Earth Tones: Gently Johnny on a Rainy Summer Afternoon

column

by Genevieve Williams

As I write the latest installment of Earth Tones, high summer has come in, heralded by...rain. It should at least put out any opportunistic brush fires started by Fourth of July overexuberance. If you celebrated Independence Day this year, I hope you had a fine one (and if you were in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood, I hope you saw the sidewalk booth set up by some local residents, where successfully naming all rights guaranteed by the First Amendment could score you free beer. Prosit!).

We've got a bit of the old and the new this time around: a retrospective from Tarika, Madegascar's most famous export; new fiddling from County Sligo; a sampling of intriguing contemporary music from Kenya and a few words about the soundtrack to that cult classic (in both senses of the term), The Wicker Man.

Most of their back catalog is out of print, so it's a special treat to receive 10: Beasts, Ghosts & Dancing with History (Triloka/Artemis Records), a 10-year retrospective from Madagascar powerhouse ensemble Tarika. Beginning over a decade ago as a traditional ensemble in the then-isolated island nation, Tarika, led by the sisters Hanitra Rasonaivo and Noro Raharimalala, deliberately set about incorporating modern pop elements to create a more accessible sound, while remaining firmly rooted in their own culture's musical traditions. The result is a group that Time magazine called "one of the top ten bands on the planet," although outside of its home country, Tarika's impact has mostly been felt in Europe. A 1997 appearance at WOMAD, from which the song "Ady" is included here, broadened their audience, but for most listeners 10 will still be the first introduction to this vibrant, talented, powerhouse of a band. Its deliberate embrace of pop-music aesthetics hasn't hurt its credibility at home, and if Tarika's bandleaders are ambitious, they have the musical ability to back it up. 10 traces Tarika's musical journey over a decade of invention and experimentation, through songs of joy and sorrow, victory and loss, pleasure and pain.

Oisín Mac Diarmada has to be one of the busiest young musicians to come out of Ireland of late. Not only does he have a solo album out, Ar An Bhfidil (Green Linnet), but his ensemble, Téada, has released Give Us a Penny and Let Us Be Gone (Green Linnet). Despite Mac Diarmada at the helm and the County Sligo stylings of both albums, the two releases are quite distinct. The Téada release's title is reminiscent of the St. Stephen's Day practice of going from house to house performing music for a small donation, and the selections, a mix of songs and hornpipes, reels, jigs and other tunes, are performed with a jaunty, festive air. Mac Diarmada does fiddle duty here and also sings, but is backed by several other instruments, including the flute, bodhran and accordion. Though the fiddle is audibly out front--and Mac Diarmada's already considerable skill with his instrument, not to mention his enormous potential, is audible as well--it's a group effort. In contrast, Ar An Bhfidil is a more introspective body of work, with many solo pieces; this CD is much more about showcasing a particular artist's ability, which is considerable. Rumors of Mac Diarmada's prowess and potential as a musician have not been exaggerated. If you're a fan of Irish music, definitely pick this one up.

Rough Guides are best known as travel guides, but the company also publishes CD compilations from a variety of countries and cultures. Some of these have been previously reviewed in Earth Tones, and all of them are notable for providing a contemporary look at musical culture from around the world. There is a tendency, when introducing oneself to a novel body of musical work, to try to define it in fairly narrow terms, and unfortunately a lot of compilations of this type inadvertently encourage this by selecting from a narrow range of artists and/or styles, then presenting these as representative of an entire musical culture. On the other hand, it's impossible for a single CD, no matter how broad its selection, to cover everything. The Rough Guide folks strike a happy balance most of the time, providing a point of entry to new musical genres while emphasizing that this is only the beginning, and The Rough Guide to the Music of Kenya is one of their better attempts in this regard. Among other things, the CD shows that the musical cross-fertilization that has occurred across the globe, in part due to western artists seeking new sounds and broader opportunities for collaboration, goes both ways. Mixed in with traditional genres and sounds are the rhythms and aesthetics of R&B and hip-hop--which, themselves derived in part from music of Africa, represent something of a full circle in musical evolution. The two genres most strongly represented here are benga, a pop style with appealing rhythmic structure--it's great to dance to, and beatwise knocks American pop into a cocked hat--and taarab, a genre that shows much influence from across and around the Indian Ocean. The liner notes are instructive; the music is fabulous.

Most of you reading this will have at least heard of the classic 1973 film The Wicker Man. The mythology that has grown up around this movie is almost as intriguing as that espoused in the film itself; its underground success and recent re-emergence, as well as current rumors about a new, similar film from the same director (current working title, apparently, is May Day), make the release of the soundtrack album (in 2002 on Silva Screen Records Ltd, almost 20 years after the film) all the more timely. Although the film's music is quite sparse, restricted to a few atmospheric tracks and memorable songs (yep, "The Landlord's Daughter" is included), it contributes a great deal to The Wicker Man's effective sense of mounting creepiness. While listening to "Sumer Is A-Cumen In" (which is, by the way, one of the oldest songs for which we possess written notation--see, that music degree was good for something!), it's impossible to rid one's mind of the movie's unforgettable final scene. "The Tinker of Rye," the duet between Christopher Lee and Diane Cilento, is here, as are the understatedly erotic "Gently Johnny" and "Willow's Song." This portion of the soundtrack is amusingly titled "Songs from Summerisle: Ballads of Seduction, Fertility and Ritual Slaughter," and the sound quality is somewhat uneven--for some tracks, only a mono version was still in existence, and digital remastering can only do so much. Then there's the incidental music, which, like the majority of the songs, was composed by Paul Giovanni. It's good to have for completeness' sake, but it's the songs you probably remember best if you've seen the film, and it's the songs you remember best after hearing the soundtrack. As an added bonus, the CD booklet contains a great deal of information about the film, the soundtrack, and their respective troubled histories. Much of this is now common knowledge, but it's good to have it all in one place, and to listen to "Gently Johnny" on a rainy summer afternoon.

That's it for this issue. Remember that Bumbershoot is coming up over Labor Day weekend; check www.bumbershoot.org for artist lineups and schedules, and remember to get wristbands for evening concerts early! I'm not working there this year, but maybe I'll see you regardless. Also, early warning: Lúnasa are coming back to the U.S. this fall. No word on whether they're playing Seattle yet, but they are performing at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia on October 2. See www.lunasa.ie for details. They'll also be in Vancouver on October 9. Are they worth traveling to see? Absolutely!

Genevieve Williams is a Seattle freelance writer and drummer. She can be reached at rimrun@drizzle.com with feedback, suggestions or recommendations. Local musicians and Pagan groups are encouraged to submit material for review and show listings.