Hen's Music Reviews: The Blog

Folk/Roots Australia

Hen's Music Reviews — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 10:01:08 +0000

A friend of mine recently sent me a message on Farcebook asking my thoughts on “folk/roots” bands…

I’m by no means an expert on the subject, but it certainly got me thinking about how music has to be pigeon-holed to even be considered.

Anyway, here’s how it went.

Michael
Hoppy new year to you and your family. It is now the year of the rabbits and Blues Fest is about the start.

What are you thoughts on an awesome list of folk/roots bands given most are on independent labels and people have their secret passion which isn’t heard frequently? So much good stuff doesn’t get seen or heard due to not being in a particular place or time.

Henry

That’s a kinda loose question. What exactly do you mean about the list? Do you mean what would my list of bands be?

As a genre I find folk/roots to be very broad. I actually think the genre itself was born out of the need to pigeon-hole groups.

Once upon a time Mumford & Sons would’ve been considered “folk” music, yet now you’ll find them in alternative, popular and/or rock sections in the record store. Also, if you speak to a folk enthusiast they’ll vehemently deny M & S of being folk.

One could also even consider Sepultura to be a “roots” band (although definitely not folk) because their music is all about Brazil and it’s heritage. In the same manner Ladysmith Black Mambazo are roots.

I guess it also depends whether you’re talking Australian bands or abroad acts included. Again, with my interpretation of “roots” to be that of the national heritage and it’s ancestors, I would almost consider colonial music to be as rooted as Aboriginal music (as such).

If you want to hear decent folk/roots music 3PBS is the place to hear it. “What The Folk,” is on Thursdays from 9-11am. If I remember rightly, you live in Sydney now? You can stream it on the net if you want to hear ‘real’ folk music. I also like what Susi has to say about folk as a genre.

So anyway, what kind of thoughts of mine are you after?

http://www.pbsfm.org.au/whatthefolk

What The Folk! | PBS 106.7FM

www.pbsfm.org.au

Michael

Wow. Thanks Henners.
Your words and link do certainly reveal my level of naivety in this area. Folk certainly doesnt apply to my question. More roots from the australian perspective perhaps, but even then, I agree with you on the definition after reading you awesome response re aboriginal music.
Bands like Dave Matthews Band, the Fumes, Ash Grunwald, JBT were forming my initial idea, but the more I think of this the more it seems alternative.
Thanks heaps Henry, your gold in this is amazing.
I will certainly try and tune in this Thursday evening

Buckley, Jeff

Hen's Music Reviews — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:27:33 +0000

Jeff Buckley – Grace

1994

Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Buckley
Web: http://www.jeffbuckley.com/pages/

This album is pretty cool. It’s the kind of album a stoner would listen to with a bottle of wine discussing the technique of the music, the inspiration and the tortured brilliance of this being Buckley’s only studio recorded album.

The album is, at it’s heart, classic alternative rock. Influences from his father, Tim Buckley, are quite evident, yet not necessarily obvious. A lot of the album is rockin’, but the slower moments are truly beautiful.

For only one album (naturally a few more have followed posthumously), Buckley has left quite a legacy. That said, it’s no technical masterpiece. What the technicalities lack, the heart makes up. You can honestly believe what he sings about, even if you can’t understand all of what he says [/sings].

There are no bad songs at all, but there are a few ageless songs. Songs that will last forever. None moreso than his version of the Leonard Cohen song, Hallelujah. This song is basically loved and known by almost everyone. In fact I would dare say that it’s almost more well known than the original.

If you like Radiohead, The Cure or even Powderfinger I would highly recommend this album.

Of the 10 tracks on Grace, I would say 9 of them are standouts on their own.

9/10

Brightman, Sarah

Hen's Music Reviews — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 03:12:24 +0000

Sarah Brightman - Harem

2003

Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Brightman
Web: http://www.sarah-brightman.com/

I bought this CD for Lise when it first came out. I think I heard a song from it somewhere and it caught my eye… Um, my ear. I figured it might be something Lise might like. Fortunately there was a song or two she likes. That’s about it.

I find myself torn by this album. On the one hand, the music is beautifully produced and sometimes Brightman’s voice sounds “real,” which I quite enjoy and could easily listen to. On the other hand I find her “high” voice at times grating and irritating. Unfortunately the reason she is essentially famous is the reason she irritates me; she’s a bit too “warbly.”

I also find some of the tracks are just a bit too dicky to swallow, like What A Wonderful World. It’s a pity, because this version of the song could’ve been quite nice.

So the good aspects of this CD are the production quality of the music and some of the music itself it very decent. If you like opera and new age Celtic stuff, like Enya & Loreena McKennit, I reckon you’d enjoy this.

Stand out tracks are Harem & Misere Mei

5.5/10

Brassy

Hen's Music Reviews — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 12:39:52 +0000

Brassy – Gettin Wise
2003

Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brassy_%28band%29

All I could find on Brassy was a Wikipedia page. That’s it. Even the Wiki page is scant. “Brassy is a band. They did two albums. They have musicians.” That about sums it up.

The lead singer is Muffin Spencer, who is the sister of Jon Spencer, from The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.

Essentially Brassy is to hip hop as Jon Spencer is to blues; an energetic interpretation. There are cuts and beats and loops but at the forefront of the music is Muffin’s distorted vocals and heavy guitar. I say “distorted” vocals because they really are laden with distorting effects, which gives Gettin Wise an undeniable character.

If you don’t like one song of Brassy’s, it’s likely you wont like any of them. The lead vocals remind me of Princess Superstar, whilst the actual music is somewhat reminiscent of Beck.

I find the album very easy to listen to. The beats aren’t pumping fast, but still are very solid. The tunes are good, the flow is good, the vibe is good.

I won’t say it’s a “go-to” album, because there is the danger of it becoming repetetive (some songs drag out a bit and go nowhere), but I have no real complaints with it.

Standout tracks are Hit ‘Em Hard, Still Stealing, Dus’, Turn This Thing Up and Play Some D.

7.5/10

Bragg, Billy

Hen's Music Reviews — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:29:56 +0000

Billy Bragg – Must I Paint You A Picture?: The Essential Billy Bragg
2003

FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Billy-Bragg/44905697470
Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Bragg
W: http://www.billybragg.co.uk/

To me Billy Bragg is a punk without an amp. Although I guess his music is more folksy than punky, the message and delivery of the message to me is punk. Billy’s voice and accent is thick and strong, which also adds to my interpreting the punk emotion. He is a geezer.

Must I Paint You A Picture? is a compilation of Billy’s music from 1983 through to 2002. It has his solo work, his work with The Blokes and also with Wilco.

The first 9 songs are just Billy with his guitar, which are truly awesome songs.

The range of music is surprising. The folk music is beautiful. A couple of songs are basically pop, which I just can’t get into. Some is a bit reminiscent of The Commitments, which is decent enough.

As this is a 3CD set (it’s actually a double CD with a bonus CD), I would say that there is 2 not quite full CD’s worth of great music and 1 full of music that I wouldn’t listen to.

I bought this album because I didn’t have any Billy Bragg and I felt I was missing out, which I was. This is a great place to start for someone where to start with Billy Bragg’s music.

My favourite song is Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key, a duet with Natalie Merchant (from 10,000 Maniacs). The lyrics to this song were written by Woody Guthrie and his estate comissioned Billy to write music for it to ‘bring it to the younger generation’. Billy then got Wilco in on the act and they did 2 albums, Mermaid Avenue (1 & 2).

The standout tracks are far too many to mention, but if you don’t have any Billy Bragg go out & find this!!

8.5/10

Branigan, Laura

Hen's Music Reviews — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:38:54 +0000

Laura Branigan – Self Control
1984

FB: http://www.facebook.com/laurabranigan
Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Branigan
W: http://www.laurabraniganonline.com/

Leg warmers. Hair spray and mousse. Spandex. Choose Life. Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. Cheese.

All of the above come to mind from the very first note.

If Bonnie Tyler and Kenny Loggins had a love child… it would probably be embarrrassed. It would also sound almost exactly like Laura Branigan.

Some of it is like Pat Benetar, some like Bonnie Tyler, all 80′s. The songs you would know from it are Self Control and Ti Amo; and if you can listen to Ti Amo without at least imagining yourself punching the air victoriously (a la Rocky) then you’d have to be dead inside.

The power chords, electric drums and synth keys don’t really let this music come out of the 80′s. That’s okay though. The 80′s was a great place for music and hair and Self Control is proudly 80′s. According to Wikipedia it took the record company a while to categorise her. They put her in pop, but she would happily rock on with Bonnie Tyler and Pat Benetar. On the same token, she could soap it up with Bette Middler.

I love this album because of the era that it stands for. To sit down & listen to it, I honestly don’t know that I could. Sure, the good songs are good (of which half of them are), but the bad songs are pretty ordinary.

Standout tracks are Ti Amo, Self Control, Satisfaction and Breaking Out.

7/10

Boyle, Susan

Hen's Music Reviews — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:59:18 +0000

Susan Boyle – I Dreamed A Dream
2009

FB: http://www.facebook.com/susanboyle
Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Boyle
W: http://www.susanboylemusic.com/

Good ol’ SuBo. The Ol’ Boyley. Suzie B.

This is suprising, but it’s a very decent album. Is it a ‘go to’ album? For me, no. But it’s still a very well executed album.

The album opens with Boyle’s interpretation of the Rolling Stones’ song Wild Horses. She does it well.

This is followed up with the song that made her famous, I Dreamed A Dream (I don’t normally do this, but it’s worth a look at the moment the world discovered her http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk).

She also does a sexy, sultry version of Cry Me A River (okay, maybe the ‘sexy’ bit is taking it a bit far, but I reckon it is).

There are a bunch of other covers (even a nice effort at Madonna’s You’ll See) and one original; some good, some not so good, but all with feeling. She belives what she sings. There’s gospel (being both hymns and traditional gospel as I recognise it), classical and modern[?] celtic all mixed up in this.

Sure, you’d be lucky to get the whole way through the album in one sitting, but you could certainly slip almost half the songs into a playlist.

As I understand it, SuBo was largely untrained when this was released. That really doesn’t show. She shows restraint and control when needed and lets rip the right amount at the right time. I would assume that she had a big bunch of perople helping her out with arrangements and that stuff and they certainly earned their keep with that. The arrangements, backing vocals, all the other things that go into the recording work very well.

If you like Enya, Sarah Brightman or The Carpenters I reckon you wouldn’t mind good ol’ SuBo.

Stand out tracks are Wild Horses, I Dreamed A Dream, Cry Me A River, You’ll See and Amazing Grace.

7.5/10

Boom Crash Opera

Hen's Music Reviews — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 00:45:05 +0000

Boom Crash Opera – These Here Are Crazy Times
1989

Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boom_Crash_Opera

It’s easy to see [/hear] why this album was such a hit for Boom Crash Opera. It’s a great album of classic Aussie rock. Great riffs, good beats, solid vocals, well written songs & well produced, this album has it all.

The other great thing about this album is that it’s not repetetive; the tracks are all very distinguished. Most of the tracks are absolute keepers.

In listening I hear influences/similarities to all the classic Aussie rock bands of the era; Midnight Oil, Mental As Anything, Hunters & Collectors, Crowded House (meh, Oz/NZ.. close enough), INXS, even a hint of Big Pig. Crazy Times is basically the best of Aussie 80′s and certainly a highlight of the charts at the time.

Even though it’s been a while since I’ve listened to this album, it’s still great and has lasted well through ’til now.

Standout tracks are Onion Skin, Piece Of The Pie, The Best Thing, Get Out Of The House, End Up Where I Started, Dancing In The Storm and Mountain Of Strength.

9/10

Bonham, Tracy

Hen's Music Reviews — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:57:18 +0000

www: http://tracybonham.com/
FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tracy-Bonham/256580408000
wiki:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracy_Bonham

Tracy Bonham – The Burdens Of Being Upright
1996

I doubt I’ll ever get sick of this album. The songs are in yer face, short and pack a punch. Rob New can vouch for me loving the album, and why. One thing I love is the format. 12 songs, 35 minutes, average of 2.5 minutes per song. That’s 12 x 2.5 minutes of “Fuck You. Please.”

Whilst some songs, like Mother Mother go from pretty to nasty quite brashly, others have the same “format” but transition from pretty to grungy seamlessly. I like that.

Tracy’s biggest song has been Mother Mother. That’s the opening song and how very apt, too. As the chorus says, “EVERYTHING’S FINE!” [says/yells]. The album keeps going with that same vigor and intensity. Like Mother Mother, the album (in fact the songs individually) have a very sweet tone to them. That is until the attitude flips. Then it’s like seeing the nasty side of a lovely girl.

If you like Nirvana, Alice In Chains or Hole, I reckon you’d love Tracy Bonham. However, I would take Tracy over Courtney Love any day of the week. She has attitude and talent. A nice voice with a great edge and some great song writing skills.

Stand out songs are Mother Mother, Navy Bean, Tell It To The Sky, Brain Crack and Sharks Can’t Sleep. That said, every song rocks yer socks off.

9.5/10

Tracy Bonham – Down Here
2000

Honestly, I probably haven’t given Down Here a fair go. I blame that on Burdens being such a brilliant record.

It is by all means a good solid album. In fact a few of the songs would be right at home on Burdens. Others seem to have taken a dark turn; I would almost say with undertones of Tool and the like (the sound is NOT like Tool, but there are sounds that remind me of them… if you get my drift). There’s also a bit more electronic/pop and even a Jane’s Addiction hue in one of the tracks.

She still has the same awesome voice, but it’s not so raw this time ’round. She’s still got her punk chik thang goin’ on and still got a few suprises.

I’ll be honest, it’s not as good as Burdens [to me], but if this was the first time I heard Tracy I wouldn’t change the station. The album doesn’t quite have the flow either. A lot of the tracks are great in their own right and are very different to eachother. Perhaps this is what actually lets the album down, if anything.

Standout tracks are Behind Every Great Woman, You Don’t Know Me, Cold Day In Hell, Second Wind and You Can’t Always Not Get What You Don’t Want.

7/10

Bolton, Michael

Hen's Music Reviews — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:27:37 +0000

Michael Bolton – Timeless (The Classics)
1992

Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bolton
FB: http://www.facebook.com/MBsings
www: http://www.michaelbolton.com/

DISCLAIMER: This CD was purchased neither by me, nor my wife. In speaking to Lise, it has been made known that the CD actually belongs to Lise’s mum, Sandra. But this CD, for some reason or another, has been with us since not long after Lise & I got together, so I feel compelled to review it.

Where do I start…? Perhaps in an elevator. One of those elevators that you don’t feel safe in. Y’know when you step in and there’s tags all over the walls and just a cord hanging down where the emergency handset used to be attached and when it moves you can hear what sounds like piano strings snapping?

I once went to a Chinese restaurant, The Silky Emperor, with some friends… for dinner and a show. The food was great, the show was a fella with a microphone and preprogrammed keyboard singing karaoke songs. That about sums up this album.

In all honesty, I’ve heard worse. I can’t think where, but probably from Kenny G.

This album is his interpretation of ‘timeless classic’ songs. Songs that a lot of people would have liked at some stage in their lives. Songs like Since I Fell For You, Reach Out I’ll Be There and Yesterday, to name a few.

After listening to this album in it’s entirety, I feel violated.

There is only one place that music like belongs. That is Love Songs And Dedications.

It is possibly the cheesiest music I have ever heard. It honestly does sound like karaoke music (and not Singstar™ karaoke, but the kind you find in an Asian movie rental store). It actually sounds like it was all recorded with a Casio keyboard, drums ‘n’ all.

2.5/10
(I was going to give it 3.5/10, but now every time I hear any of the originals of the songs I will hear Michael Bolton)