News4U Online

The Biscuit Burners

Take Me Home [CD]

(Indidog)

Attendees of the 2008 Bluegrass Music and Folklife Festival in Henderson, Kentucky, will remember this band. Mixing sparse, but blazing, dobro-dominated bluegrass arrangements with a swinging, jazzy sense of time, and a pair of female singers that sound like Southern Angles descended from heaven, Weaverville, North Carolina’s The Biscuit Burners have dipped their world traveling fingers in the bluegrass paint bucket and come out with something totally different from anything I’ve ever heard. It’s music without a sense of urgency – content to laze about in the summer shade or lie out amid a minefield of stars unperturbed by the mosquitoes, but it is music that cannot be relegated to the periphery of the sensory experience.

            The greatest innovation and contribution to the expanding bluegrass family album is the use of a 22-string Indian instrument called the Chaturangi in a song called “Sujan Re,” an adapted Bengali boat song with just about the most beautiful melody to ever pass a woman’s lips. Sung mostly in Bengali, the traditional song, taught to the band by the dobro player’s spiritual guru and inventor of the afore-mentioned Chaturangi, features a section of English lyrics penned by biologist and bassist Mary Lucey. The result is a captivating and spiritual journey along the banks of the Ganges to the Indian Ocean. It is at once a welcome break from and a powerful opening of a new frontier in bluegrass exploration. This bluegrass lover, for one, welcomes it with open arms.

–Brad Linzy

Rating: 4

Sky Cries Mary

Small Town [CD]

(Hoodooh Music)

Rewind to the mid-1990s, Seattle. Musically, the “boom” of post-flannel rock bands is in full swing. Bands both unconventional and uncommercial (Melvins, anyone?) are being signed to major labels and getting videos placed on MTV.

            Fronted by the lovely earthy vocalist/painter Anisa Romero, and co-fronted by conceptualist and visual artist husband Roderick Romero, Seattle's Sky Cries Mary created spacious and jammy psychedelic space-rock with a beautiful ambient world vibe, and heavenly dual male/female vocal interplay.

            They split for some years, but Small Town is the first full-length studio release from the band in 10 years, and it picks up amicably where their last album, Moonbathing left off. The opening title track is a beautifully understated pop song that reaffirms that SCM are back, and they are more mature, melodic, and developed than before. Some would call this more “commercial,” and that could be another way of putting it. Nonetheless, this is Sky Cries Mary through and through. Old fans will not be let down, and hopefully some new ones will come aboard.

            Catchy tunes are everywhere on Small Town, and the combination of Anisa Romero's soaring, ethereal vocals and Roderick's rougher counterpoint provide an enveloping and balanced presence. “You Are” is another transcendent pop-love-song that could find itself some radio play, even. “Heart Above” is a sweet little vocal track by Anisa that adds mood and depth in-between songs, while the whimsical sound-poetry of Roderick's “Land Of All” drops in some exotic vibes. A joyous release deserving of your ears.

-Todd Zachritz

Rating:5

Gypsy Caravan: When the Road Begins

[DVD]

(Docudrama Films)

For anyone with a pre-conceived notion of what “gypsy music” is, where it comes from, and who the people are that play it, this documentary, which follows a tour of gypsy musicians through the U.S., should hold some surprises. The term “gypsy” has long been a blanket term of persecution for a stereotype of people not necessarily related by blood. These “gypsies,” as they also like to call themselves, can come from places as varied as Spain, Macedonia, Romania, Italy, Egypt, Russia, or India. Those that call themselves gypsies and embrace the gypsy culture are typically darker skinned and many of them settled in the Romania region of Europe after immigrating from the Balkans hundreds of years ago, but that is not always the case, and we are quick to discover there is more to these people than we might have assumed. This documentary follows not only the amazing music of these varied people, which ranges from Spanish flamenco, to Romanian violin music, to East Indian folk, to Raga, to brass jazz/polka, but it documents what their home life is like – their families, their struggles, their hopes and dreams – and gives new insight into the reason their music has such a stirring effect on the soul of the listener and the reasons behind their centuries-long persecution. There is even an extended interview with Johnny Depp in which he describes his friendship with many of the featured gypsy performers. This DVD really had me wanting to travel and hear/play some more gypsy music, which is as awesome as it is varied. A worthwhile 111 minutes.
–Brad Linzy
Rating: 4

Teenage Jesus and the Jerks

Beirut Slump / Shut Up And Bleed [CD]

(Atavistic)

This new collection of early (1978-79) work from a young Lydia Lunch and friends is a welcome summation of this post-punk chanteuse's classic (and timeless) no-wave proto-noise rock. Including just about everything from the band's rare 7" singles, 12 inches, and compilations, this 29-song compendium also generously provides some unreleased bits from Beirut Slump sessions (with vocalist Bobby Berkowitz, who sounded a little bit like Marc Almond if he were really strung out).

            Heralding the soon-to-be-vital NYC scene that spawned peers like Sonic Youth and Swans, Teenage Jesus and Beirut Slump's live shows were fiery and intense exercises in endurance and exorcism, eviscerating audiences with their shards of broken-glass guitars, rudimentary drums, and Lunch's atonal shrieks and agonized wails. You could probably consider this “punk,” in a loose way, but Lunch's marriage of visceral aggression to a looser, more experimental and even almost jazz/improv vibe places them firmly into more avante-garde territory.

            Cuts like the feral “Less Of Me” showcase Lunch's spunky back-alley attitude, and the haunting whirlwind of the aptly-titled “Tornado Warnings” show the force that TJ&TJ were capable of.

            Lydia has since grown up, and has gone on to refine her primal anger and biting cynicism at our troubled culture through other mediums, but never has her attitude been so brutal and primal. Essential works here.

-Todd Zachritz
Rating: 4

Bill Monroe: Father of Bluegrass Music

[DVD]

(MVD Visual)

Anyone from this region that doesn’t already know at least a thing or two about the Rosine, KY, man who “invented” bluegrass music has led a sheltered life and needs to find a copy of this re-released documentary, posthaste. Featured are many interviews and intimate porch jams with Monroe filmed before his death in 1996 and allows the viewer what feels like first-hand insight into who this man was they call the “Father of Bluegrass.” From the Grand Ol’ Opry stage to the road, Monroe’s life is documented along with the influences that inspired him to create this uniquely regional style. Interview subjects and performances include Lester Flatt, Emmylou Harris, Paul McCartney, Dolly Parton, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Jerry Garcia, and Roy Acuff, among others.

– Brad Linzy
Rating: 4

Iggy And The Stooges

Escaped Maniacs [2xDVD]

(Charly Films/MVD Visual)

Iggy Pop is a super-human. He is a rock god. If you have any doubts to that kind of lofty praise, a quick browse at the first disc of this set will confirm it. Recorded live in Belgium in 2005 during the Stooges historic reformation tour, this DVD set captures the ferocity and fearlessness of Iggy the entertainer. At 61-years young, the former Jim Osterberg is primal, relentlessly energetic, provocative, and a stage-driven wild animal who puts to shame rock stars half his age. The man oozes attitude and snarl. Here, joined by Stooges Ron and Scott Asheton and former Minutemen/fire hose bassist Mike Watt, he takes control of the stage and never gives it up. The show, naturally, highlights plenty of the Stooges classic pre-punk rock, and great songs like “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and “1969” are amped-up and still great after 30 years. He even ushers a bunch of fans onstage to dance (and even sing along with) a few songs - much to the chagrin of security! Hah!

            The second disc is full of bonus materials, including a documentary 30 Years In 60 Minutes, which is very unsatisfying and scattered.

            Somewhere out there is a thorough and exhaustive history of Iggy Pop on video - but it's not here. Hell, a feature-length film would be barely touching the surface and stories that surround Iggy and his years in the “business.”

            Anyway, in-depth interviews with the surviving Stooges (and one of Pop's longtime girlfriends, even) are entertaining and informative, with Iggy himself, of course, being the highlight. The man is full of a wealth of knowledge and experience, and his animated and well-spoken demeanor makes for a fun and honest interview.

            Overall? Great live DVD, superb interviews, lackluster documentary.

And at around five hours in total, Escaped Maniacs is easily a must-have for fans.

-Todd Zachritz
Rating:4

All You Need is Love: The Story of Popular Music

[DVD]

(Isolde Films/MVD Films)

This expansive and sprawling Tony Palmer documentary of western music was originally broadcast on TV in 17 episodes from 1976 to 1980, and found widespread critical acclaim. Now, for the first time, this entire documentary is available as a 15-hour, 5-disc DVD set. It’s all here, everything from early ragtime, vaudeville, and jazz, to folk-rock, blues, acid rock and country. Every icon you can imagine, every man behind every stoic bust in every music museum in the world makes his appearance somewhere in this documentary to claim his due. From Hank Williams to Jim Morrison; from Scott Joplin to Janis; Pete Seeger to Pete Best; this is a truly massive effort and a real education in the musical trends of the western world from 1900-1980. While the cinematography incorporates techniques we might find outdated today, i.e. the naked, painted women during some of the transitions, it maintains its reverent insight and scholarly approach, and the content of this documentary is important enough to overlook any such stylistic concerns. If I ever have children, I intend to supplement their music education on documentaries just like this one. Would make a fantastic gift for the consummate music fan.

 – Brad Linzy
Rating: 4.5