A Green Man Review

Music is so essential to the Cuban character that you can’t disentangle it from the history of the nation. the history of Cuban music is one of cultural collisions, of voluntary and forced migrations, of religions and revolutions. – Ned Sublette’s Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo

I smelled something nicely enticing in the hallway out of our Kitchen. So I handed Pub duties over to Finch and got myself down there for the eventide meal, which was lamb kebabs seasoned with fennel, cumin, garlic and chili. According to Gus, our Groundskeeper who does oh so much more than that essential work, It turned out that we just slaughtered several lambs. The kebabs were served up with basmanti rice, steamed veggies and the best yeasted whole wheat rolls I’ve had.

We had ice cream for desert: a cardamom and ginger one, another intensely dark chocolate and peanut in nature and a strawberry one with some berries of the summer season. I sampled all three and can say that Mrs. Ware and her ever so talented Kitchen staff outdid themselves!

So let’s head over to my work table where my iPad is and see what we’ve got for you this evening.

Gary offers us up a fine selection of J.R.R. Tolkien non-fiction material this time.

Asher took an in-depth tour of Tolkien’s The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book. The author, he says, spoke of Bombadil in two ways: ‘On the one hand, he has called Bombadil both the spirit of the dwindling English countryside and the spirit of natural science: “the spirit that desires knowledge of other things, their history and nature, because they are ‘other’.” On the other hand, he has suggested that the reason he couldn’t bring himself to keep Bombadil out of The Lord of the Rings is that he represents something larger, something best not left out, though he hesitated to look too closely at what that was. One can surmise that this is true both of Tom as he appears in the Ring saga and also as he appears in the Adventures.’

‘Every Christmas between the years 1920 and 1943, the ever-so-blessed children of J.R.R. Tolkien received some of the most unique mail that a child could ever hope for: letters from Father Christmas himself!’ says Cat in his splendid review of Letters From Father Christmas — both the book itself and a readers theater style performance of them at his local bookstore. ‘Beautifully illustrated and delivered in various ways, they told of all kinds of things that happened at the North Pole, and about the folk who lived there with Santa.’

And Craig reviewed the audio version of Tolkien’s Letters from Father Christmas audio, read by Derek Jacobi. ‘For those who may not be familiar with his work, I’ll simply say that you are in for a treat. Jacobi was the perfect choice for this reading. Not only has he read other Tolkien works but his voice resembles that of a kindly grandfather, ideal for the character of Father Christmas.’

Grey wrote an admiring review of J.E.A. Tyler’s The Complete Tolkien Companion, which she said is an invaluable reference. ‘Tyler is an author and journalist who is, in my opinion, one of the best authors of general “Tolkien guides” available today. While his scholarship may not be as extensive as that of some other authors, he has the ability to see the entire legendarium and its interlinking components, and to lay out and cross-reference those components with an understanding and clearness of text that makes his work easily accessible to readers, from the Tolkien neophyte to the Tolkien scholar. If you only have one reference book on Tolkien on your shelf, it ought to be this one.

Jack bestirred himself to read and review J.R.R. Tolkien’s Beowulf and the Critics, a collection of different versions of a lecture by Tolkien on the ancient Anglo-Saxon epic. He recommends it, with a caveat. ‘Just keep in mind that our dear don was writing a treatise on Beowulf that takes into account the entire thousand-year history of that ballad as a cultural object. Bloody Hell! He does a rather neat job in some forty-five or so pages of giving you everything, and I mean everything, you’ll ever need to know ’bout Beowulf. Just drink lots of very strong coffee before reading it – you’ll need the caffeine!’

‘Tolkien lived in that long-vanished era when letter writing was an intrinsic part of daily social and business activity,’ Jack says in his review of, what else, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. ‘There were few phones, obviously no e-mail, and telegrams were used only for very urgent business. (He did use airgraphs, a special postal service to reduce the mail volume, for letters to Christopher and the like.) But the proper gentleman or gentlewoman wrote letters — lots of letters! And Tolkien was, like the hobbits he created, a perfect English gentleman.’

He also reviewed and contrasted a couple of reference books aimed more at a general audience, Robert Foster and the Brothers Hildebrandt’s Tolkien’s World from A to Z: The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth, and J.E.A. Tyler and Kevin Really’s The Tolkien Companion. He definitely prefers the latter. ‘ Tyler rightfully assumes that one has either The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings in hand and is simply seeking more information. And information is what you get in The Tolkien Companion — a generous serving of lovingly detailed material that will enhance your understanding of these books every bit as much as The Annotated Hobbit will do. Tolkien’s World from A to Z just can’t compare to it!

Kathleen reviewed her copy of Tolkien’s Smith of Wooten Major & Farmer Giles of Ham that she first read when she was 13, a time when many readers of her generation were disappointed by them. ‘They aren’t epic, or sweeping, and there are no elves, hobbits or dwarves in them. That’s been a problem with a lot of Tolkien’s non-LOTR over the years, and not even the elf-centric The Silmarillion pleased most of his audience. But dismissing Smith and Farmer Giles is as much a loss to a reader as is ignoring the appendices of LOTR itself.’

Lisa reviewed a fairly obscure Tolkien text, Narn I Chîn Húrin, or The Tale of the Children of Húrin, which takes place many thousands of years before the bits we’re all more familiar with. ‘There are the usual things one expects in Tolkien’s mythic prose; it’s archaic but less like the King James Bible than some of his work, and a bit more like Norse saga. That said, there are influence and motifs from Siegfried and Norse saga, and the Finnish tale of Kullervo in the Kalevala. There’s a bit of medieval Irish too, in terms of the effects of the curse; it’s reminiscent of geasa like the one Macha put on the men of Ulster. But for all its archaism and tragic mythos, The Children of Húrinis extremely readable, and a very well made book.’

Liz wrote a monster review of the 2003 HarperCollins five-volume edition of Tolkien’s The History of Middle-Earth. The history was an immense undertaking for all involved, and the review was likewise. ‘At his death, J.R.R. Tolkien left a huge body of unfinished and often unorganized writings on the mythology and history of Middle-earth. In The History of Middle Earth (HoME), his son, Christopher, has sought to organize this huge collection of drafts, revisions and reworkings into an organized and intelligible whole.’

Liz also reviewed some collected essays and lectures of Tolkien’s, published as The Monsters and the Critics, which Jack also touched on at some length in his review of Beowulf and the Critics (see above). ‘These seven essays provide a glimpse into Tolkien’s intent as a scholar, translator of texts, and novelist. Just as Sir Gawain’s shield device, the pentangle, gave graphic evidence of how Gawain’s virtues were inextricably linked, this book shows how Tolkien’s interests in philology (i.e., historical linguistics) and the art of fantastic fiction were bound together, each giving life to the other.’

Matthew was impressed all around by the audiobook of Tolkien’s translation of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” as read by Terry Jones (yes, that Terry Jones). ‘One of Tolkien’s first scholarly works was a modern English translation of the 14th century alliterative poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” Although there have been a handful of translations since, Tolkien’s stands out as accomplishing a two-fold mission that few others have achieved. He brings the poem into the modern idiom in a way that is readable, but he also retains the alliterative metric structure that the anonymous Gawain poet was trying to revive.’

Matthew also reviewed a helpful reference book, Christopher Tolkien’s The History of Middle-earth Index, which gathers the indexes from all 12 volumes of The History of Middle Earth into one volume. ‘The Index contains every entry from the separate indexes of the History, as well as Christopher Tolkien’s explanatory text that prefaces each separate index. However, instead of gathering all the references to a particular name under one heading, Tolkien has chosen to keep the entries separate. Thus, we have a separate heading for Beren’s appearances in the first volume, followed by an entry for Beren’s appearances in the second volume, etc.’

Warner reviewed the award winning book by academic Holly Ordway, Tolkien’s Modern Readings, in which Ordway lays to rest the notion that all Tolkien read was medieval literature. ‘It is a fascinating volume at times, veering from works still known to current readers all the way to quiet, esoteric works that have largely passed into oblivion. The book focuses on works likely to have influenced the creation of middle earth related works (specifically The Hobbit, Lord of The Rings, and the Silmarillion) and proving Tolkien read them.’

Gary loves cookies, so he was eager to try Trader Joe’s Chocolate & Peanut Butter Joe-Joe’s sandwich cookies. His verdict? ‘They’re tasty and definitely satisfy your sweet tooth. I don’t think they need to be as sugary as they are, but then I’m not the one making gazillions of dollars selling high-end snacks to the bougies, so what do I know?

David enthusiastically reviewed a film that followed the ups and downs of a Cuban band over the decades. ‘Los Zafiros was filmed beautifully by Thomas Ackerman, the island of Cuba providing a perfect setting for the cinematographer’s art. Producer and director Lorenzo DeStefano did a marvelous job in balancing the archival with the new, and the whole team has created a stunning work of art.

Big Earl kicks off our special Cuban jazz archival edition with the Cuban-adjacent Sangre Negra by Orlando Poleo. ‘Hailing from Venezuela, Orlando Poleo is one of the artists at the forefront of World Jazz in Europe. This is not the type of Afro-Jazz of Tito Puente, nor that of Hugh Masakela, but a super smooth, very modern blast of South American rhythms mixing with a medium-sized horn ensemble and piano. It’s a very cool blend, sounding Caribbean enough to sate the current Cuban Jazz craze, and yet poppy enough to appeal to both the “cocktail” jazz and world music novice.’

Next he reviewed Viva Mindelo’s Fantcha. ‘Fantcha is very much in the “torch” mode of Cuban music: the sort of musical style designed to appeal to gringo tourists. Very influenced by the big band style of the 1940s American scene, this disc is heavy on orchestrations, aching melodies, and soft samba tempos. Mindello has a decent voice, not very broad in range, but perfect for this type of music. Her voice is drenched with emotion, like on the slow “Amiga,” where you can hear her on the edge of tears.’

He was less than blown away by Vieja Trova Santiaguera’s Pura Trova. ‘More or less a put-together group, VTS features artists in their sixties and seventies playing the traditional folk forms from Cuba. Assembled in the early 1990s to perform in Spain, the group has carried on intermittently, producing some fine renditions of some of the greatest music forms the Caribbean has to offer.’

David, who was the longtime editor of Rylander, a newsletter dedicated to the music of Ry Cooder, wrote evocatively about Ry’s outing with Manuel Galban, Mambo Sinuendo. ‘What’s it sound like? It’s the kind of music you might hear on Mars! At the beach! It evokes images of girls in bikinis drinking exotic concoctions with umbrellas and straws, men in straw hats, bright colors, the sun, the heat, but no sweat. It sounds like it was recorded in a big empty room. There is a spacey yet rich sonic quality about the whole record.’

David liked a couple of releases from Switzerland’s RealRhythm Records, Conjunto Casino’s Montuno en Neptuno #960, and Julio Padron Y Los Amigos De Sta. Amalia’s Descarga Santa. Of the former, he said, ‘Unlike the Buena Vista bands which are heavily guitar based, Conjunto Casino is a brass band, with no strings. Trumpets, trombones and a strong piano, with loads of percussion is the sound of the day here. If you can keep your feet still while this album is playing … you’d better check your pulse.’

Gary reviewed three discs — Ay, Candela, A la Casa de la Trova, and Sentimiento — by three BVSC stars. ‘Ibrahim Ferrer, Eliades Ochoa and Omara Portuondo were three of the main participants in 1996’s groundbreaking, multi-platinum Buena Vista Social Club recording that returned Cuban jazz to the world stage. The Cuban state recording company EGREM, through its New York-based Escondida label, has begun re-releasing tracks by these three and other Cuban artists, which laid the groundwork for the explosion that followed Buena Vista.’

‘Santeros y Salseros is the perfect primer for anyone interested in the various threads that make up modern Cuban music,’ Gary said of one of the four discs he reviewed in another Cuban music omni. Read the review to see what he thought of the whole batch.

‘Does the world really need yet another “various artists” collection of Cuban music?’ That’s what Gary wondered when he picked up the Rough Guide to the Cuban Music Story. He answered in the affirmative. ‘The Cuban Music Story sings, it swings, it sways and it even rocks.’

He also liked The Rough Guide to Cuban Son. ‘The documentation and artwork are professional and well written, adding greatly to the listener’s appreciation. The music lasts a full 71 minutes, giving great value for the money and a wide range of acts.’

He also reviews Guajira mas Guajira, an album of genre-skipping music by two of the top names in Cuban music, Eliades and Maria Ochoa. Eliades was a key player in the world-famous Buena Vista Social Club and has been a member of Cuarteto Patria for many years. Maria is a member of Alma Latina (“Latin soul”) and has sung with a host of Cuban acts. Together, Gary says, they make beautiful music.

‘With superb music recorded from 1955 to 1990, Guantanamera is a thoroughly enjoyable overview of 20th Century Cuban music,’ Gary says of one of the five additional releases from Escondida that he reviewed in an omni, which also includes career overviews of the music of Benny Moré, Juan Formell y los Van Van, Irakere, and Chucho Valdes.

Of another disc, he said, ‘I can’t speak highly enough of Pancho Amat’s De San Antonio a Maisí, an absolutely delightful collection of traditional and contemporary son by today’s living master of the tres.’

He also enjoyed Absolutely Live II by Juan de Marcos’ Afro-Cuban All Stars. ‘Juan de Marcos founded the Afro-Cuban All Stars to tour North America and Europe with the music of the Buena Vista Social Club in 1997. It has continued as one of the world’s top purveyors of the Cuban music known as son, a catchy, folk-based music that combines Afro-Cuban clave with American jazz idioms.’

‘Alex Chadsey, Farko Dosumov and Jeff Busch live in Seattle, where they make music. Solid, groove-filled Cuban jazz, to be precise,’ he said of the trio Duende Libre. He reviewed both their self-titled debut and their sophomore release Drift.

Daymé Arocena makes an infectious blend of danceable Latin music on her sophomore release Cubafonía, Gary noted. ‘The whole album pulls from Cuba’s rich musical legacy. Daymé sings mostly in Spanish, but drops effortlessly into a fluent English and even occasionally into a bit of French.’

Mike found the whole package of Puentes Brothers’ Morumba Cubana very appealing. ‘Morumba Cubana derives its heart and soul from the Puentes brothers, but the back-up talent really gets the numbers down, whether they’re playing something from a street corner in Havana to a bewitching passage straight from a village in the hills to a commercial airplay-ready tune. The liner-notes guide the listener through the various Latin forms (samba, rumba, etc.), and the English translations of the lyrics are quite imaginative.’

Richard Condon did a deep dive into three discs of Cuban jazz: Paquito d’Rivera’s Big Band Time, Elio Villafranca’s Encantaciones, and various artists’ The Rough Guide To Latin Jazz. He particularly enjoyed the former. ‘The classically trained Paquito d’Rivera, who hails from Havana, has played with Dizzy Gillespie and numerous other eminences of the U.S. modern jazz scene. Although he doubles on saxophone, he is a virtuoso of the clarinet, not a very common instrument in Latin jazz, and his style sometimes echoes the clarinettists of the swing era such as Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw, in whose music he is unquestionably steeped.’

Richard Dansky gave a positive review to the Scottish Cuban band La Sonera Calaveras’ Numero Uno! ‘Fans of the genre will be pleased by the straightforward and unpretentious production values on the album, which spares us any attempts at fusion or electronic experimentation in favour of a classic and sincere expression of (mostly) pure son.’

To close things out, here’s a sample from the sadly out of print various artists’ compilation Guantanamera that Gary reviews above. Enjoy the charming big band conjunto of Beny Moré and his orchestra’s Santa Isabel De Las Lajas.

Brown eyed women and red grenadine
the bottle was dusty but the liquor was clean
Sound of the thunder with the rain pouring down
and it looks like the old man’s getting on

Robert Hunter’s‘Brown-Eyed Women‘

Sorry ’bout the delay in getting your Queen’s Lament IPA to you, it’s been a very busy day as we’ve got a hand fastening on the Greensward and the brides changed their minds this morning  on what libations they wanted for the reception afterwards. And I’m down two workers as Gus needed them for desperately needed work in Macgregor’s Kitchen Garden which is much larger than the quaint name it has would suggest. And yes there was a Head Gardener here by that name.

The weather’s been sunny and quite hot so almost everyone here is finding an excuse to be outside. The Kitchen staff has been out on the back terrace that borders on the Kitchen (which is actually in the basement level right below our Pub which is in the first level of basement) setting up the reception. I should tell you that Kitchen and Pub have full banks of triple glazed leaded glass windows so they’re cheerfully bright spaces when the sun reaches this side of Kinrowan Hall.

So I wonder what we’ve for you this edition..

It’s all music reviews this time, be it bands like the Pogues or solo artists  like the much missed Sandy Denny of Fairport Convention fame. So grab a couple of your favorite libation be it a coffee or something stronger and sit in for some great reading now.

Cat really likes The Pogues: The Lost Decades: ‘Ann Scanlon has captured the Pogues from their very first days in early ’82 ’til a decade later when they released their only commercially successful album If I Should Fall From Grace With God, an album that really did sound like it was produced instead of being simply tossed togather. Ann’s clearly at ease with the band. And it’s clear she had the full cooperation of the band, their friends, and assorted never do well hanger-ons. This is a fuckin’ brillant work of ethnograpghy that catches the evolution of a band as no other book I’ve read has done.’

Chris’ review of Clinton Heylin’s No More Sad Refrains: The Life and Times of Sandy Denny starts off with this rather unusual introduction:  ‘In some ways it’s apposite that a book written about an artist as emotionally charged and mercurial as Sandy Denny should itself have had a difficult and rocky genesis. Some people, myself included, were expecting an biography of Sandy written by Pam Winters to be issued by Helter Skelter last year. It’s not my place as a reviewer to pass judgment on the disagreements which caused that project to flounder, and led to Clinton Heylin writing this book. Nevertheless, I include these comments to clarify the situation for those readers who do not know the background, why a biography did not appear last year, and why the author of this book, Clinton Heylin, is perhaps not the same author that they may have expected. It also helps explain the rather unusual comments in Clinton Heylin’s acknowledgments. Maybe one day that full story will unfold, but I shall keep my thoughts and comments on the book in hand.’

Chuck found Garóid Óh Allmhuráin’s Pocket History of Irish Traditional Music rather good:  ‘Here’s a neat little book. Gearóid Ó h Allmhuráin manages to compress a history of Irish music into just over 150 pages and does it clearly and cleanly.  I have an aficionado’s knowledge, not a expert’s, of Irish music, so I can’t say for certain if absolutely everyone who should be included was. But the major figures – Turlough O’Carolan, Rory Dall, Francis O’Neill, Michael Coleman, and even Riverdance – all get suitable notice. Furthermore, Ó h Allmhuráin does an excellent job of describing the origins of the various aspects of the Irish tradition, as well as, placing the more recent performers within that tradition.’

Ever listen to Little Feat? Here’s the first biography of the singer Lowell George and David has the story: ‘Mark Brend’s Rock and Roll Doctor provides us with the essential material. The story of a life. Taken together with his recordings this is the closest any of us will come to a look at who Lowell George was. But perhaps his widow, Elizabeth George, said it best, “There was nothing regular about the guy.”’

David found a good one here: ‘There have been many books written about Frank Zappa. Perhaps the most disappointing, and yet most enlightening, was his own The Real Frank Zappa Book. A bizarre but strangely readable book was Ben Watson’s Frank Zappa’s Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play. Dangerous Kitchen: the Subversive World of Frank Zappa falls somewhere in between. Kevin Courrier is a journalist and film critic for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. This is his second book, and it is a labor of love.’

Kate has a choice rock ‘n’ roll biography for us: ‘ Scott Allen Nollen has proven his devotion as a Tull fan in the countless miles travelled and the hours passed collecting details and interviewing band members and other associates. He has included nostalgic pictures of the band, some of which were borrowed from Ian Anderson, the often frenzied flautist who, despite some controversy, became the Fagin-like front man for the band. After ten long years of research, here in Jethro Tull: A History of the Band, 1968-2001 is a comprehensive and entertaining story of the much misunderstood Jethro Tull. The authenticity is underlined by the thoughtful and honest foreword written by Ian Anderson himself.’

 Mike Scott’s Adventures of a Waterboy was a lot better than Gary expected: ‘The moment I opened this book about Mike Scott and started reading it was when I first realized that it was a memoir. And if you’ve read many musicians’ autobiographies, you’ll know why my heart sank. “Oh, great, another slog through a couple hundred pages of mediocre writing at best.” It didn’t take long for Mr. Scott to dispel that notion. And when I reached the end of Chapter 1, I said out loud, “This guy can really write!” Not just songs, but prose, too.”’

Gary looks at a very personal biography, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon: ‘Warren Zevon died in 2003, within a week of Johnny Cash. While he was nowhere near the cultural icon that Cash was, Zevon was one of the most important voices in popular music in the second half of the 20th century. That much was clear to me before, but it was brought home to me by this biography compiled by his ex-wife Crystal Zevon.’

Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span always seem to evoke sunmet for me, so it’s fitting that Lars has a review of Brian Hinton and Geoff Wall’s biography of Ashley Hutchings: The Guv’nor & the Rise of Folk Rock as he helped birth both of those groups: ‘To some of us the subject of this book is, if not God, at least the musical equivalent to the pope. Name a group you like and have followed over the years, and there is a fair chance that Mr. Hutchings was there to start it, or at least influence the starting of it. He is in one way or another responsible for a very large number of the records in my collection, and yes, we are certainly talking three figures, here.’

During the early Victorian Era, the Head Gardener at the time, Jacob Niles, persuaded the Steward, Allison MacPhee, to invest in a conservatory. According to the Journals kept by him and the Steward, the deciding factor was that it could be used for growing fruit in the long winter, including oranges and bananas. It wasn’t cheap and was costly to heat as it needed lots of seasoned wood to make it warm.

Fortunately, triple glazed glass was used (at no small expense), and that helped. Certainly the fresh tropical fruit was a hit during our long Scottish winter. We still use it for that purpose but now we use solar power to heat it more efficiently than the original builders could possibly have imagined.

So what does that have to do with strawberry ice cream? Well, that was my idea. You see, we exist on The Border with the Faerielands. Several decades back, I made friends with the Head Gardener for the Red Dragon House, who had no luck growing their version of strawberries — the ones that start red and turn white when fully ripe — when it turned cold there. So he asked me to see if I could make them flourish.

It took several years before I figured that it needed a symbiotic bacterium that didn’t like being cold ever, so I started growing them for the Red Dragon House with the proviso that we could also use them. Would you believe that took a contract signed by all parties? Elves are big on formality! Three pages of contract to be precise. And that’s how we came to have strawberry ice cream in the winter. The whole milk comes from High Meadow Farm, the ever so costly vanilla from Madagascar, and it’s sweetened, just a bit, with honey from our hives. It’s quite delicious!

It is just weird eating strawberry ice cream that is all-white. Really, really weird.

Gary says, ‘Anyone who enjoys Francophone Louisiana roots music and music documentaries in general will love Roots of Fire. The film focuses in particular on the young musicians who are bringing Cajun music into the 21st century, honoring their past and their forbears while moving the music forward and making it their own.’

Robert had mixed feelings about a comics compilation that reintroduces us to Green Arrow. ‘Brian K. Vaughan starts his introduction to this compilation by noting that, although a few years ago comic fans gave a series five or six issues to prove itself, these days you’ve got to get everything established and your hook set pretty fast. I think this may be the cause of some of the reservations I have about Green Arrow: Year One.’

Richard also had some reservations about another in DC’s Year One series. ‘The best thing that can be said for Nightwing: Year One is that it fills in a gap. What it doesn’t do, though, is really get into the meat of what might happen to someone whom the Batman threw out. The end is never in doubt, and the journey to get there feels like it’s by means of the shortest route possible.’

Searching the Archives for some hot music to reflect recent weather trends, we dredged up some reviews of Cajun, Zydeco, and klezmer related music.

Brendan was pleasantly surprised at the music on KlezRoym’s Sceni. ‘KlezRoym is a band out of Italy who combine the fervor and stylings of klezmer with the improvisation of Roma jazz and the feel of Mediterranean music. Sure, all klezmer, being the hybrid genre that it is, has a little Roma, a little jazz, and maybe a little Mediterranean harmony. But KlezRoym, a seven-person unit consisting of Gabriele Coen, Andrea Pandolfo, Pasquale Laino, Riccardo Manzi, Marco Camboni, Leonardo Cesari, and Eva Coen, add their own mixture of moxy, imagination, and excellent improvisational skills to the music.’

He also reviewed one by the Klezmer Conservatory Band. ‘Anyone with even a modicum of interest in klezmer music will find much to enjoy on Dance Me To The End of Love. With this release, the Klezmer Conservatory Band proves itself to sit among the current favorites such as the Klezmatics as well as among the “greats” like the Klezmorim.’

He greatly enjoyed Selim Sesler’s The Road to Keşan: Turkish Rom and Regional Music of Thrace. ‘The music of The Road to Keşan focuses on the music of celebrations, mostly wedding melodies in fact. This is exuberant, heady music that was made for dancing — and very enjoyable to listen to. Among the 9/8 and 7/4 rhythms, Sesler gives his group plenty of time for solos and interesting arrangements. His clarinet has an almost sorrowful tone to it, that is nicely contrasted with the otherworldly tones of the kanun played by his son, Bulent.’

And he was intrigued by the Sicilian music on Taberna Mylaensis’ L’anima du munnu. ‘Each of the songs here are based on traditional themes and instrumentation, yet Taberna Mylaensis has added a spark of theatricality and modernity (not to mention excellent production values) to them, giving each track a feeling of being a complete piece of art of its own. Much like the mosaic-like cover art, the result is a CD of masterful pieces that together create a beautiful composition.’

Shifting gears and regions, Brendan took a tour of The Kingdom of Zydeco, a companion album to a book of the same name by Michael Tisserand. ‘Although Tisserand could have opted for a collection of more famous zydeco hits, including many more by Buckwheat Zydeco or Clifton Chenier, he concentrated instead on creating a multifaceted document that tours the Kingdom of Zydeco aurally just as his book tours it verbally.’

Gary reviewed the two disc, CD/CD-ROM (remember those!?) compilation Allons en Louisiane. ‘This collection of 15 tracks  from various Rounder projects plus a CD-ROM — the title of which translates “Let’s go to Louisiana” — works excellently as an overview of some of the best music by some of the most relevant musicians in the two traditions; and as a primer on French Louisiana culture, history, folklore and music. Each disc succeeds on its own, and the two complement each other as a package.’

Judith also got her klezmer on with Yiddish For Travelers from Metropolitan Klezmer (plus a promo disc from their sister band The Isle of Klezbos). ‘What an ethnic party headbanger! There is not a track on Yiddish For Travelers that drags; the slower tracks move a long like a diesel ferry through the dark waters of night. MK, with its often perky brass and drums and more subtle clarinet, violin, and accordion, visits a number of locales. Most are similarly rich, eastern, and captured with energy and soul, but a few break the mold.’

She also reviewed two klezmer-adjacent recordings, the more traditional The Zmiros Project and the contemporary Still Soft Voiced Heart. ‘It’s so hard to tell the boundaries of folk and other types of music, and for many people, so useless. But between these two albums there is a real boundary. Interested in Jewish culture and soul? Interested in how words can be fit onto tunes that convey the same idea? Interested in how traditional music can be fused? Then both albums will be of great interest.’

Our What Not comes courtesy of Denise…

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!”

I remember hearing about the Jabberwock in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There.  He sounded spooky and dangerous.  Something I would never want to meet in person.  Granted, I first heard of him when I was a little kid, so there’s that.  Folkmanis made a puppet to honor the scary beast, though I have to say that this puppet is spooky and dangerous in all the best ways.

I rather like ‘Brown-Eyed Women’ quite a bit but my favorite version isn’t the one with Garcia singing that the Dead did, but rather is one someone here found some years back. The late Robert Hunter who wrote much of what they played including this song and my favourite version is done by him during a show at Biddy Mulligan’s in Chicago on the tenth of October over thirty years ago. So let’s now listen to him doing that song.

Time is never called in my recurring dream of pubs. — Ciaran Carson in Last Night’s Fun: In and Out of Time with Irish Music

I’m Iain, the Librarian here at the Kinrowan Estate. I‘m settling in for a quiet day of reading and answering correspondence after finishing the forthcoming edition (my fellow librarians and book lovers still like letters despite email which we all use of course), as Ingrid, our Steward, took my apprentices, the Several Annies as they’ve been called for centuries out of tradition, for the day for them to learn what an Estate Steward does.

So first breakfast. Unlike Reynard, I always drink tea as I never developed a taste for coffee no matter how good it was. So it was lapsong soochong, a loose leaf first blush smoked black tea from Ceylon. With a splash of cream of course. And a rare surprise too — apple fritters served with thick cut twice smoked bacon, using apple wood only, and yet more apples in the form of cinnamon and nutmeg infused apple sauce. There was even mulled cider for those wanting even more apples in their breakfast fare! Thus fortified, I turned to writing the What’s New for this week …

We’re doing nothing but works by Roger Zelazny this time so we’re leading with a review by April of his longest work: ‘Roger Zelazny’s Amber series spans three decades, ten volumes, several short stories, a RPG, graphic novels and even a recent revival attempt (John Betancourt’s Dawn of Amber series). Packed into those original books and stories is a wealth of characters, settings, items and plots — far too much minutiae for any but the most die-hard fan to remember. And that’s where Krulik’s The Complete Amber Sourcebook comes in. The Sourcebook is not for someone who has not read the entire series, as spoilers are literally everywhere. Krulik assumes an audience already familiar with the core set of books.’

She also has look at an unusual novel from a SF writer doing his only thriller: ‘Dead Man’s Brother is a delight to read — Roger Zelazny’s language and characters seem right at home in this genre — and regrettably over all too fast at less than 300 pages. If only more such jewels were left to unearth…’

LCat leads off a review in this way: ‘If you started listening to audiobooks over the past ten or so years, considered yourself to be extremely lucky as you’re living in a true Golden Age where narration, production, and ease of useless is extremely good. But long ago, none of that was something you could take as a given as it most decidedly wasn’t.’ Now read his review of Roger Zelazny’s Isle of Dead to see if this older audiobook transcended these limitations.

And he says ‘Roadmarks features a protagonist somebody is trying to kill as he moves along a time-travelling road. As one does. ‘Zelazny really didn’t do plots all that well, but he was gifted at developed unique characters and settings. So, like so many of his novels, this one’s true strengths lies in the unique nature of the setting, combined with the character development…’

The Ides of Octember: A Pictorial Biblography of Roger Zelazny is, I will note, ‘a bibliography which was prepared as part of The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny, a six volume undertaking, of which you’ll find the first volume, Threshold, reviewed here.’ Read his review on this bibliography which only diehard Zelazny fans or libraries with a strong  sf emphasis should consider buying, so quite naturally we have a copy.

Let’s not give away what happening in the story Lis reviews which is A Night in the Lonesome October: ‘Snuff is our narrator, here, and he’s a smart, interesting, likable dog. He’s the friend and partner of a man called Jack, and they are preparing for a major event. Jack has a very sharp knife, which he and Snuff use in gathering the necessary ingredients for the ancient and deadly ritual that will be performed on Halloween.’

Robert has a rather unusual book by him — well, unusual for Zelazny, at least — Damnation Alley: ‘One of the key elements of Zelazny’s work was his complete disregard for the boundaries between science fiction, fantasy, and mainstream literature. Consider that, within a science fiction framework he frequently introduced mythological characters, not as mythic archetypes but as actual characters, and pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable stylistically within the genre into more widely accepted literary conventions. And, having said that, I’m faced with Damnation Alley, a novel from early in his career (1969) that seems, on its surface, to undercut my points.’

While poking around in the back reaches of the Library, he also ran across an old favorite, Roger Zelazny’s collection The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth and Other Stories: ‘Although he published his first story in the early 1950s, Roger Zelazny didn’t really impact the science fiction scene until 1963. That’s when I remember reading “A Rose for Eccelsiastes” in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (with their best cover ever illustrating Zelazny’s story). He followed it up the next year with the title story of this collection, which won him his first Nebula award. Zelazny and his contemporaries went on to become the American branch of science fiction’s New Wave, and pushed the envelope until it was altered beyond recognition.’

Reynard had the story of Irish coffee: “ Let me tell the tale of Irish coffee while I fix you one. It is said the very first Irish coffee was invented by Joseph Sheridan, a barkeep at an airbase located in Foynes, a small town in the West of Ireland.”

Gary, the music editor, here. In new music, I reviewed a new release Birds & Beasts by one of my favorite groups. ‘As much as it has depicted desert landscapes, the music of SUSS has essentially been inward looking. Reflective of the effects of those landscapes on the artist’s eye and ear. With their fifth full length release, the ambient country masters turn outward to revel, in their subtle, introspective way, on the creatures that populate the world around them.’

Another new one is from one of my favorite singers, Jake Xerxes Fussell’s When I’m Called. ‘Common elements of the human condition — the passage of time, mortality, and especially themes of travel and wandering — run through the nine songs on this LP, all delivered in Fussell’s melted-butter baritone.’

I also enjoyed new music from Cuban band leader and cuatro virtuoso Kiki Valera, an album called Vacilón Santiaguero. ‘This is the summer album I didn’t know I was pining for. It takes me back about 20 years to when the world and I were very into Son Cubano, but rather than an exercise in nostalgia, Vacilón Santiaguero feels and sounds vibrant and fresh.’

It being just after Independence Day in Ameria, I delved into the Archives intending to compile some reviews on the themes of liberty and freedom, but ended up with a big batch of Irish (and a little Welsh) music! Go figure.

Christopher Woods wrote up Dragons Milk and Coal, the second studio album put out by the Welsh band Bluehorses. ‘Anyone who likes loud, lively, fun, slightly punk-flavoured pub style folk-rock will simply love any of the Bluehorses albums. They are all very good. This one however is the best yet, and to my mind, it’s up there with the likes of Oysterband and The Men They Couldn’t Hang for both its musicianship, and its blend of traditional and new.’

Chris White reviewed Paul Brady’s Nobody Knows: The Best of Paul Brady. ‘This retrospective collection pulls together tracks from over half a dozen albums, released through the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties, and it demonstrates quite a wide assortment of material and musical styles. Ranging from traditional songs to slightly bluesy ballads, these songs sometimes tend towards a Van Morrison sound and at other times tend towards an almost mainstream, commercial sound.’

Jack Merry lovingly wrote up a career overview of The Pogues’ discography. ‘Once upon a time there was a band called The Pogues whose original name was Pogue Mahone, Irish Gaelic for “kiss my arse” before a BBC suit realized what it meant and said that they needed to change their name if the Beeb was to air their material. Pogue Mahone was indeed a good description of this band: their wild and drunken mix of trad material with the energetic kiss-off attitude of punk created a musical style that London and the greater world of rock ‘n’ roll had never seen.’

Jack also had some opinions about The Pogues’ live release Streams of Whiskey, over which there was some controversy over whether it should’ve been released. ‘This was obviously a truly fantastic concert and everyone is having the time of their lives. No one gives a shite if the vocals are good, or if the instruments on key. All the cuts here together make for an impressive display of what the lads sounded like live. Only ‘The Fairytale of New York’ should’ve been here but isn’t.’

Jack also did an omnibus review of Black 47’s first six albums and an EP, in which he noted that ‘…Black 47 is the quintessential Irish-American rock ‘n’ reel band as it merges traditional material with the political and cultural consciousness of the newer Irish immigrants. All the usual themes are here — political angst, love, racism, violence, and redemption.’

Judith reviewed a new release of an old concert, Paul Brady’s The Liberty Tapes. ‘Both the sound and the lineup send a cheerful shiver of deja vu up the spine of a veteran listener or player. Brady sings as he does on the old Green Linnet LPs that have by now been played over and over, and it’s that same crisp winning sound that won us over way back when.’

Mike was enthusiastic about the latest from Black 47. ‘On Fire is a live recording of grand musical and engineering quality. Much of the energy came from the band’s playing to their own audience on their home court of New York City. We kick off with “Big Fella,” a tribute to Michael Collins, that has a rockin’ sax break. Second up is their own take on “When the Saints Go Marching In,” which proves that yes indeed, you can mix Dixieland, Irish riffs, the spoken word, and rock — if you but have the right trombone player.’

Peter, in his inimitable fashion, gave a positive review to Paul Brady’s The Paul Brady Songbook — the CD version, that is. ‘You might say this is really the album from the film of the book! In August 2002 RTE television, Ireland’s national TV station, filmed a six programme series featuring Paul’s music, called The Paul Brady Songbook. This was shown only in Ireland, from October through December of that year. This album is a selection of those recordings. I understand there is also a three-hour DVD available of the entire series of programs. Just to confuse you it is also called The Paul Brady Songbook.’

Our What Not is Kim‘s writeup of Keoghs Irish Pub, her favorite pub in her hometown of Toronto. She says the owners have made ‘community building seem effortless, and have built the relatively new (circa 1997) pub into a hub for celebrating Irish culture in North America. The bar and its patrons are friendly, and some of the session night regulars appear to be stalwarts of the local Irish music scene. This is no age ghetto either — regulars range from pensioners to young, and often easy on the eyes, patrons in their 20s. The decor is tasteful and simple, not too dark, and the fireplace and kitchen add a bit of warmth, while the snug creates a spot for quiet conversation.’

So the Infinite Jukebox, our somewhat fey media server, has a song written and performed by Johnny Cash’s daughter, Rosanne,  that shows that she’s every bit as great covering her own material as she is covering his material as she did here. This week it’s ‘Runaway Train’ which comes from the same Bimbos concert in San Francisco that January evening. It details the end of a relationship that may or may not have been about her own such ending but it’s certainly heartfelt.

She’s looking for the music. She can hear it but she can’t find it. There are candles everywhere. Some parts of the room are low-ceilinged and high-cushioned, just right for kissing and gossip and splitting a bottle. Some parts are ballroom-size. The floor slopes down, away from the stone ceiling. Dawn trips a little, blames the drink. The bass gongs through her blood, a fiddle skirls, the faraway downbeat (alone of a tinny fusillade) cracks two glasses touching, a false blow, ting! Not in this room. Nor the next.  — Jennifer Stevenson’s ‘Solstice’

So, Midsummer has just come and gone, but summer’s not an event that disappears once the presents are opened. No, now we’re in the golden eternity, that endless perfect afternoon that arcs from June to September, a rainbow in every shade of heat. The air smells of forges and plums, cool water becomes a lover, and the best room in any house is the bower under a tree. The oaks are favoured for the best shade, one of the apricot or peach trees for snacks, or the rose arbors for the sheer overpowering delight of the perfume. With, of course, a book or three.

It’s that way here on the Kinrowan Estate, of course. Most of the staff are either out under the trees all day, or down in the cellar making sure the ale doesn’t evaporate in the heat. Reynard says that’s both a public service and a public trust, and tries to restrict it to his own staff; but when the heat hits triple digits, a lot of us turn dwarf and head for that little iron-bound door to the down-below beside the bar. Imagine our mixed mob of thirsty mortals, nature spirits and semi-demi-hemi immortals, all trying to sidle unobtrusively down the cellar steps!

In defense, Reynard has posted the score sheets for the Summer Reading Club on the cellar door. MacKenzie and Lilith are the judges, of course. They keep a special cart in the hall outside, filled with select and unusual volumes: that’s the trick, see, you have to read and review whatever the two of them have put out there. MacKenzie, I think, is trying to educate the lot of us — Lilith, being fey, has a warped sense of humor and slips in the real oddities. At least, I think it was her who stocked the Domesday Book in the original Old English.

Next to drink, the regulars in the Pub like books best, so there’s hardly a one who won’t pause before he tries to dive down the stairs to check his standing in the ranks. There are dozens of little leather wallets hanging on that door, and every one in the Club has personalized theirs some way: poker work, horse brasses, Avery labels, glowing eldritch script. When someone finishes a book, they add a review to their wallet. Scores are kept for quantity, of course, but also for quality — a thoughtful analysis of Gus’s little monograph on iris corms got twice the points garnered for someone’s slapdash review of all 140 volumes of the North American Manticore Stud Registry.

And of course, a lot of the non-drinkers — well, people who drink less, anyway — are usually popping in to check their scores as well, so there’s a sort of automatic defensive cordon in front of the door. And not only are all the readers checking the master lists to see who has read what and how long it took them, most of them are trying to peek in someone else’s wallet to check out their latest effort as well. It’s all anyone can hope for to get an ale they actually ordered!

Of course, we all manage. You can’t keep us away from books or ale, not if those delights were guarded by the Summer Queen’s guards themselves! So sit you down and have one of each, and celebrate the summer with us. If you can’t make up your mind, Reynard will be happy to try the new season’s brew out on you; and you could do worse than check out the tasty volumes on display in this edition.

Hail the Summer Queen!

Cat reviewed an Arthurian collection edited by Mike Ashley. ‘The Merlin Chronicles includes superb tales of magic and adventure, most specially written for this volume, ranging from short stories to complete novellas — including a Robert Holdstock piece, “Infantasm,” which I can’t find anywhere else. Their common theme is the dark side of the Arthurian world, the realms in which Merlin and the magic of the old beliefs clash with what Arthur thought he was creating.’

He wasn’t persuaded by the thesis of Kath Filmer-Davies’s Fantasy Fiction and Welsh Myth: Tales of Belonging. ‘What she does not prove to my satisfaction is that “Welsh stories, used with skill by accomplished story-tellers, break down cultural barriers, establish humanity as one family, remove our deepest fears and fill us with assurance and hope.” It’s a pity that that was the thesis of Fantasy Fiction and Welsh Myth: Tales of Belonging, as it has some cracking good stuff in it that is not related to the thesis.’

I (Iain) reviewed the audiobook edition of Alan Garner’s The Owl Service when it came out a decade back: ‘Listening to The Owl Service as told by Wayne Forester, who handles both the narration and voicing of each character amazingly well, one is impressed by his ability to handle both Welsh accents and the Welsh language, given the difficultly of that tongue, which make Gaelic look easy as peas to pronounce by comparison.’

Jo Morrison reviewed Jeffrey Gantz’s The Mabinogion, and Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones’ The Mabinogion, and had some advice on which to choose. ‘This proves difficult indeed, for although they both relate the same stories, their differences are profound and pronounced. The Everyman edition is more poetic, with flowery language and more ancient ways of speaking. The text is comparable to reading the King James version of the Bible, both in tone and in word choice. The Penguin edition is more modern, reading like contemporary stories. It is easier to follow for the modern ear, but loses some of the mystique lent by the older translation.’

Kim gave a rave review to Alan Garner’s opus. ‘The Owl Service is one of those books I found transformative as a young person. It also set me on the path to the original tales of the Mabinogi, and provided new insights on their worldview. I admire Garner’s courage in moving beyond the good and evil morality tales that simplify issues for children.’

Kim gives a gracious review to Donna R. White’s coverage of the Malbinogion, A Century of Welsh Myth in Children’s Literature. ‘White delivers a very competent discussion of both Garner and Alexander, particularly the influence of poet Robert Graves’s White Goddess on both authors, and includes enough interview material to satisfy adult fans looking for a reason to revisit these works.’

Next up, Kim turned in her own massive omnibus review of The Malbinogion in literature, including many of the works of Lloyd Alexander and Evangeline Walton. ‘The Mabinogion has inspired many other writers, such as Alan Garner and Susan Cooper (see her The Dark is Rising series), in creating compelling fiction for young adults. The material provides an early glimpse of the themes that inspired the Arthurian romances, and shows an early European worldview that shares a lot more with the Nordic myths than with the Mediterranean.’

She also gives high marks to the audio versions of three books by Lloyd Alexander, The Book of Three, The Black Cauldron, and The Castle of Llyr audiobooks, as read by James Langton. ‘I heartily recommend these audiobooks as an antidote to discontent on long car rides, and as a lure for Alexander’s writing. Like the printed books, these offer both insight and delight, drawing on classic mythology, coloured with the best of American sensibilities. These heroes struggle with themselves as much as with any external foes, and when they triumph, there is a place for them in a world where people are tolerant and sensible.’

Lisa had some quibbles with John Matthews’ The Song of Taliesin: Tales from King Arthur’s Bard. ‘In many cases Matthews has substantially fleshed out, altered or “improved” his sources where they might, in the frequently poor translations he relies on, have appeared obscure or corrupt. In some cases, in a desire to fit very different traditions into a coherent philosophical system, Matthews depends too much on more modern assumptions from Wicca (typified by frequent generic references to “the goddess”) and New Age esoteric mysticism — more than I, for one, am comfortable with in a Celtic context…’

She had more than quibblers with Matthews’ Taliesin: The Last Celtic Shaman, which she criticized thus: ‘…in its mingling of outdated with current, of academic scholarship with New Age wishful thinking, the free-ranging combining of texts from different sources, and an excess of unsupported assertions, the book is not at all reliable in a scholarly sense.’

One of our diverse authors reviewed Audrey L. Becker and Kristin Noone’s Welsh Mythology and Folklore in Popular Culture. ‘The editors make some large claims for the influence of Welsh mythology and legends on modern popular culture in their introduction, “Re-Imagining Wales,” which does make one important point: the Wales of the Mabinogi, the central body of Welsh myth, is not the “real” Wales.’

Rebecca gives three thumbs up to Mary Stewart’s The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, and The Last Enchantment. ‘In short, these novels are everything the Arthurian legend should be. They are full of noble characters and great deeds, and deep emotion without sentimentality. They are dignified and graceful, and they leave the reader in no doubt as to why the legendary Arthur is still remembered today.’

Jennifer offers chilaquiles for breakfast on a hot summer morning. No, really. When your ears are sweating a little, you don’t notice the heat outside so much. Your clothes smell delicious all day. Takes ten minutes. Any lucky soul who shares your breakfast with you will roll over with their paws in the air and love you for a solid week afterward.

Take a number of well-known musicians, toss in fans and a camera crew, put all on a train traversing Canada. That was the intent of the Festival Express. Sound intriguing? David thought so: ‘It opens with a faded map of north Ontario, Kapuskasing dead centre. Then the camera pulls back and from the middle of the screen comes a train — an old Canadian National engine — and tracks, lots of tracks. This is a movie about that train and the people who rode on it, and the places it stopped, and what happened one week in 1970 when this train went from Toronto to Calgary … with a cargo of rock’n’rollers and all their paraphernalia. What a summer.’

In new music, Gary gives a glowing review to Linda Thompson’s Proxy Music. ‘What do you do when you have a heart (and a notebook) full of songs but can’t sing them yourself? Well, if  you’re Linda Thompson and you have connections to (and are beloved by) several generations of musicians on both sides of the Atlantic, you sign up a bunch of them to play and sing them. By proxy, as it were.’

He also reviewed some new jazz. ‘Melodic, rhythmic, replete with lush harmonies and head-turning improvisation, Tarbaby’s You Think This America is just about everything I want in a jazz record.’

And from his personal archives with just a touch of a tie-in to Wales, Gary looks back at a favorite classic album, Deep Purple’s Book of Taliesyn, which he says ‘was definitely of its time, and this was not the version of Deep Purple that went on to mega-stardom with a string of hits that started with “Smoke On The Water.” But there are a lot of ideas here that were fresh at the time, some remarkable arrangements, a rhythm section capable of working a deep groove, and two extraordinary soloists in Lord and Blackmore.’

From our Welsh Music Archives, Huw was disappointed by Telyneg’s Nadolig Yng Nghymru (Christmas In Wales). ‘Overall, I have to say that, for me, the CD’s constant mixture of spoken word and music doesn’t work. It’s occasionally entertaining on the first listen. On repeated listens, though, it is irritating. To be positive, Bowen’s harp music is wonderful. I would have been happy to listen to an entire CD of it. The songs are a bit of a mixed bag, with the selection of modern and traditional songs in two languages lacking any real sense of coherence.’

Jo says that ‘those interested in the Welsh tradition should check out Llio Rhydderch, who studied and toured with the fabled Nansi Richards. For the uninitiated, an explanation is in order. The Welsh have a drastically different style of playing, largely due to the nature of the music itself. Their music is ornamented through theme and variation, a more classical style, rather than through the sort of ornamentation heard in Scottish and Irish music.’

Kim says ‘Carreg Lafar’s second album, Hyn … “combines great vocals and tasteful arrangements of Welsh traditional music, along with some nice originals, in a mix that seems slightly medieval and mysterious, while at the same time anchored with contemporary folk sensibilities.’

She also had very nice things to say about Pigyn Clust’s Perllan (Orchard). ‘This is an exquisite album. It’s difficult to decide whether the instrumentals or the vocals are more compelling — rest assured that both are lovely, and the combination is at once exciting and restrained. This disc will appeal both to fans of Celtic and early music, who will probably find it difficult to remove from the CD player.’

Kim also reviewed a brace of Welsh music recordings, from Crasdant, Gwerinos, Ogam, and two various artists’ collections, Welsh Choirs Sing Folk, and the Rough Guide to the Music of Wales. ‘Not surprisingly, these albums boast some fine vocal performances, and some interesting similarities with related Celtic and European traditions. There is both the call-and-response singing and the interesting harmonies that one would expect in a land of choirs. There are also some very fine female vocal performances, all with a distinctive style that is quite different that of neighboring Ireland, Scotland and England.’

‘I have always had a weak spot for Welsh music,” Lars admits. ‘It may not be as instantly catching as Irish or Scottish music, but once you start to dig into it, is equally rewarding. For those new to the music on this path, Ffynnon’s Celtic Music from Wales is as good a place as any to start. They are a little less traditional in their approach than groups like Calennig or Ar Log, but are a fine way to start developing a taste for what could be considered as the little sister of Celtic music. Full Welsh lyrics with English translations add to the experience.’

Lars reviewed Calennig’s homage to the music of trad singer Phil Tanner. ‘But A Gower Garland is much more than just a re-recording of songs collected from Tanner. It is a tribute to the culture of a small part of south Wales. Tems and Carron-Smith have done their research very well. They have dug deep into the local traditions, picking songs to show different faces of the life of Old Gower. And each song is accompanied by a detailed description of where the song comes from and what it was used for.’

He also reviewed two various artists’ compilations, The Music of Wales, The Folk Collection, and The Music of Wales, The Classic Collection. ‘Together these albums present a nation’s musical heritage. They provide a fine starting point for anyone wishing to get musically acquainted with Wales. They also serve well as a souvenir from the country, which according to its people would be larger than England if you flattened out all the mountains and hills.’

Peter had high praise for the live album Once Upon A Winter’s Night by Yardarm Offa. ‘The quality of the recording is excellent; indeed if not for the audience singing the choruses, it would be hard to distinguish it from a studio recording. But the band singing live and responding to the reaction and mood of the audience as they are enjoying the songs and joining in, is a joy to behold. It lifts the band, and you get that extra sparkle in the performance that is impossible to recreate in a cold studio recording. This is true folk music, as it should be, and what you hear in a real folk club.’

Peter enjoyed Trefor & Vicki Williams’s Timeless Land. ‘The duo seem to have found their own niche in the spectrum of folk performers, with Vicki taking the lead on vocals. All the songs are performed softly and honestly with an effective simplicity that makes for good listening. Probably what you might expect to hear in a U.K. folk club.’

Tim was pleased with a couple of Welsh discs, Llio Rhydderch’s Melangell, and Boys From The Hill’s Boys From The Hill. ‘Welsh music isn’t something that’s easily found, at least not where I live. I have found that it’s usually worth the effort when I do manage to track some down. I was thrilled to hear these two discs. One documents an old, but still extant tradition. The other is more contemporary in sound, but the influence of that tradition is heard throughout.’

Vonnie Carts-Powell reviewed a batch of Welsh CDs that contained some overlap, starting with a compilation she liked very much. ‘The various artists’ compilation from Sain was an invaluable aid to gaining some clue about the state of Welsh folk music. Goreuon Canu Gwerin Newydd (The Best of New Welsh Folk Music) is a sampler of 18 tracks by 15 Welsh groups, including the hilarious reggae interpretation of Welsh sea chanty “Flat Huw Puw” by Gwerinos.’

We’re still processing the loss of Canadian troubadour Gordon Lightfoot just over a year ago in May 2023. To celebrate the Solstice, here’s a live recording of his ‘Summertime Dream’ from a 1979 live broadcast on PBS’s Soundstage program.

We all tell stories and Jennifer Stevenson tells a great one in ‘Solstice’ which Grey reviews for us here: ‘The reader somehow senses that everything Dawn sees, each action she takes, even her name, has a deeper significance. She’s not just playing for a great party, she’s playing to keep a shrinking, fading man alive on the longest night. And if it’s an over-the-top, splendid bash that keeps the sun alive for another year, well, human beings believed that for a very long time. Maybe this story will help us remember some of what we’ve forgotten.’

You can hear the author splendidly reading  ‘Solstice’ here. You can read the story thisaway.