Since the advent of CDs, reviewers ceased using phrases like, "From the moment the needle hit the vinyl, it was clear that Blue Horse had a beautiful, layered sound." Whatever the medium, the Be Good Tanyas have a knack for recharging traditional pieces with a sonic twist. Who would even think to take on a warhorse like "The Coo Coo Bird" or add electric guitar and drums to "Rain and Snow?" Frazey Ford, Samantha Parton, and Trish Klein sing, play multiple instruments (acoustic and electric), and, now and then, write their own material. They fill out their sound with a number of guests who add bass, drums, and a few other embellishments. Guest Jolie Holland adds her vocals to the breezy opener, "The Littlest Birds," a song that borrows, and puts to good use, a few lyrics from Syd Barrett's "Jug Band Blues." A pure country sound washes over "Broken Telephone," at least until an electric guitar takes a break about mid-way, while a jaunty banjo and mandolin energize "Lakes of Pontchartrain." Ford and Parton capably handle most of the vocals but what makes these singers special is how their voices mix and mingle in songs like "Up Against the Wall" and on the latter part of "Only in the Past." The same is true of their instrumental approach. Their motto might be "If it's kind of different and sounds cool, let's see if it will work." The production isn't neutral. Everything has been brightened a bit, and while this might have been distracting on a traditional album with a traditional approach, it perfectly balances the more experimental approach here. Blue Horse is a lovely debut, full of promise and great tunes.
To make amends for my MULTIPLE GNR posts today, I will now post a few songs that I love in order to cleanse our collective musical palette. Nothing sounds better after a dose of bad hair metal than some banjo infused folk music....
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Every weekend my myspace page gets littered with oodles of offers to come out to clubs. I hate nightclubs. Really I do. They were fun while I was in school and the couple of years after....but now when I drive by a place and i see people all dressed up, waiting in line to pay $10 to get in to some flavor of the month, wanna-be trendy nightspot...i think of this song...2nd verse
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Tracklist: 01. The Littlest Birds 02. Broken Telephone 03. Rain And Snow 04. Lake Of Pontchartrain 05. Only In The Past 06. The Coo Coo Bird 07. Dogsong aka Sleep Dog Lullaby 08. Momsong 09. Don't You Fall 10. Up Against The Wall 11. Oh Susanna 12. Light Enough To Travel Genre: Acoustic Folk Website: Myspace | Release Date: 2001-09-25 Label: Nettwerk An ancient album in todays...
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 "Blue Horse")
