CD Odyssey Disc 219: Rankin Family

Thor is a hard act to follow, so perhaps it is fitting that the Odyssey went from a grandiose attempt at a metal concept album to an understated folk EP.

Disc 219 is...Grey Dusk of Eve
Artist: Rankin Family

Year of Release: 1995

What’s Up With The Cover?: I don't know. It is a tasteful bit of photography and design though. Very beautiful and understated. It gives me a nice sense of calm and introspection, a lot like this record.

How I Came To Know It: I have been a fan of the Rankin Family since I bought their "Fare Thee Well Love" album in 1990. "Grey Dusk of Eve" was just me buying their latest offering.

How It Stacks Up: Including this album, I have six Rankin Family albums, which discounting Christmas records, compilations and live shows, is all of them. Even though this is only a five song EP, it holds its own, and I'll put it third out of six.

Rating: 4 stars.

As long-time readers of this blog will know, I am not keen on records with too many songs - in my opinion fourteen is pushing the upper limit. For an EP, that top limit should be five, so "Grey Dusk of Eve" is suitably restrained. In a way, it is too bad, because I really like this album's feel, and found myself wishing for a few more. I also like that these EP tracks aren't just remarketed later on another album - they are a unique offering unto themselves.

This album gives a sampling of everything good about the Rankin Family. The first track, "Grey Dusk of Eve (Portobello)" is actually a reworking of a song on 1993's North Country called "Leis an Lurgainn", which I believe is a song in praise of a boat that takes a sailor through some rough weather. While I prefer the original version, I like this reimagining as well.

The album also has a wonderful fiddle medley, another song featuring the beautiful harmonies of the Rankin sisters and even fits in a Gaelic love-song called "An Teid Thu Leam A Mhairi" or "Will You Go With Me Mary". Spoiler alert - at first she won't, but then she will. I suspect this song is chiefly to show off Heather Rankin's vocals, but what I noticed on this listen was John Morris Rankin's understated but deeply heartfelt piano playing.

John Morris is one hell of a folk pianist, the more so that he never took centre stage, but always let his siblings shine. He was the glue that held the band together, and I will always regret his untimely death in a winter car accident many years ago.

All this praise aside, the one song on this record that will always stand out for me is one of my favourite Rankin Family songs (and one of my favourite folk songs of all time), the Jimmy Rankin original, "The Ballad of Malcolm Murray".

The song tells the story of a friend of Jimmy Rankin's youth - an outdoorsman, perhaps a little rough around the edges, who meets his untimely death in the woods- although how is never described.

This song shows the greatness of Jimmy Rankin - while part of the Rankin Family charm is their homage to Atlantic folk traditions, it is Jimmy that is always pushing their limits, and I have been a fan of his solo career in more recent years.

"The Ballad of Malcolm Murray" is Jimmy Rankin at his best - his voice full of soulful yearning, spinning the story of a man that helped shape his life. The song is short, simple, to the point and perfect. It is five star folk. Since it is so short, I'll just share the lyrics with you right here:

"Stood alone there, out on the highway.
In the blackness, on his own.
Through the wind, rain and fury
'Folds the story of Malcolm Murray

Not an evil bone in his body,
Not a bad thought in his mind
Always drifting, home to home
To everybody he was kind

Was a hunter and a drinker
A simple life his only care
You could find him out on the backroad
Or in a tavern, alone somewhere.

Heard one day, that he'd been missing
Gone out hunting, did not return.
The sky turned cloudy, the wind grew still
For his poor soul, my heart yearned

Found him lying, in the mountains
By a stream where he loved to be
Lost a good friend and a good man
Say farewell to Malcolm Murray

It's been said, out on the backroad.
There's a shadow by the light of the moon
Never fear, never worry,
It's just the memory of Malcolm Murray.

Stood alone there out on the highway.
In the blackness, on his own"

This song always makes me think of my brother - himself a rugged outdoorsman - and because it sings of Murray's death I'm not ashamed to say it sometimes has me tearing up a bit at the thought. If anyone is safe in British Columbia's wild spaces it is my brother, but I'd be lying if I didn't sometimes worry about him - maybe he thinks the same of me in the city, although he'd never say. One thing is certain - if there is ever a zombie apocalypse, it is Virgil you want handy, not me.

It is 11:45 PM on December 14th, and in fifteen minutes it will be my brother's birthday. Happy Birthday, Virgil - I love you, man.

Best tracks: Grey Dusk of Eve, The Ballad of Malcolm Murray, Twin Fiddle Medley