STEADY LOVE
Maria Muldaur
Stony Plain Records
9-out-of-10
If I were going to pick a top-10 blues performers I have reviewed, and there have been many in what I estimate a couple of thousand disks over the years, Maria Muldaur would make the list easily, and likely settle in near its top.
The lady can flat out sing the blues.
Naughty, Bawdy & Blue earned a 9.5 back in Nov. 2007, and dating back to the 2002 release of Richland Woman Blues, which was good enough to garner a Grammy nomination, I have loved this lady's music.
Sandwiched between the aforementioned albums was Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul which was released in 2005, and also garnered a Grammy nomination.
So I expect great when I see the name Muldaur, and with the release of Steady Love she does not disappoint this fan at all.
The Stony Plains website details the disk simply. "Maria Muldaur returns to her much beloved New Orleans and collaborates with her favourite Crescent City musicians to produce a high energy album of blues and swamp funk, full of soul and grit, bad to the bone, and played with reckless abandon."
Yep that sums it up pretty well. Muldaur hits on every song, which you'd expect from a veteran recording artist with a discography which goes back to the early 1960s. Like many blues performers Muldaur only seems to get better with age.
There are 13-songs here, and every one of them is a gem. Picking a best is impossible. You could choose any one and be right -- I'd pick Rain Down Tears. This disk, or should I say Muldaur is just that good.
If you like the blues then you need a Muldaur disk or two in your collection, and this latest CD would be as good a choice as any.
Check it out at www.mariamuldaur.com
- CALVIN DANIELS
SOMETHINGS OLD, NEW, BORROWED & TRUE
Tim Harwill
Indie
8-out-of-10
Tim Harwill isn't exactly a household name in terms of Canadian music.
He should be.
Somethings Old, New, Borrowed & True proclaims that in a big way.
Harwill, hailing from the Interlake area of Manitoba is a bit of a throwback to a time when country and folk were more closely related than it is today as country has veered into the realm once termed soft rock -- The Eagles would be a country band today.
Harwill's style owes more to Ian Tyson and Woody Guthrie, with a dash of Johnny Cash.
The music resonates as real, especially as it was recorded live off the floor at Rebas Cafe.
There are some fine lyrics here, like the cut Hard Times. You just know Harwill has faced his share of those hard times.
In terms of delivery Harwill is relaxed with a guitar in his hands and a microphone in front of him. He also makes real good use of the harmonica too, using it to add layers to the music.
Sadly Harwill's music is no longer a good fit for country radio, but it is what country is truly about. There are real emotions at the heart of the music, and it is delivered with soul.
Very impressed as it really fills a niche too often overlooked by singers these days.
A disk worth checking out at blog.timharwill.com
- CALVIN DANIELS
Past reviews are archived online at http://calmardan.blogspot.com/
