Lisa Gerrard "The Silver Tree" (2006)

The Silver Tree

release date: Dec. 5, 2006

format: digital (14 x File, FLAC - 2007 reissue)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,88]

producer: David Badrick & Lisa Gerrard

label: Rubber Records - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "In Exile" - 2. "Shadow Hunter" - 4. "The Sea Whisperer" - 6. "Space Weaver" - 8. "Serenity" - 10. "Towards the Tower" - 12. "Devotion"

2nd solo album by Australian artist Lisa Gerrard follows more than a decade after her solo debut The Mirror Pool (Aug. 1995). This doesn't by any means suggest that Gerrard isn't a highly productive artist. She often releases music with collaborating artists, and she has made a golden career from her engagements as soundtrack composer. In '96 she released a so far final studio album, Spiritchaser with the duo-project Dead Can Dance (together with Brendan Perry). In '98 she released the collaboration album Duality with Pieter Bourke, and also with Bourke, she made the soundtrack to Michael Mann's The Insider (1999), the soundtrack to Ridley Scott's The Gladiator (2000) composed with Hans Zimmer - an accomplishment that sky-rocketed her composer value - and again with Bourke she composed the soundtrack to the biographical sports drama Ali (2001), the soundtrack to Whalerider (2003), the collaboration album Immortal Memory together with Patrick Cassidy (2004), and the soundtrack Salem's Lot (2004) with Christopher Gordon to a TV-series. And it doesn't stop with this, as Gerrard has also delivered compositions and vocals to songs appearing on various other releases including TV-series, movies, documentaries and as performing guest on other artists' releases.

Lisa Gerrard works on a classical arena with trained classical intrumentalists and composers, but she also works with artists from a "popular" music culture, the experimental electronic music scene and often on music labeled as neo-classical. On top of this, Gerrard has made it her trademark to blend national folklore from various parts of the world, and not seldom you will find traces of music inspired by traditional folk from the Balkan area - sometimes incorporating tones from an Arabian / Middle East tradition - all brought together in an original colourful blend with her timeless ethereal signature. She has become an acclaimed vocalist with a vocal range of three octaves, and when performing her own songs, she often sings in her own made-up language, sometimes referred to as 'glossolalia'.

The Silver Tree was nominated the Best Album Prize at the Australian Music Awards in 2006, and it may be an album that brings many of her former releases to mind, but it's not a matter of picking bits and pieces from her past and mixing it all together anew. It's more the result of a skilled artist's inspiration overflown with her quality trademarks that makes it a highly original album. It's both electronic, ambient and neo-classical, and not necessarily styles that are present in all 14 compositions. As in styles, the songs vary in tempo, in cadence, in mood but it's all cleverly woven together with Gerrard's delicate touch - be it in the arrangements of the single composition or in the tone of her singing voice. The tracks also vary in running times with the shortest playing for only 1½ minute and the longest for more than 10 minutes. In between there's nearly everything. It may be based on electronic rhythm beats, on hymn-like ambience, or progressive darkwave, but still it remarkably works as a coherent release.

I've always fancied the music with Gerrard's partecipation and it never ceases to amase me, and it always reminds me, what an absolute great artist she is! She has been awarded many prizes for her work, but in my mind, she is way to overlooked an artist and deserves much more recognition - as composer, as vocalist, and as performing artist.

Highly recommended!

Peter Bastian "Bastians Ballader" (2016)

Bastians Ballader
release date: Jun. 1, 2016
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,40]
producer: Peter Bastian
label: non label release - nationality: Denmark

[ PB about the album & Nikola Jankov - PB about the musicians on the album - short clip ]

Studio album by Danish clarinettist (the late) Peter Bastian is a self-realised album containing Bastian's own interpretations of Balkan music. His decision to make the album was made in the aftermath of being diagnosed with acute leukaemia in 2014. As he states about the album on his homepage (www.peterbastian.dk) "Main focus is on the tragic Bulgarian wedding ballad, but I have also chosen to play some Romanian Doinas and a Turkish Taksim. Some Danish and Norwegian folklore have also found their way [to the album]." The songs are inspired by original folk songs, but all arrangements are credited Bastian and his two Norwegian associates on the album: Gabriel Fliflet on accordion and Olav Tveitane on double bass, acoustic guitar, and cittern.
The story of the musical fascination of Peter Bastian is forever bound in modern Danish music - be it classical, jazz or folk. Although, Balkan folklore really isn't what I prefer to listen to, I simply adore this album. Through many years I have read books by and listened to Bastian - his deep insight in philosophy and music history and theory on many occasions. I have listened to the music by the jazz fusion and world band Bazaar of which he was a founding and long time member, and I have always admired his mission and ability to make difficult matters appear easier to understand.
Bastian's long time friendship with legendary Hungarian (master) clarinettist Nikola Jankov is all over this album. It's an album with a strong love for traditional folk music, and Bastian is a supreme instrumentalist. I mean, I never found the clarinet appealing in any way, but his passion and sense for sonic perfection captures my musical interest and love for music on a scale like the music by Mozart, Beethoven or Puccini.
Although, not a favourite genre, I still find this highly recommendable.

[ Peter Bastian plays on straw ]

Natalie Merchant "The House Carpenter's Daughter" (2003)

The House Carpenter's Daughter
release date: Sep. 16, 2003
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Natalie Merchant
label: Myth America Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Sally Ann" - 2. "Which Side Are You On?" - 5. "Weeping Pilgrim" -7. "Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow"

4th studio album by Natalie Merchant is her first album release on her own independent label, Myth America Records and it has the subtitle "A Collection of Traditional & Contemporary Folk Music". It marks a substantial change in style towards traditional folk as a majority (7 out of 11) of the tracks are traditionals rearranged by Merchant. The remaining 4 tracks are covers, which means that the album doesn't contain songs written by Merchant herself.
It's a very scraped down album with only few instruments - some songs appear as vocal with strings only, and it may only appeal to people who prefer traditional folk. I don't really enjoy this much, and think of it as Merchant's roots album. Yes, Merchant has a fine singing voice, but I don't think she challenges that instrument particular well on this, which is a bit of a pity.
[ allmusic.com, Uncut 4 / 5, Rolling Stone, Mojo 3 / 5 stars ]

Neil Young "A Letter Home" (2014)

A Letter Home
release date: Apr. 19, 2014
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Jack White and Neil Young
label: Third Man / Reprise Records - nationality: Canada

Track highlights: 2. "Changes" (live) - 3. "Girl From the North Country" - 4. "Needle of Death" - 5. "Early Morning Rain" (live) - 7. "Reason to Believe" - 9. "If You Could Read My Mind" - 12. "I Wonder If I Care as Much"

34th studio album by Neil Young released on Jack White's label Third Man Records and recorded using a 1947 recording booth-device named Voice-O-Graph, which in the day (would be found all over the country up until the 1970s) was introduced to the ordinary man as a possibility to record his / her own record of a message or song directly onto vinyl. This particular device has been re-established at White's Nashville headquarter of Third Man Records, and the whole album has been recorded using the technique of the Voice-O-Graph.
I think, one has to dig into the idea behind this album to be able to appreciate it. Against his normal writing process, Young has covered familiar and classic songs by various artists of various styles and decades including artists like The Everly Brothers, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Bert Jansch and Bruce Springsteen. Most of the tracks are played solely by Young playing guitar, harmonica and piano. Jack White contribute on guitar, piano and with backing vocals on two tracks. Because of the recording process, all tracks have been recorded in one take and without any post-processing, i.e. dubbing, mixing, mastering, which has its obvious limitations but also a unique form. Songs are country, traditional folk and singer / songwriter material and the most apparent common denominator is naturally the sound of the recordings. The scratchy and narrow tone could be annoying, but the result is more an album with a strong historical message. Young's force with just a guitar and harmonica at hand is something that will forever live on and follow his legacy, and that is here only once again underlined. The best songs here are "Changes" written by Phil Oachs, "Needle of Death" by Bert Jansch and "Early Morning Rain" by Gordon Lightfoot all of which perhaps are the strongest "natural" sources of inspiration found on this by Neil Young.
It's a homage to ancient days, lost values and a reminder of what it takes to make music: and it's not a necessity to have 56 tracks available in a million-dollar studio with all the right producers and mixers to make an album worthwhile. Even nowadays. It's an album that would serve well as introduction to all contemporary pop and rap artists. Listen and learn!
The idea and the songs together make this a nice and warm album, but the narrowness in the production sound also has its natural limitations - its perhaps like treasuring a vintage wine from a specific fine year of the 1950s - it's there to look at and talk about but for drinking... Of course this is for listening but for hours and day after day, I guess you have to be more than just a bit nostalgic. The album is not Young at his most vivid and utmost inspiring but nonetheless it's one of his best studio releases since Silver & Gold (2000) and consequently an album worth more than just a glance.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Robbie Robertson "Music for the Native Americans" (OST) (1994)

Music for the Native Americans (soundtrack)
release date: Oct. 4, 1994
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Robbie Robertson
label: Capitol Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Coyote Dance" - 2. "Mahk Jchi (Heartbeat Drum Song)" (feat. Ulali) (live) - 3. "Ghost Dance" (4 / 5) - 5. "It Is a Good Day to Die" - 6. "Golden Feather" - 10. "Skinwalker"

3rd studio album by Robbie Robertson released as 'Robbie Robertson & The Red Road Ensemble' is a soundtrack album for the TV documentary "The Native Americans" - an American-produced series in three parts and six hours.

Being an actual soundtrack it's quite obvious a rather different album than his two previous studio releases, and the styles represented here are much more shaped towards traditional native Indian music with bits and pieces thrown in from rhythm & blues and the style established on his solo debut from '87. A few compositions are pure instrumentals with strong stylistic bonds to native Indian music, then some sound if leftovers from his debut, and a few points to his 1998 successor with the inclusion of electronica. The lasting impression is a great variety of songs of genuine complexity with some traditional melodic songs scattered all over the album, where the most memorable tracks being the first three.

The reception of the album was quite positive, as I recall it. Together with The Red Road Ensemble, Robertson toured America and Europe playing the music from the documentary much as to celebrate the much forgotten Indian culture. And as a half Indian himself, Robertson was put on a bit of a pedestal of the Indian culture movement with this contribution.

I recall listening to the album with much anticipation when it was all new and also remember my initial confusion as how to digest the whole thing. I think "complex" is a rather neutral kind of term to use when people actually don't fully appreciate something, and from my perspective, the album is generally formed by too many stylistic influences - not that those implications in themselves produce lesser works of art, but here the vast variety of styles point in too many directions; however, the album is far from a lesser work of art as it also contains fine structures and some truly fine compositions. Also, from a personal perspective, I have come to appreciate this much more over the years and today find it much more gratifying because of the album's complexity and despite the many stylistic impressions, you still find that common denominator in the native tone that fills the whole album.

Anyway, Robertson was lauded with this original album, but as a stand alone album, it's... different and somewhat difficult.

[ Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Mark Knopfler "Cal" (OST) (1984)

Cal (soundtrack)
release date: Aug. 24, 1984
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,35]
producer: Mark Knopfler
label: Vertigo Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 5. "A Secret Place / Where Will You Go" - 12. "The Long Road"

2nd solo album by Mark Knopfler is another soundtrack album - this time for a movie by Pat O'Connor. Musically, it's in the same style as Local Hero, although, there's less room for electric finger-picking guitar on this, and there's a stronger sense of celtic new age to this.
I really don't like this much. There's too much tin whistle, bagpipes and bold use of keyboards to my liking.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Jan Garbarek Group "Twelve Moons" (1993)

Twelve Moons
release date: 1993
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

Track highlight: 1. "Twelve Moons - Pt.1: Winter - Summer; Pt.2: Summer - Winter" - 3. "Brother Wind March" - 10. "Witchi-Tai-To"

Released as 'Jan Garbarek Group' (Jan Garbarek - saxophones, Rainer Brüninghaus - keyboards, Eberhard Weber - bass, Manu Katché - drums, Marilyn Mazur - percussion, Agnes Buen Garnås - vocal, Mari Boine - vocal). This album is from his best period, from early 1980s to late 1990s, I think. It's beautiful modern jazz, jazz fusion and free jazz. Often, I don't find jazz fusion that great but that's mostly really when jazz has been fusioned with rock. On this album there's absolutely no rock styles present but it's really difficult to place in a genre because of the stylistic inputs from normally far apart genres like jazz and traditional folk in an ambient universe that sometimes almost becomes new age. On other Garbarek albums this style is too much present but here it only emphasizes the ambient feel.

The Pogues "Pogue Mahone" (1995)

Pogue Mahone
release date: Feb. 27, 1996
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]
producer: Steve Brown, Stephen Hague
label: WEA Corp. / - nationality: England, UK

7th full studio album by The Pogues. After the last album with founding member Shane MacGowan, Hell's Ditch (1990), the band continued playing with Joe Strummer as a mere temporary substitute, but for the next album Waiting for Herb (1993), Strummer was no longer part of the band. Instead, tin whistle and harmonica player Spider Stacy [aka Peter Stacy] and multi-instrumentalist Terry Woods took over the singing parts, and the album was made up of songs composed by almost all members of the band. I don't have that album on any media, as I find it of little interest and below average. For this, the band has found back to some of the music that gave them their most positive reputation by playing celtic rock, and the title ('Pogue Mahone' is Gaelic for 'Kiss my arse') was actually the name of the band before settling on the shorter version. It's not music to traditionals but still, in that spirit, and that's the most interesting part. I don't find the single songs on level with any of the best by The Pogues with MacGowan but I do think that they regained some of their former status with this album. Founding member guitarist James Fearnley, as well as guitarists Terry Woods and Philip Ranken had all left the band and 3 new band members: David Coulter on guitar, James McNally on guitar and accordion and whistle, and Jamie Clarke on guitar was new replacements in the band. So the only remaining founding members left are Spider Stacy, now on vocals only, and Jem Finer on banjo and guitars. After this, also Jem Finer left the band, and the album remains the last studio album by The Pogues but the band was kept alive as a concerts playing band with a new members list from time to time. 2001 saw many of the former band members re-unite for a Christmas tour, which meant that Shane MacGowan, James Fearley, Andrew Ranken, Terry Woods, and Phillip Chevron were all back together, and they have stayed together, although, MacGowan is often heavily under the influence of alcohol and other drugs.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Sofia Karlsson "Visor från vinden" (2007)

Visor från vinden
release date: Apr. 11, 2007
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Göran Petersson, Sofia Karlsson, Jan Borges
label: Amigo Musik - nationality: Sweden

3rd studio album by Sofia Karlsson following two years after her acclaimed sophomore album Svarta ballader is her last studio album on the Amigo Musik label owned by Bonnier Music Group. The album follows closely the same recipe as her previous album, although, this has lyrics by various composers, and several of the selected songs are familiar Swedish folk songs interpreted by many other artists. It's also very much the same studio musicians as on the 2005 album; however, many of the songs here are live recordings at various locations.
The album fared even better than Svarta ballader and reached number #2 on the national albums chart list, though music critics generally were less positive in their reception. However, both album and Karlsson won several prizes after the release.
In my mind, this is even better than her 2005 album. There's a nice combo of more uptempo songs and quiet ballads, and perhaps other artists have made more than memorable interpretations of some of the songs (Cornelis Vreeswijk, Mikael Wiehe, Eva Dahlgren Joakim Thåström), but I really like the idea of the various lyrical sources and the musical skills and the artistic creativeness that have been put into the engagement of arranging these songs in such a way that it all makes one coherent whole. Don't (always) believe the critics - make your own choices.
This is a recommendable listen.

Mark Knopfler "Local Hero" (OST) (1983)

Local Hero (soundtrack) [debut]
release date: Mar. 1983
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]
producer: Mark Knopfler
label: Vertigo Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Wild Theme" -3. "Freeway Flyer" - 5. "The Way It Always Starts" (feat. Gerry Rafferty) - 14. "Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero"
[ full album ]

Solo debut album by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits is the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack for a movie written and directed by Bill Forsyth.
The album is a difficult one to review being a soundtrack with many instrumental compositions and tracks of short playing time. It naturally displays Knopfler's 'signature' finger-picking guitar, music very similar too long progressive elements on Love Over Gold (1982) - the most recent Dire Straits album.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Sofia Karlsson "Svarta ballader (Sjunger Dan Andersson)" (2005)

Svarta ballader (Sjunger Dan Andersson)
release date: Feb. 12, 2005
format: cd (AMCD 756)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Göran Petersson, Sigge Krantz & Sofia Karlsson
label: Amigo Musik - nationality: Sweden

2nd studio album by Swedish folk artist Sofia Karlsson is the collection of poems by Swedish poet Dan Andersson (1888-1920) - except track #10, written by Charles Baudelaire and translated by Andersson. All songs have musical arrangements by Karlsson.
The album falls close to her debut album with its older lyrical matter, although, the music seems more contemporary folk-founded.
Svarta ballader was Karlsson national breakthrough album - peaking at number #6 on the Swedish album charts list, which is a quite high position for a rather quiet folk-oriented release, and the album was met by critical acclaim and Karlsson was nominated and also won several prizes with the album.
Despite its quiet and rather simple compositions and arrangements, the album is a warm and fine release of traditional Swedish folk.

Jan Garbarek "I Took Up the Runes" (1990)

I Took Up the Runes
release date: Aug. 1990
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]

Track highlight: 1. "Gula Gula" (4 / 5) - 2. "Molde Canticle Part 1" (5 / 5) - 3. "Molde Canticle Part 2" - 4. "Molde Canticle Part 3" (3,5 / 5) - 5. "Molde Canticle Part 4" (2,5 / 5) - 6. "Molde Canticle Part 5" (3 / 5) - 7. "His Eyes Were Suns" (4 / 5) - 8. "I Took Up the Runes" (4 / 5) - 9. "Bueno Hora, Buenos Vientos" (3,5 / 5) - 10. "Rahkki Sruvvis"

Studio album by Jan Garbarek, which is stylistically close to Legend of the Seven Dreams (1988) with a little less focus on ambient but still it's modern free jazz with traditional folk elements, also on this what could be Indian sounding fragments. Overall, I like this a bit better.

Chumbawamba "The Boy Bands Have Won" (2008)

The Boy Bands Have Won
release date: Mar. 3, 2008
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Chumbawamba
label: No Masters - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Add Me" (live) - 4. "Hull or Hell" - 5. "El fusilado" (live) - 7. "I Wish That They'd Sack Me" - 11. "Lord Bateman's Motorbike" - 14. "(Words Flew) Right Around the World" - 18. "Compliments of Your Waitress" - 24. "Waiting for the Bus"

13th studio album by Chumbawamba following A Singsong and a Scrap (2005) is like most of the band's recent albums played in a style of a cappella, English folk music, i.e. folk with focus on vocal harmonies. The album contains 25 listed tracks of which approx. half are just around one minute long, which in that respect follows the same formula as WYSIWYG from 2000. The full title of the album is actually: The Boy Bands Have Won, and All the Copyists and the Tribute Bands and the TV Talent Show Producers Have Won, If We Allow Our Culture to Be Shaped by Mimicry, Whether from Lack of Ideas or from Exaggerated Respect. You Should Never Try to Freeze Culture. What You Can Do Is Recycle That Culture. Take Your Older Brother's Hand-Me-Down Jacket and Re-Style It, Re-Fashion It to the Point Where It Becomes Your Own. But Don't Just Regurgitate Creative History, or Hold Art and Music and Literature as Fixed, Untouchable and Kept Under Glass. The People Who Try to 'Guard' Any Particular Form of Music Are, Like the Copyists and Manufactured Bands, Doing It the Worst Disservice, Because the Only Thing That You Can Do to Music That Will Damage It Is Not Change It, Not Make It Your Own. Because Then It Dies, Then It's Over, Then It's Done, and the Boy Bands Have Won. - needless say the title is commonly abbreviated.
Thematically, Chumbawamba hasn't changed its lyrics much over two decades. The change one will notice here is a stronger (local) social awareness in the bands' topics to direct its criticism on English politics that involve the ordinary Brit, and in that way this may be seen as a nice return to form.
At first, I found it a peculiar step away from the band's more musically pop- and dance-minded albums of the '90s, which brought the band fame, good reviews and some fine sales. I must admit, though, that this is no such thing as a lesser album. It's just very different. I think, they may have realised that all their good intentions about reaching more people with their messages through popular music was something they couldn't win. If the songs were popular, well, they were that, but the message drowned in a pool of commercialism, and where WYSIWYG was neither fish nor flesh, this presents a welcomed return of Chumbawamba as the world has come to know of it.
This album is smooth and beautiful - a truly fine accomplishment.
Recommendable.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Jan Garbarek "Legend of the Seven Dreams" (1988)

Legend of the Seven Dreams
release date: Jul. 1988
format: cd (ECM 1381)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Manfred Eicher
label: ECM Records - nationality: Norway

Track highlight: 1. "He Comes From the North" (5 / 5) (live) - 4. "Brother Wind" - 7. "Voy Cantando" (4 / 5) ( live )

Studio release by Jan Garbarek is an album with focus on ambient and contemporary / modern free jazz with traditional folk elements, sometimes Indian sounding fragments. All compositions are credited Garbarek but the album is made together with three of his 'usual' working partners: German pianist Rainer Brüninghaus, Brazilian percussionist Naná Vasconcelos (aka Juvenal De Holanda Vasconcelos, who is also credited for his vocal performance), and German bassist Eberhard Weber. Aside from playing soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones, Garbarek is also credited for playing flute and percussion.
The album is a nice blend with latin folk its, thanks to Vasconcelos and Nordic folk, which here works quite nicely.

Chumbawamba "English Rebel Songs 1381-1914" (1988)

English Rebel Songs 1381-1914
release date: 1988
format: cd (1994 reissue)
[album rate: 2 / 5] [2,18]
producer: Chumbawamba
label: One Little Indian - nationality: England, UK

3rd studio album by Chumbawamba originally released on Agit Prop is really something else. It's the band's traditional folk music ('folklore') and a cappella interpretations of traditional British workers' folk songs. Apparently, the band re-recorded the songs in 2003 and released the album as English Rebel Songs 1381-1984, an album containing the addition of two songs.
Allmusic.com hasn't reviewed the original release but the site has handed the new 2003 version 4 / 5 stars, although, claiming "Fifteen years on, they've learned a lot more about their voices, about music, and about the world." But still, I cannot grant it more than half the amount of stars. It must have been a huge turning point for any fan of this band, who up until this nearly only played anarcho punk rock and here they suddenly play traditional folk music without other instrumentation than their singing voices. The predecessor Never Mind the Ballots (1987) introduced a different approach to music with narrating style, but still it was presented with strong satire and social awareness. This has only the social awareness, and no satire, and no strong criticism.
I think, you have to be (more than) just a bit interested in ancient music to embrace this collection of songs.
Not recommendable.

Jan Garbarek "All Those Born With Wings" (1987)

All Those Born With Wings
release date: Feb. 1, 1987
format: cd (ECM 1324)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: Manfred Eicher
label: ECM Records - nationality: Norway

Tracklist: 1. "1st Piece" (3,5 / 5) - 2. "2nd Piece" (4 / 5) - *3. "3rd Piece" (4 / 5) - 4. "4th Piece" (3,5 / 5) - 5. "5th Piece" (4 / 5) - 6. "6th Piece" (3 / 5)
* In Memory of Andrej Tarkowskij

Studio album by Jan Garbarek, as always, produced by Manfred Eicher. The album is quite original in that Garbarek is only musician on the album, which is to say he plays (uncredited) all instruments including saxophones, keyboards, guitar, percussion, voice and other.
The album was the very first full album I ever listen to with Garbarek, and perhaps therefore it's still among my favourite Garbarek albums. As said, it's also one of his more experimental studio releases. Some tracks could be labelled modern classical, others as ambient or new age but the overall style is one of contemporary jazz fusion or free jazz, which sometimes drifts too far into what sounds as mere improvisations, but here the compositions predominantly stay on a fixed course.

Liz Green "Haul Away!" (2014)

Haul Away!
release date: Apr. 14, 2014
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,48]
producer: Liam Watson
label: Play It Again Sam - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Battle" - 2. "Haul Away" - 3. "Rybka" - 4. "River Runs Deep" - 5. "Where the River Don't Flow" - 7. "Into My Arms" - 8. "Island Song" - 9. "Little I"

2nd album by Liz Green released on Play It Again Sam. Liz is a multi-talented artist, who did the artwork as she did on her debut O, Devotion! (2011). Aside for singing, writing and composing these songs, she's credited on piano, guitar, organ, clarinet, and banjo.

The album takes off where the debut left us three years ago. Liz keeps to her formula, and thank god for that, because she has such a unique voice and style. This may turn out as wonderful as the debut, but I haven't accustomed to this as her first release.

EDIT May 2014: Liz Green is quite unique, and she's really one of the most interesting modern solo artists from Britain today. This album is fine - far from a mediocre release - but it's not really up there alongside her astonishing debut.

Jan Garbarek "Paths, Prints" (1982)

Paths, Prints
release date: Sep. 6, 1982
format: cd (ECM 1223)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,08]
producer: Manfred Eicher
label: ECM Records - nationality: Norway

Track highlights: 1. "The Path" (4 / 5) - 2. "Footprints" (4 / 5) - 3. "Kite Dance" (5 / 5) - 4. "To B.E." (4 / 5) - 5. "The Move" (4 / 5) - 8. "Still"

Studio album by Jan Garbarek with Bill Frisell on guitar, Eberhard Weber on bass, and with Jon Christensen on drums and percussion.
Working together with the jazz fusion and modern classical guitar icon, Bill Frisell, could easily have led the music astray but Garbarek is ever-present in a dominating part with drums, percussion, bass and guitar as the subtle backbone. Of course it helps that Garbarek is credited as composer of all tracks, but the album is really one of my favourite Garbarek albums. He's famous for his incorporation of folklore and / or (old) traditional Norwegian folk spliced with modern jazz fusion. His instruments are the soprano and alto sax (he also plays tenor and other instruments as clarinet and percussion); however the instrument, his playing style is original and far from traditional jazz instrumentalists, and in that sense he has much in common with Danish trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg and his Nordic and ambient jazz sound. Frisell together with Weber, Christensen and especially Frisell is a wonderful cocktail.
Highly recommendable.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3 / 5, The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings 3 / 4 stars ]

Jan Garbarek "Eventyr" (1981)

Eventyr
release date: Dec. 1981
format: cd (ECM 1200)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,16]
producer: Manfred Eicher
label: ECM Records - nationality: Norway

Tracklist: 1. "Soria Maria" (4 / 5) - 2. "Lillekort" - 3. "Eventyr" - 4. "Weaving a Garland" - 5. "Once Upon a Time" - 6. "The Companion" - 7. "Snipp, snapp, snute" - 8. "East of the Sun and West of the Moon"

Studio album by Jan Garbarek with Naná Vasconcelos and John Abercrombie. Vasconcelos plays berimbau, talking drum, percussion, and is credited for voice performance, and Abercrombie for playing guitars.
It's an interesting release by the great Norwegian saxophone player who has already established his special "Nordic" sound of ambient or contemporary jazz, closely related to the works of Palle Mikkelborg and / or Danish jazz band Entrance.
The overall impression is a somewhat uneven album with too many interests, and personally, I find other works by Garbarek better.

The Pogues "Red Roses for Me" (1984)

Red Roses for Me [debut]

release date: Oct. 1984

format: cd (2009 reissue)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]

producer: Stan Brennan

label: Stiff Records / WEA - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Transmetropolitan" (4 / 5) - 2. "The Battle of Brisbane" - 3. "The Auld Triangle" (4 / 5) - 4. "Waxie's Dargle" (4 / 5) (live) - 5. "Boys From the County Hell" - 6. "Sea Shanty" - 7. "Dark Streets of London" (4 / 5) - 8. "Streams of Whiskey" (4 / 5) - 9. "Poor Paddy" (4 / 5) - 10. "Dingle Regatta" - 11. "Greenland Whale Fisheries" - 12. "Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go" - 13. "Kitty"

Studio album debut by The Pogues, who at this early stage is a sextet consisting of Shane MacGowan on lead vocals and guitar (only on this album), Jem Finer on banjo, Spider Stacy on tin whistle, James Fearnley on accordion, Cait O'Riordan on bass, and with Andrew Ranken (inserted photo in left bottom corner on the front cover, which flank the members around a photo of J.F. Kennedy!) on drums. At this point the band often played traditional celtic folk songs to their own music played in up-tempo arrangements with a smaller portion of the punk rock element they would become more associated with already from the successive album, except from on the traditional "Waxie's Dargle" and on "Streams of Whiskey" which both sounds more like what may be found on Rum Sodomy & the Lash (1985). The band was formed by songwriter Shane MacGowan, who had begun his music career as songwriter and vocalist in the new wave and garage rock band The Nipple Erectors, later The Nips with MacGowan under the alias of 'Shane O'Hooligan'. This band underwent a long row of changing line-ups which also included James Fearnley until MacGowan and Spider Stacy for a period put more energy in the celtic folk group Stacy's Millwall Chainsaws, and also both performed in the New Republicans before they eventually got together with Finer and to form Pogue Mahone. Fearnley was included early on and was then followed by O'Riordan, and drummer Ranken was the last to join before releasing the band's first single "Dark Streets of London" in Jun. '84, which was initially sold at concerts but still ended up as a popular new release. The band was then banned on BBC because of the band's name. 'Pogue mahone' is Irish dialect for 'Kiss my arse!'. Alledgedly, it was a BBC announcer, who enjoyed their music, who then announced them as 'The Pogues' to avoid the ban and appearently that called for a quick name change, and the single was soon re-issued under the new name on Stiff Records.

The TV music programme, The Tube on Channel 4 used a video of The Pogues playing "Waxie's Dargle", apparently a song that brought the band a considerable amount of fame. Five out the album's thirteen tracks are traditionals, seven songs are written by Shane MacGowan, and the last track is music by The Pogues to a poem written by Irish poet Brendan Behan.

I didn't listen to this before after their third album and didn't appreciate it as much as I have come to. In a way, this is like The Dubliners meet The Pogues. The traditional folk is at center and it only takes a small twist to turn it into something really great, and then again, it's also really fine with their touch on folk music and what appears as a genuine love for the genre.

[ allmusic.com and Sounds hand it 3,5 / 5, Mojo and Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]