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You should definitely give "The Beautiful Old" a listen.
Just when I begin to think I may have a grasp on Richard Thompson's eclectic discography (and I do have his
"Bones of All Men" album,
https://mainlynorfolk.info/richard.thompson/records/thebonesofallmen.html
I discover another album which I have never even heard of. I recently stumbled across this album while reading about Dave Davies (yes, Dave Davies of the Kinks), who also performs on this album.
The entire project is jaw-droppingly fantastic, not only in its sheer beauty and level of musical mastery but, most of all, in the fact that it exists at all.
You can hear clips from some of the songs in this
Youtube trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJfsDdLSYQ4
One of my favorite songs is "Long Time Ago," sung by Jimmy LaFave
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZGiSjRvSlI
This song reminds me of "I Wandered by a Brookside," recorded here by Fairport Convention
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6D2nLQ1aog
which is based on a poem by one of my very favorite dead guys, Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton (1809-1885)].
https://mainlynorfolk.info/folk/songs/iwanderedbythebrookside.html
Here is an extensive review of the album that includes a brief history of the project.
Various Artists: The Beautiful Old
By
Nathan Huffstutter
June 25, 2013 | 3:56pm
Posted at
https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/various-artists/various-artists-the-beautiful-old
Various Artists: The Beautiful Old
Born aloft by vigorous performances from Garth Hudson, Richard Thompson, Kimmie Rhodes and Dave Davies, The Beautiful Old is one of those grand ideas that truly had no business getting off the ground. Recruiting a scattered cast to record faithful, front parlor versions of songs from the sheet-music era?
Yeah (condescending pause), good luck. Yet in defiance of logic, cynicism and geography, The Beautiful Old succeeds not only as a damn fine collection of music, but also stands as an enduring testament to overcoming the improbable.
The first barriers of skepticism are no minor obstacle. Scan the list of 100-200-year-old titles—ranging from familiar standards like “After The Ball”
(1892) and “The Band Played On” (1895) to melodies last hummed during the Taft administration—and you’ll likely suppress a yawn, expecting a dusty snooze through sepia-toned, preservation-society pieces. Even more cringe-worthy, the collection has the latent potential for pure novelty kitsch. With guest vocalists varying from young Irish folk singer Heidi Talbot to Austin lifer Will Sexton to acoustic blues traveler Eric Bibb, it’s easy to envision quaint old tunes covered as an array of Pier 1 knockoffs.
Remarkably, The Beautiful Old coheres into something neither dull nor precious, assembling a melting pot of players who downplay their individual country, jazz, blues and bluegrass influences while never sacrificing an ounce of personality. Instead, emphasizing period-appropriate rhythms and instrumentation, the performers pinpoint the heartbreak, lust, loss and flirtatious play loaded within the original compositions. These songs were never meant to age as museum pieces; they were written to touch and to entertain (and to move hundreds of thousands of copies of sheet music).
Across the collection’s 19 tracks, the artists tap into that stirring emotion and populist appeal. Kimmie Rhodes enfolds “A Perfect Day” (1910) with the
soothing lullaby sadness that cuts across generations of exhausted mothers; Dave Davies croons “After The Ball” in an Old Country croak that waltzes from Fool to Lear at the turn of a phrase; Jimmy LaFave, Floyd Domino and Richard Bowden bring nearly 200 years of barnstorming craftsmanship to “Long Time Ago” (1839), using voice, piano and violin to stretch the wistful ballad back and forth across the centuries.
( continued below cut )
Just when I begin to think I may have a grasp on Richard Thompson's eclectic discography (and I do have his
"Bones of All Men" album,
https://mainlynorfolk.info/richard.thompson/records/thebonesofallmen.html
I discover another album which I have never even heard of. I recently stumbled across this album while reading about Dave Davies (yes, Dave Davies of the Kinks), who also performs on this album.
The entire project is jaw-droppingly fantastic, not only in its sheer beauty and level of musical mastery but, most of all, in the fact that it exists at all.
You can hear clips from some of the songs in this
Youtube trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJfsDdLSYQ4
One of my favorite songs is "Long Time Ago," sung by Jimmy LaFave
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZGiSjRvSlI
This song reminds me of "I Wandered by a Brookside," recorded here by Fairport Convention
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6D2nLQ1aog
which is based on a poem by one of my very favorite dead guys, Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton (1809-1885)].
https://mainlynorfolk.info/folk/songs/iwanderedbythebrookside.html
Here is an extensive review of the album that includes a brief history of the project.
Various Artists: The Beautiful Old
By
Nathan Huffstutter
June 25, 2013 | 3:56pm
Posted at
https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/various-artists/various-artists-the-beautiful-old
Various Artists: The Beautiful Old
Born aloft by vigorous performances from Garth Hudson, Richard Thompson, Kimmie Rhodes and Dave Davies, The Beautiful Old is one of those grand ideas that truly had no business getting off the ground. Recruiting a scattered cast to record faithful, front parlor versions of songs from the sheet-music era?
Yeah (condescending pause), good luck. Yet in defiance of logic, cynicism and geography, The Beautiful Old succeeds not only as a damn fine collection of music, but also stands as an enduring testament to overcoming the improbable.
The first barriers of skepticism are no minor obstacle. Scan the list of 100-200-year-old titles—ranging from familiar standards like “After The Ball”
(1892) and “The Band Played On” (1895) to melodies last hummed during the Taft administration—and you’ll likely suppress a yawn, expecting a dusty snooze through sepia-toned, preservation-society pieces. Even more cringe-worthy, the collection has the latent potential for pure novelty kitsch. With guest vocalists varying from young Irish folk singer Heidi Talbot to Austin lifer Will Sexton to acoustic blues traveler Eric Bibb, it’s easy to envision quaint old tunes covered as an array of Pier 1 knockoffs.
Remarkably, The Beautiful Old coheres into something neither dull nor precious, assembling a melting pot of players who downplay their individual country, jazz, blues and bluegrass influences while never sacrificing an ounce of personality. Instead, emphasizing period-appropriate rhythms and instrumentation, the performers pinpoint the heartbreak, lust, loss and flirtatious play loaded within the original compositions. These songs were never meant to age as museum pieces; they were written to touch and to entertain (and to move hundreds of thousands of copies of sheet music).
Across the collection’s 19 tracks, the artists tap into that stirring emotion and populist appeal. Kimmie Rhodes enfolds “A Perfect Day” (1910) with the
soothing lullaby sadness that cuts across generations of exhausted mothers; Dave Davies croons “After The Ball” in an Old Country croak that waltzes from Fool to Lear at the turn of a phrase; Jimmy LaFave, Floyd Domino and Richard Bowden bring nearly 200 years of barnstorming craftsmanship to “Long Time Ago” (1839), using voice, piano and violin to stretch the wistful ballad back and forth across the centuries.
( continued below cut )
