangement here is gorgeous. Fiddlers Drums takes us on another instrumental jaunt, staying with the gentler feel of the second half of the album and leads into The Prayer, an ethereal and pretty experience. Maidens IV close out with a Cappella version of the Star Spangled Banner that sounds better than 99% of the performances you'll hear at major sporting events.

Maidens IV have established themselves as a solid regional act in their home state of Ohio, playing churches, Celtic fairs and other period events. Their costumes on stage speak of another era, and their music will transport you to a time and place that's outside of your day-to-day experiences. Celtic Fire is brilliant in its audacity, songwriting, musicianship, as well as in the connections shared and forged by Maidens IV therein. A generation or so ago Maidens IV would be featured on national television through outlets such as Ed Sullivan and Lawrence Walk. They have that sort of broad appeal, but a modern sense of fire that helps them transcend the "easy listening" veil and be relevant for today. Celtic Fire is a Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Disc, and Maidens IV are the sort of band you resolve to see live at least once in your life if you get the opportunity. Just do it.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Maidens IV at http://www.maidensmusic.com/. You can purchase Celtic Fire as either a CD or Download from CDBaby.com.

Review: Dallas Doctor - Manhattan

Dallas Doctor - Manhattan
2009, Dangerous Recordings

With the release of Manhattan on January 1, 2010, you might just be able to say that now Dallas Doctor has done pretty much everything. Doctor stated out in the music business as the lead singer of The Sounds Of Freedom, garnering an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show before he was even out of his teens. What followed were gigs with The Family Waye (Dick Clark Concerts) and was a founding member and songwriter of Johnny & The Leisure Suits. Doctor went on to design and build studios across the South and Southwestern US, serving as a session musician or engineer for acts such as Three Dog Night, The Beach Boys and Hall & Oates. His talents as a writer can be heard in jingles on radio stations across the country, and he has also served as the VP of A&R for Centennial Records (nee Dangerous Records).

Manhattan opens with the mooning SongWriter, a hopeful song about someday being in the same company as someone like Paul McCartney. The song is a bit hokey but honest and heartfelt. Scandalous has a similar campy feel but features harmonies worthy of a Bee Gees tribute band. Manhattan is a tribute to all of the little things that make life in New York City what it is. Manhattan sounds like it might have come from an Off-Broadway cabaret show with pretentions to big-band Jazz. Where In The World is a great tune, with the narrator planning to travel the world to find the girl of his dreams. The song has a 70's Rock feel, complete with engaging harmonies and some serious guitar fills. Eat To Live addresses to irony of working to live and having no time or energy to live and enjoy life. The piano-driven rock ballad is brilliant in both message and its humorous accents. The talk/sing verse adds to a novelty sensibility, but there is real melody and composition here and it would be a mistake to write the song off as a novelty tune.

Little Lies addresses the use of imperfections of truth to make life easier both as individuals and social collectives, as well as how those same prevarications can be used to hold people back. The song is not a moral judgment, but rather an acknowledgment of their prevalence and seeming necessity at times. Now She Knows is a song about infidelity. I don't know that as a listener we're ever exactly clear on what "she knows", and the song is more of a relation of events than a story. In the end, Now She Knows rings a bit hollow, but sonically it's very enjoyable. The best song on Manhattan is I Like You, a "like" song, if you will. Pop music focuses on love as the be-all and end-all of ballads, but there's a lot of room for songs that cover the space in-between interest and love. The song is a bit campy, true, but it's brilliantly written, with the same sort of Pop sensibility you might find in one of McCartney's silly little love songs. Doctor says goodnight with Still The Same, a 1960's flavored rock song about the joys of youth and how they've yet to escape him. Sonically this song would seem to define the sunny sound that is Dallas Doctor's trademark, and the melody will be kicking around your brains anteroom for days.

Dallas Doctor and I got off on the wrong foot with Manhattan. I admit I was a little put off by the kitschy feel at first; perhaps I've become a bit cynical with all of the modern Rock and Pop I end up listening to, but Dallas Doctor's music recalls a simpler time when Rock N Roll was fun and life's problems didn't seem quite so complicated. Doctor won me over, and he'll win you over too. Even the most cynically petrified listeners will be thawed by Doctor's feel good Rock N Roll. The Beatles-esque melodies Doctor writes practically sing themselves, and the campy feel ends up adding to the fun. It's clear that Dallas Doctor had fun writing and playing these songs. You'll have as much fun listening.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Dallas Doctor at http://www.dallasdoctor.com/ or www.myspace.com/dallasdoctor. You can purchase Manhattan as either a CD or Download from CDBaby.com.

Review: Paul McCartney - Good Evening New York City

Paul McCartney - Good Evening New York City
2009, Hear Music/Concord Music Group

Between July 17th and July 21, 2009, Paul McCartney performed three shows at Citi Field in New York City, adjacent to the site of The Beatles first US concert (Shea Stadium). McCartney was inspired by the crowd, the location and the history; and all in attendance could hear him this time around. Folks who attended the show have acclaimed it one of his most brilliant solo performances, and the shows have taken on an almost legendary air. On November 17, 2009, Hear Music will be releasing the concert on CD/DVD in standard and deluxe editions as Good Evening New York City. The standard edition features 2 CDs plus a DVD of the show shot from 75 flip-cameras distributed throughout the crowd over 3 nights. The Deluxe edition features a second DVD of McCartney's July 15, 2009 performance on the Marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theatre (previously only available as a stream on David Letterman's website).

The CD recording of the show(s) is a testament to an unparalleled recording career. Highlights from the Beatles' catalogue include Let It Be, Drive My Car, Got To Get You Into My Life, Hey Jude and Blackbird. McCartney's version of Let It Be is particular inspired, and he and the band totally let go on a rocking version of Helter Skelter. McCartney's re-working of Something on a mandolin he was given by George Harrison is absolutely magical, giving a different flavor to the song without losing the spirit of the original. McCartney digs into Wings classics such as Band On The Run, Live And Let Die and Let Me Roll It. He also works in a tribute to John Lennon with a medley of A Day In The Life and Give Peace A Chance. Perhaps the most magical moment of the recording however is Here Today. You have to wonder about the ghosts and memories that stood beside McCartney throughout this moving number. The other highlight for me was Calico Skies, a McCartney song I had managed to miss before now.

The DVD covers all 33 tracks presented on the 2 CDs, running 2 hours and 40 minutes. The HD shot show features both stereo and 5.1 audio tracks, each produced by Paul Hicks. Because of the crowd-shot techniques used the DVD manages to accurately recreate the concert experience better than live-to-DVD releases.

There's little left to be said about Paul McCartney. What becomes more and more clear with time is how vital a creative force he's been, both with the Beatles and on his own in various forms. McCartney will never fade into the Rock N Roll limelight; his contributions and influence are so pervasive as to be iconic. Good Evening New York City is a testament to this fact. It's not just another a live album, but an exclamation point on a career that, amazingly, just keeps getting better.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Paul McCartney at http://www.paulmccartney.com/ or http://www.thebeatles.com/. Good Evening New York City drops on November 17, 2009. You can pre-order the standard edition from Amazon.com on CD, Vinyl or a Download. The Deluxe Edition with the Sullivan Theater performance will also be available. The CD will also be available in Starbucks stores in the US and Canada.

Review: Elvis Presley - Elvis: The Ed Sullivan Show - The Classic Performances

Elvis Presley - Elvis: The Ed Sullivan Show - The Classic Performances
2009, Image Entertainment

There was a King long before Michael Jackson's publicist declared him the King Of Pop. Elvis Presley remains one of the best-selling artists of all time, and retains one of the most loyal followings this side of The Beatles. Elvis was wild, raw and sang in a style that in his time was revolutionary. In a world that had never heard of television events, Presley made his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on September 8, 1956, drawing a then-unprecedented 60 million viewers. Presley went on to appear on the show 2 more times, generating 15 performances and not a little controversy. For Presley's third and final appearance on the show, Presley sang ballads and a gospel tune and was filmed only from the waist up because of suggestions of indecency about his prior performances. You'll hear different versions of the story, everything from complaints about his wild hip gyrations to a coke bottle in his pants for one of the previous performances that gave an obscene impression. Either way, it was ratings gold. Image Entertainment finally does these performances justice; release all fifteen performances on DVD on Elvis: The Ed Sullivan Show - The Classic Performances.

On the DVD you get all three performances, (9/9/56; 10/28/56 and 1/6/57), each re-mastered and presented looking/sounding better when they originally aired. Songs include: Don't Be Cruel, Hound Dog, Heartbreak Hotel, Too Much, Love Me Tender, When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again and 9 other classic songs. The highlights for Elvis fans are in the bonus materials, which include a home movie of Elvis shot live on August 7, 1955. There are documents from the Graceland and Sullivan archives and a brief piece on why Ed didn't host Elvis' first performance. If you're a fan of Elvis Presley then this is a must-have compilation. If you don't really know a lot about Elvis, this is a great way to get a taste of what the man was like as a performer in his early days, as well as getting an impression of what Elvis-mania was really like. The DVD is in Black and White and runs only 47 minutes in length, but it's worth every cent.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Elvis Presley at http://www.elvis.com/. You can purchase a copy of Elvis: The Ed Sullivan Show – The Classic Performances at Amazon.com.

Review: Ramon Taranco - Music From The Bermuda Triangle/The Adventures Of Bo Segovia

Ramon Taranco – Music From The Bermuda Triangle/The Adventures Of Bo Segovia
1992/2007, Havana Blue Music/SOCAN

Ramon Taranco’s back story is impressive in itself. Born in Cuba, Taranco’s parents fled Cuba for political reasons on the verge of Castro’s Communist Revolution. Moving to Toronto, Taranco’s life would be forever changed by the appearance of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. Picking up a guitar and never looking back, Taranco moved from 1970’s hard rock through various styles under discovering the blues, and ultimately, nylon string guitars. Taranco went on to develop a highly personal style that is distinctive and unique. His debut album, Music From The Bermuda Triangle, was released in 1992 while Taranco was living in Toronto. Now living in New York City, Taranco released a 2nd recording, The Adventures Of Bo Segovia, in 2007.

Music From The Bermuda Triangle pens with The Snow Scorpion, a delicious flamenco tune with incredible movement and subtle yet profound shading. The minimalist support arrangement allows for just enough tension to really suck in the listener. Yoruba Cuba reminds me heavily of one of The Brothers Creeggan's more experimental pieces; Jazz, World, Cuban and even African influences can be heard in this incredibly dynamic piece. Mantiki I and Mantiki II seem to draw from South American musical traditions in highly rhythmic, danceable compositions. Tango Solito is a sneaky little tune that will wiggle its way into your subconscious. It's unusual to find an understated song with so much energy. Sugar Cane Rider is a high energy funk/pop hybrid with its roots firmly planted in the Motown tradition. This is an entertaining song with a high commercial ceiling. You'll also want to check out Hard Work and the title track.

The Adventures Of Bo Segovia finds Taranco evolving into a fine Blues/Rock writer with strong Jazz elements. The growth that occurred between Bermuda Triangle and Bo Segovia is notable, although not surprising given the 15 years that passed in between. Taranco isn't afraid to ignore musical boundaries when he comes across them. Babes Elusive is a smoky blues tune for the verses and a reggae jam in the chorus. Isolation Blues opens as an experimental jazz piece before evolving into a fusion of Cuban Jazz and Rock. While Taranco seems to enjoy in engaging in such novelty, he never sacrifices melody for the sake of sound; an admirable quality. Check out Spirit Of Muddy Waters; Mississippi blues gone electric in a highly listenable song. Other highlights include Ghost Dance, St. George Street Overture and Blues Keep Thrillin' Me.

Ramon Taranco is a top-notch songwriter and musician. Between Music From The Bermuda Triangle and The Adventures Of Bo Segovia there is a long drought of recorded material, but it's very clear that the drought wasn't a musical one. Music From The Bermuda Triangle shows a talented if raw songwriter with a highly experimental mien. The Adventures Of Bo Segovia shows a mature and subtle and truly come into his own. Both discs are recommended listening.

Ratings:

Music From The Bermuda Triangle - 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)
The Adventures Of Bo Segovia - 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Ramon Taranco at http://www.ramontaranco.com/. You can purchase Music From The Bermuda Triangle at www.cdbaby.com/cd/ramontaranco1. You can purchase The Adventures Of Bo Segovia at www.cdbaby.com/cd/ramontaranco2.