Chuck Lipsig wrote this review, which originally ran on Green Man Review. Alas, the House Band is long since gone. They played original compositions and traditional music in a Celtic/British folk style, with influences from reggae, country, jazz and various world musics, which is why the review is reprinted here on The Sleeping Hedgehog.
Since the mid-1980s, one of the finest British-Celtic folk bands has been The House Band. With the constant presence of Ged Foley on guitar and vocals and Chris Parkinson on melodeon, the style and sound of The House Band have stayed fairly consistent throughout their recording history. The later additions of John Skelton on flute and bombarde and Roger Wilson on fiddle and vocals has given the band the quality ability to be equally comfortable with the musical traditions of the British Isles, as well as the European continent.
The House Band’s first two albums are not available in the U.S., as far as this reviewer knows. However, Groundwork (Green Linnet, 1993), is comprised of tracks from The House Band’s self-titled debut album (1985) and their second album, Pacific (1987). Foley and Parkinson were joined in the original line-up by Iain MacLeod and Jimmy Young. The latter two left the band after the debut album, to be replaced with John Skelton, who is still a member, and Brian Brooks, who left after Pacific.
The tracks on Groundwork, while often commendable and showing many of the elements that would come to be trademarks of The House Band, also have some weaker performances. The most common fault of these early recordings is an over-reliance on poorly arranged electronic keyboard. This is at its worst in “The War Party,” an anti-war song with a chintzy cocktail lounge introduction. In “The Pit Stands Idle,” the keyboards manage to perform a perfect imitation of an old Apple II computer for much of the song. Even if it was impressive back in the mid-’80s — and I’m not sure it was — it hasn’t aged well.
The other problem is that some of the changes between tunes are not arranged or performed smoothly. In the sequence pairing the Greek “Kato Sta Limonadika” with the Gallacian-inspired “The Trip to Amnesia,” both tunes are fine songs. However, the change from one to the other is jarring. A similar fate occurs to the jig sequence of “The Tornado Two-Step,” “The Cooper,” and “The Woodpecker.” Which is not to say that Groundwork is bad — merely that it is uneven. An Australian ballad, “The Diamanthina Drover” and the 18th century slow dance, “Joy After Sorrow”, are lovely songs, and the reel sequence of “The Four Courts” and “The Fox on the Prowl” is hot and smooth.
In Word of Mouth (Topic, 1988; Green Linnet, 1989), The House Band consists of Foley, Parkinson and Skelton. The first track, “Walls of Troy”, marks a more mature band. In the earlier recordings, this piece would likely have been subjected to lame electronic keyboarding. Instead melodeon, bombarde, and bodhran are used to give the anti-war song a fascinating, multilayered, Middle Eastern feel.
Other highlights are the Breton dance sequence of “An Dro D’Ogham/An Dro/ Au Place De Serbie”; a pair of tunes from Northumbria and Hungary, “The Peacock” and “Moldavian Song”; and the only recording of “From a Distance” that hasn’t sounded sappy to this reviewer. The most interesting track, though, is “Wild Roving,” a very slow version of the usually more upbeat “Wild Rover.” This is the first time that The House Band recorded a normally upbeat song at a slower tempo. In some cases, it works. However, in this first attempt, while Ged Foley’s singing is fine, the song drags and loses too much character in the arrangement.
In Stonetown (Harbourtown, 1991; Green Linnet, 1992) the band has achieved its maturity. The wonderful sequence of “The Killybegs Highland,” “Charlie O’Neills,” and “Rond de Loudeac” is the high point of this album. “The Lonesome Drunkard’s Walk” is a powerful song of the grief that alcoholism brings to the alcoholic’s family that is well-paired with the title tune, “Stonetown.” The Bulgarian “Baldazka” and Macedonian “Horo” make a fascinating pair to close out this recording. The only truly weak entry on this album is Ged Foley’s version of the traditional “Geordie,” which, like “The Wild Rover” on Word of Mouth, is performed too sedately, given the fierce emotions of the ballad.
Roger Wilson joined The House Band, adding a fiddle to the instrumental mix and providing another singing voice for Another Setting (Green Linnet, 1994). This is the finest recording The House Band has made. From top to bottom, every song is, at the least, well-arranged and performed with most of the tracks being outstanding. The traditional “The Rocky Road to Dublin” and “William Taylor,” along with Steve Tilston’s “Slip Jigs and Reels”, are examples of The House Band’s tendency to slow down more energetic songs. But unlike the previous attempts, in these three cases, the gentle, flowing arrangements work exceptionally well.
Other highlights include Wilson’s “Alice,” a very moving and haunting song about his elderly neighbor. On the instrumental side, the tunes range from the formal 17th century “Grimstock” to the African-inspired “Tom Hark” and “African Market Place.”
Saying that Another Setting is The House Band’s best is not to say that the others should be avoided. Their next CD, Rockall (Green Linnet, 1996), is also a worthy recording. The highlight is a spectacular rendition of the Scots traditional ballad “The Gardener” that does justice to one of the most beautiful and eerie tunes in the Celtic — or any other — tradition. “Hopeless Road,” a fine song of the despair that hard times bring, is another high point. “Golden Grove,” “The Hop Down Reel,” and “An Occasional Flutter” make a great instrumental start to the recording. “The Philadelphia Reel” and “The House on the Hill” are a fine pair of tunes — if only the guitar solo that starts it could have been sustained for longer than 8 seconds, the sequence could have been truly spectacular.
Unusually, for them, The House Band did not include any songs outside of the Celtic tradition on Rockall. This recording also has a more rollicking, less introspective feel than the other entries by The House Band. It is neither a fault nor a virtue that Rockall is less like The House Band than their other recordings.
There is one serious problem with The House Band’s latest, CD October Song: the layout of the liner notes, with lines going every which way, is horrible. Cover art is the place to be visually creative. Liner notes are supposed to provide information and should not be a distraction. As if the necessary small print didn’t cause enough eyestrain … sorry for the digression … we return to the music critique already in progress. October Song (Green Linnet, 1998) is another solid entry in The House Band’s resume. “Seven Yellow Gypsies”, with its unconventional ending, is excellently sung by Roger Wilson. “Risipiti,” a Romanian dance, is surprisingly well-paired with the Irish reel “Mairtin O’Connor’s.” The band builds one instrument on the next to produce a wonderful ending to the CD in “Rock in the Mountain.”
With October Song, The House Band shows no signs of growing stale. They already have an impressive set of recordings behind them. Here’s hoping that the future will bring more from this unique group.
The House Band (Topic Records, 1985)
Pacific (Topic Records, 1987)
Groundwork (Green Linnet, 1993)
Stonetown (Harbourtown, 1991; Green Linnet, 1992)
Another Setting (Green Linnet, 1994)
October Song (Green Linnet, 1998)
Comments