We Are All One, In The Sun: A Tribute To Robbie Basho

I often hear people criticize tribute compilations though I’m never sure why, I like them and often seek them out and here’s why. If there is an artist out there that loves Robbie Basho and considers him an important influence and in fact important enough to interpret or re-interpret Basho’s music…I want to know who these people are!

Often these tributes are several artists and it is a great opportunity to find new artists that listen to and value what I listen to and value. What better way to discover like-minded musicians?

We Are All One, In The Sun: A Tribute To Robbie Basho is just such an opportunity.

Buck Curran deserves a lot of credit for assembling a tribute that is much more than just a collection of cover songs. It’s more adventurous and daring than that kind of tribute. And why shouldn’t it be? Isn’t that the spirit of Robbie Basho? These collections serve many a purpose, not the least of which is the obvious, a tribute. But what good is it if it doesn’t bring the fans of Basho to appreciate new artists? And just as importantly are the fans of any of the participating artist’s in this effort: it’s an opportunity to discover the roots of their music. I have found so much good music when I begin to discover my favorite artist’s influences. And a tribute collection puts it right there for all to see and every single artist is an opportunity to head off in a new direction!

So let’s dive in, one of the things I noticed first is that all the vocal covers are by women. And that may be a good thing for the budding Basho fan. Basho’s vocals were…unique…shall we say? The women convey the intensity and passion of a Basho song without raising the eyebrows, a common occurrence when Basho sang.

The covers by Arborea and Meg Baird are both pretty straight forward interpretations of Basho’s compositions while Fern Knight begins to stretch out with multiple instruments on "Song for the Queen."

Arborea, with Buck Curran on guitar and Shanti Curran providing the vocals, slow down Basho’s “Blue Crystal Fire” just a bit.  Buck Curran adds a very tasty slide solo in place of Basho’s fingered break and Shanti Curran’s vocals are delicate and beautiful.

Meg Baird takes on “Moving Up A Ways” keeping it pretty straight, though chooses a 6 string instead of the 12 string that Basho played for this piece.  As is the case with the previous song, Baird’s vocals seem a perfect fit for Basho’s song, strikingly lyrical.

Fern Knight expands on Basho’s “Song for a Queen” with multiple instruments that create a landscape around the lyrics of the song throwing in everything from the harp to the strangled distortion of an electric guitar.

Ultimately, all the vocal pieces take the listener on a journey to a beautiful and mythical land where you are temporarily lost in the music.

Undoubtedly all the artists are to be commended for capturing the spirit and feel of Robbie Basho. Some took the route of loosely interpreting existing Basho works and others went the straight ahead route. Still others took merely an idea or a line from a lyric as a launching point. Case in point is Cian Nugent’s "Odour of Plums." For a guy like me that likes the more straight ahead approach to guitar playing I love this piece by Nugent. He very nicely interjects tension and mystery that captures the spirit of a Basho song.

Curran manages to mix a little of everything into the release with the obvious (and obviously necessary) inclusion of Steffan Basho-Junghans and Glenn Jones as well as the unanticipated. Unanticipated? How about oud player Rahim AlHaj and cellist Helena Espvall?

Rahim AlHaj was included to touch on Basho’s intense love of Persian music. And don’t think for a minute that Espvall’s work is your average cello piece.

Digital version songs include Joseba Irazoki "Bashorentzat," Cameron Deas "Waters of Kvaloya" and an alternate version of Yair Yona’s Skinny Fists.

Deas' work on the 12 string is not to be missed by any fan of intense, raw and powerful solo guitar work.

Yair Yona is one of the new torch-bearers of modern American Primitive.

Delta-Slider’s Tops of the Decade

Hey, you aren’t a real blog if you don’t do a Top Ten list, Best of the Decade or some other sort of list that says, “I know something you don’t…”

Well I don’t know shit, but here it goes anyway…

in no particular order:

Bob Brozman is usually all over the place, and that's fine, but I generally like his blues work the best. And this one is a beauty! You can get a run-down of each song on Blues Reflex at his website. I love to read where the song is from, what the artist was trying to do or how they got an idea. This isn't your usual blues playing and Brozman smacking, tapping and beating on the guitar is a bonus! Get it!

Yair Yona is up next, going in a completely different direction.  See my short review of this one here, posted just recently. 

Glenn Jones' three releases have all been great and after much waffling I pretty much picked this one at random.  They are all very good efforts.  But I do have one criticism of Glenn, dude, post your touring schedule somewhere, I just missed you recently and I'm very sad.

Ah, Sean Smith.  This was one of the first modern American Primitive releases that I stumbled across.  Though his second effort is arguably more intricate and his composition abilities made a huge leap, this one is a favorite of mine, perhaps just because of how blown away the first time I heard it.  You can find him HERE

Jack Rose was a monster when it came to releasing stuff and I decided that one of the rules I was going to have for this list was only one effort per artist would be listed. When I got to Rose, that rule made things difficult. But I decided to go with Kensington Blues.  It's got a little of everything, slide, 12 string, 6 string, raga and rag influences and a Fahey cover.  Be sure to check out VHF Records, Thrill Jockey and Three Lobed Records for releases.

I came across Andrew Stranglen either on the Fahey board or MySpace...or maybe it was CD Baby...I don't recall, but I'm glad I did.  This little gem is about as far as I go when it comes to experimental music.  I know, I know, maybe I need to try harder.  But nonetheless this one works for me.  Love it!

Ok, Cam Deas.  Here's a guy I found clicking around on MySpace again.  He gets the comparisons to James Blackshaw, and he does play 12 string, but Deas is much rawer, something I like.  This release WAS available here but he has since re-released it so you'll have to go to his site to get it.  Go HERE to read the review.

Careening back into the realm of blues: Felonius Smith is a local here in Colorado and I have the good fortune to see a lot of good live music from these guys. Get the CD Hoolay Moolay.  This is blues with an old-timey and fun feel to it.  But don't let that fool you, there's some great chops on this one.  Felonius studied with Bob Brozman before moving to Colorado.

John Hammond has really come though on this one. This is strictly solo guitar and harmonica along with some stomping and grunting. Hammond is an amazing act to catch live and this is almost as good.

Pat O’Connell was featured here on Delta-Slider back in June of 2009 when I wrote a review of his forth-coming release of On the Sunny Side of Ashland, also available at Amazon.

Mike Fekete was featured here in August of 2009 as a prelude to a successful tour. Mike is planning on re-releasing some of his earlier work this year. You can get his CD Yellow and Red on Amazon or CDbaby.

Mike Fekete and Pat O’Connell have something in common, besides being great guitarists. They, along with Aaron Sheppard are expected to be on the next release of Tompkins Square’s Imaginational Anthem Vol. 4. Yeah, freakin’ awesome, eh? In addition, Sheppard is going to be on volume two of Berkeley Guitar. Volume one of Berkeley Guitar gets an honorable mention in the Delta-Slider list.

Nick Schillace’s first solo CD, Box Canyon was fantastic, but he upped the ante with the second: Landscape and People.  You can also get his stuff at CD Baby

Next we have C. Joynes’ Anglo-Naïve and Contemporary Parlour Guitar Vol. 1.  The title is a bit much but the music is much simpler. I love the feel of the recording. I think this is a home recording and it has a great feel to it. The songs are simple and beautiful. Joynes has a real talent for playing songs in an unhurried way. It’s a real hard thing to do, most people try to play everything as fast as possible. Whenever I try to play slow it just sounds boring…and slow.  This is out of print so d/l it at the link above.  Don't miss this one.  Also, Joynes has been busy as of late and you can get a couple more releases on Amazon or at the label, Bo'Weavil Recordings.

Next is Ragtime Ralph’s Vol. 4 release, click on the lick to d/l it!!
Ragtime Ralph and his nom de plume Blind Brand X have been VERY popular downloads here on Delta-Slider. All of his stuff is here on Delta-Slider and it's all free.  And it's all good.  Just give him a listen, you’ll understand!

Mark Lemhouse plays the blues, damnit!  This release, Big Lonesome Radio is amazing.  No, I don’t have a free download for ya. Here’s the deal, this came out in 2002 and since then Lemhouse has been spiraling into insanity, an insanity catalyzed by banjo playing. It’s said that he wanders aimlessly around the Northwest. And when he isn’t plunking his Banjo, he’s cuddled up to it asleep…dreaming of plunking it. Nonetheless, he does stop by Yellow Dog Records once in a while to pick up a royalty check.  Won’t you buy a copy of Big Lonesome Radio?

Pat Donohue's latest is Freeway Man.  This is one of the best Donohue has put out in years. His choice of music is unique and he arranges them nicely as well. He’s got a thumb and an attack that is just so solid.

This was really off the top of my head hard and took a lot of time!   I was going to do an honorable mentions section but I think I will just save that for a later post skip it.

I’m sure I forgot some great music. What do you think I should have included?

What do you think of what I DID include?

How is it possible that I didn’t include a single Radiohead release?

Cam Deas European Winter Tour

Hey you people across the water!

Cam Deas is on tour

Take note!

Take time!

And go see this guy!

I'm running this a bit late, so sorry, he's on the road, NOW!!
I took this info from his newsletter, you should sign up too!
Tour Dates with Jack Allett (formerly Spoono):
Jan 13th - Oslo; Sound of Mu
Jan 14th - Gothenburg; Cafe Ana
Jan 15th - Copenhagen; Lygten Station
Jan 16th - Hamburg; TBC
Jan 17th - Prague; The Brick Bar
Jan 18th - Vienna; Celeste (Vienna Institute of Improvised Music)
Jan 19th - Stuttgart; FFUS
Jan 20th - Mainz; Walpodenakademie
Jan 21st - Krefeld; Unrock @ Kulturrampe (With Good For Cows)
Jan 22nd - Den Haag: The SCSI Cell (With Basshaters)
Jan 23rd - Tilburg; Vatican Analog
Jan 24th - Louvain La Neuve; Ferme De Biereau
Jan 25th - Gent; Villa Drashhoek
Jan 27th - Rennes; La Bascule
Jan 28th - Cherbourg; Studio Chaudelande

Ok, Cam has also restocked his supply of My Guitar is Alive and It's Singing CDr and you should buy it, I did and it kicks ass. Yeah, really. Go to his MySpace and listen to The Waters of Kval0ya, fantastic tune.
I had it here for d/l but you really ought to support him so go check out his MySpace page for all the details. Lot's of other cool stuff to buy too, including that ridiculously popular black stuff with grooves.
Why are you still here? Go.

Cam Deas - My Guitar is Alive and It's Singing

Have no doubt when Cam Deas tells you that his guitar is alive and singing.
While the comparisons to James Blackshaw are numerous and admirable, they miss the mark. But only by a little bit. Granted, they both play a lot of that fancy 12 string. But Deas plays his guitar with such raw urgency and crisp production. Not really as lush as Blackshaw, it's playing that is hard to define.
Deas will spend nearly 10 minutes on the opening track luring you into a quiet and beautiful world before he really unleashes the picking attack on his guitar. A fantastic piece spanning nearly 20 minutes. The other two pieces are equally compelling in originality and passion.
This CDr has three pieces.
1. The Waters of Kval0ya
2. My Guitar is Alive and It's Singing
3. As Spring Fell From the Leaves
A prolific artist, he has put out a dozen works. Check his MySpace site for what is available now. He tends to sell a lot of his music on vinyl. So you need a turntable or to look close for the CDr releases. That's what I picked up, a simple digipak with cover art by Jake Blanchard. If you hear something you like you better grab it quick because most of it is printed in very small runs.
That is the case with this release, all sold out!

So Cam has been nice enough to let me post it for download.  I think he is still a nice guy!  It's just no longer available for d/l!


Cam Deas - My Guitar is Alive and It's Singing
Cam has re-issued/re-released, whatever, this effort so it is no longer available for d/l.  Please go to his site and buy it!