The Trick Is To Keep Going

In the first half of the year, I’ve been listening to three CDs quite a bit, all beautifully executed but quite different from one another. They are easily three of the best records from the first six months of 2010 and three you should give a listen.

The Chieftains’ San Patricio gives a featured billing to Ry Cooder, an occasional collaborator with the Irish group who writes, plays, sings, produces and arranges on this unusual yet intriguing mix of Celtic and Mexican music based on a fictionalized version of the story of Irish soldiers fighting with the Mexican army.

San Patricio is somewhat reminiscent of Santiago, another Chieftains’ effort from 1996 on which they blended Celtic sensibilities with Galician music from northwest Spain.

The group showed the direct link between the two musical heritages while including collaborators Cooder, Linda Ronstadt and Los Lobos, among many others.

The music on San Patricio is joyous, celebratory, heartfelt, forboding and ultimately upbeat and forward moving. The highlights are many, including the opener La Iguana with sensuous vocalist Lila Downs, who also appears on El Relampago; Ronstadt’s tender La Orilla de Un Palmar; the Cooder compositions The Sands Of Mexico and Cancion Mixteca (Intro) along with the song proper by Jose Lopez Alavez; March To Battle (Across The Rio Grande), which features a narration by Liam Neeson; and traditional numbers that feature Los Folkloristas and Los Camperos deValles.

It’s all a rich tapestry of the blending of these two musical styles that share so much in common.

The Irish soldiers, led by Captain John Riley during the war with Mexico (1846-48) were discriminated against and treated brutally by the American troops. So much so they defected to join a people with whom they had much more in common.

Although the thread of story on this record is entirely fictitious, there is no doubt music must have been a big part of the Irish soldiers’ experience as it is imbued so deeply in both cultures. A wonderfully realized example of what we now call World Music but is simply an inspiring work under any title. (continue reading…)

As I’ve mentioned a few times in the past year I’m an avid fan of Wolfgang’s Vault.

The site never ceases to surprise me by unearthing rare, interesting and previously unavailable concerts from its vast treasure hold.

This one is truly an unexpected delight, Jackie DeShannon and Ry Cooder playing as an acoustic duo at the legendary Ash Grove in Los Angeles on September 3, 1963, long before either had achieved any type of widespread notoriety. DeShannon was 19 at the time and although she had released a string of singles, it was before her opening stint on the first Beatles tour of the U.S. in 1964 and her first hits, Needles & Pins and When You Walk In The Room.

I’ve come to really love her earthy, soulful and gospel-inspired vocals from this era of her career. As for Cooder, he’s 16, yet still shows an amazing virtuosity on acoustic guitar. One of the great players of our time.

Despite being a fan of both artists, I never knew this show existed on tape or that these two made any type of collaboration during this period, which is what makes the Vault such a valuable resource and an unending source of enjoyment. Below is a track from the show. The concert can be accessed here.

To listen to the entire show, you’ll need to register at the site, which is an easy process and free.

I love the question Adam asked on his This might hurt blog a couple of weeks ago about where you bought your first record. In that spirit, and in the spirit of Mojo mag, which asks these types of things all the time, I’ll list my top five albums of the year and ask you to join in. Don’t feel confined to just five. I like hearing about what other people are listening to.

The best album I’ve heard this year has to be Acid Tongue by Jenny Lewis. It wasn’t reviewed or received as well as her first solo album with the Watson Sisters, Rabbit Fur Coat, but it’s better. The first was very unusual, stark, real basic, a nice blend of country and pop and she shared the bill. Acid Tongue is more conventional with a band or actually two, sort of, bands but it’s executed beautifully and her songwriting is in great shape.

It helps that I saw her play live earlier this fall at the Shubert in New Haven with band members who played on the album, including her boyfriend/producer. I love Carpetbaggers with Elvis Costello, but the topper is The Next Messiah, a nine-minute romp that rocks. She opened with that in New Haven. It’s just a wonderful record.

After that, Steve Winwood’s Nine Lives, his best selling album in years and back on a major label, Columbia. He got quite a boost out of playing at MSG with Clapton in February but you know, he’s been playing live consistently with guitarist Jose Neto with few breaks since his return album About Time in 2003.

I, Flathead by Ry Cooder, which has some serious rockers and, of course, exquisitely tasteful playing, with an early countrified rock ‘n roll feel. It’s supposed to be the third in a trilogy, which started with Chavez Ravine, the best of the three.

Shelby Lynne’s Just A Little Lovin’, a semi tribute to Dusty Springfield, who is one of my all-time favs. She does six Springfield tunes, very low key and under produced, which really works. Also included is How Can I Be Sure, the Rascals song.

The fifth is Esperanza, by Esperanza Spalding, an amazing female bassist just out of Berklee in Boston, my old school by the way.

So let’s hear what you liked this year. Just new releases for now. We’ll look at reissues in a later post.