Tim Hoke wrote this review.
I’m often disappointed with recordings done by dance bands. Outstanding dance bands generally can’t reproduce that energy in a studio, and the end result is lackluster, even boring. By recording in a live setting, The Barn Owl Band manages to maintain the high energy essential to a good dance band.
Tim Hoke
The Barn Owls are Jason Huntley (fiddle), Jon Duvick (guitar, vocals), Marty Miller (string bass, percussion), Brad Johnson (mandolin, bouzouki), Merle Hall (five-string banjo), Mike Bell (mandolin, four-string banjo), Roger Alexander (piano, accordion, penny whistle), and Ehler Orngard (fiddle, bodhran).
As you can see, The Barn Owl Band is sizable, capable of producing a lot of sound when everyone is playing. It would be overpowering if it were done too much. Wisely, though, these tutti passages are not overused, and when they do appear, you can feel the sudden groundswell of energy (and hear the cheers of the audience). Otherwise, instruments nimbly drop in and out of the mix, always keeping the arrangements interesting, with plenty of tension and resolution. As befits dance musicians, the beat never wavers, although it does swing at times, such as their rendition of the Duke Ellington classic “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).”
As a change of pace, a song is included, a cover of Stan Rogers’ “Field Behind The Plow.” It serves nicely to break up the set; John Duvick has a pleasant singing voice, though not a riveting one. The song gives the band a chance to (successfully) show off their arranging skills at something other than dance music. Less successful is a recitation of Yeats’ poem, “The Fiddler Of Dooney.” Spoken in an affected Irish accent, this comes off sounding stilted. This is the only weak spot on the disc.
Energetic and creative, The Barn Owl Band makes me wish for a caller, a wooden floor, and a line of dancers. Lacking those, I don’t mind just sitting and listening to this live recording.
(Barn Owls, 2003)
