CD Odyssey Disc 143: Loreena McKennitt

Recently there was a reign of terror a certain "MK" (I won't type his full name for fear that he will appear behind me if I do). Now there appears to be a second round of random terror, as Loreena McKennitt is rolled for the second time in three discs.

Oh no! I've typed her name - what is that behind me? The rural setting, the ill-fitting prairie dress...could it be? No! No! Noooooo...!!!!

Disc 143 is...Elemental
Artist: Loreena McKennitt

Year of Release: 1985

What’s Up With The Cover?: Another piece of bad folk photography. A frightened Loreena McKennitt runs across a field in the fading light, wearing an ill-fitting 19th century peasant undershirt. Is she going to leave her harp out like that? The dew will definitely damage the tuning!

How I Came To Know It: I just covered this, but I liked the album "The Visit". "Elemental" was just me digging through the collection. Although it is her first album, I bought it third overall.

How It Stacks Up: I have six Loreena McKennitt albums. I'd put "Elemental" at about 4th out of those six.

Rating: 3 stars.

Having just reviewed McKennitt at Disc 141, I don't have a whole lot to add in a general sense. I'll just say she is an excellent example of Celtic folk music, and a Canadian original all at the same time.

"Elemental" is her first album, and is aptly named. It is far more traditional in its approach than any of her other recordings by a wide margin.

Most of the songs are traditional folk songs that have been around for a very long time. "Blacksmith" and "She Moved Through the Fair" are both standards I've heard any number of times. That isn't to say they are bad, and in fact I haven't heard either any better than when in her hands.

The songs that are McKennitt tunes, are her setting famous poems to music. On this front, her interpretation of the Yeats' poem "Stolen Child" is one of my favourites on this or any of her albums. This is her first effort in putting famous poetry to music - a skill she perfects with "The Lady of Shalott" and "The Highwayman" on later albums.

"Stolen Child" tells the tale of a young child abducted from human society by faeries. It is a retelling of the story of the changeling, which I've always been fascinated by. A changeling in Celtic myth is a 'fey child' that replaces a human child, while the human child is taken away by faeries. Usually the fey child looks like the original baby, but behaves differently, and has powers or insight beyond what is mortally possible.

This alienation myth of one's own child is a fascinating one to me, and wraps up any number of subconscious fears we feel into one story. What it means I don't know, but I always find Yeats' imagining compelling - particularly given it focuses on the human child being drawn away by the natural beauty of the world, rather than simply stolen. When you match the power of Yeats' vision with the ethereal quality of McKennitt's songwriting talent, you get a winner.

The other notable literary tip of the hat on the record is "Lullaby" which features McKennitt's music again, this time accompanied by a male actor (Douglas Campbell) reading a poem by William Blake. It begins:

"O for a voice like thunder, and a tongue
To drown the throat of war! - When the senses
Are shaken, and the soul is driven to madness,
Who can stand? When the souls of the oppressed
Fight in the troubled air that rages, who can stand?"

Groovy sermon, and better heard than read.

McKennitt also gets a guest singer (Cedric Smith) to handle "Carrighfergus" which has been a favourite of mine for years. It is the story of a man who wants to get across the sea to Carrighfergus to see a woman he loves, but has no boatman to help him. Since the sea is too wide, he decides to get drunk, and wander from town to town until he gets sick and dies. OK, it is not a heroic song, but it has a nice barroom quality and is fun to sing along.

Musically, the album is very sparse and traditional, and in places I found myself wishing for some of the braver choices she would make in later albums. I will say that "Come By the Hills" is notably beautiful and has a kick ass harp riff. The kind of thing I can get my folk-mosh on for. Yeah - you read that right, punchy.

This album is a solid entry in McKennitt's discography. It may be primarily old folk standards, but it is an early display of her deep talent, and sets the stage for what is to come.

Best tracks: Stolen Child, Carrighfergus, Come By the Hills, Lullaby