Reprinted from Green Man Review.
American fiddler Darol Anger is just about guaranteed to stretch the boundaries of whatever style of music he takes on, and this project is no exception. He’s gathered a cross-generation and cross-genre bunch of acoustic players to explore many varieties of string music from around the world.
The 13 tracks here use the string band format of fiddles, guitar and cello, plus occasional bass and vocals, to adapt music from Scandinavia to Africa and Brazil, with stops in the U.K., Appalachia, Canada and Mississippi, and side excursions to the Middle East and India. It’s a heady mix, and Anger and crew mostly succeed or have fun trying.
You can hardly go wrong by opening with a Liz Carroll tune, and her Irish-style jig, “Lost in the Loop,” though an homage to her hometown of Chicago, is solidly grounded in Eire. Rushad Eggleston rocks on the cello, and Scott Nygaard gives a preview of even greater things to come on guitar. The traditional “Grigsby’s Hornpipe” similarly swings, and it has a majestic intro in the style of the Indian classical “alap” movement, with Anger establishing the mood of the piece, backed by droning of cello and Brittany Haas’s five-string fiddle.
The young Haas has a good ear for traditional bluegrass style that complements Anger’s tendency toward newgrass, the style that he helped invent. She struts her stuff on Bill Monroe’s “Old Dangerfield,” but the real star on this track is Eggleston’s powerful cello work. Yes, cello in bluegrass, and it doesn’t sound “chamber-y” at all.
Everybody has fun on the Brazilian choro called “Andre de Sabato Nuovo,” a whimsical instrumental evocation of a man wearing a pair of too-tight new shoes. Imagine lots of painful squeeks in this one. “Ouditarious Rez” combines subtle use of loops and sampling with a jazzy melody cadged from Egyptian oud music.
An “Afro Suite” that combines a modernist Anger composition, a blues and a West African tune is another highlight. Anger’s evocative, vaguely Copland-esque “Evening Prelude” leads into the bluesy “Evening Prayer Blues” by Deford Bailey, then into a West African tune originally played on the mbira or thumb piano; plucked fiddles and guitar delightfully mimic the sound of that exotic instrument.
“Sand” is a fine example of simple and melancholic Finnish fiddle music. Young Haas gets the feel of this tune just as well as she zeroes in on bluegrass, and this tune is just bursting with restrained passion that finally breaks out in the final verse, before fading away in a peaceful denouement with Nygaard out front with picking that reminds me of some of Mason Williams’ best work. Stay tuned for the delayed hidden recap.
Nygaard’s “Where to Now?” comes across as generic new-agey, as does Anger’s “Sneezin’.” But the only real missteps are the two vocal tracks, especially Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” with guest vocalist Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek. Her breathy vocal style can’t quite carry the soulful lyrics. Bluegrass veteran Laurie Lewis acquits herself quite well on Joni Mitchell’s “Help Me,” and the jazzy arrangement is quite nice; but Joni’s own version is so distinctive and definitive, what’s the point? Lewis deserves attention for her own singing prowess, but it’s impossible to not be distracted by constantly making comparisons with the original.
For the most part, though, Republic of Strings is an enjoyable production, and quite ably makes its point about string music being a universal language. And if nothing else, it introduces the up-and-coming talents of Brittany Haas and her sister Natalie, who contributes some fine cello work. Keep an eye out for these two.
(Compass, 2004)
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